Waxman wants answers on White House contract with MZM

By: WILLIAM FINN BENNETT - Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 11, 2007 9:53 PM PDT ∞

NORTH COUNTY -- The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is pushing the Bush administration for records of its dealings with a company and two people linked to former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, said Wednesday that his office has yet to receive the information he had asked for in a March 26 request to White House officials.

Waxman wants documents and information regarding contracts between the White House and Washington defense contractor MZM Inc. and any of its subsidiaries or subcontractors. The March letter also asked for any documents showing communication between the White House and Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes or MZM founder Mitchell Wade. Waxman had asked that the documents be produced no later than April 6.

"The White House response is clearly not adequate at this point," Waxman said in a written response to questions from the North County Times.

On Friday, the White House gave its initial response to Waxman's March request, with President Bush's special counsel Emmet T. Flood saying there would be a delay.

"Once we are able to fully evaluate the scope and implications of the letter's requests, we will soon provide your committee with an appropriate response," Flood wrote.

Asked about the committee request Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo would only say, "We have advised members of Congress that we are looking into this matter."

In late 2005, Cunningham pleaded guilty to taking and, in some cases, demanding bribes of more than $2.4 million in exchange for steering government business worth tens of millions of dollars to MZM and to Wilkes' company, ADCS Inc. He has since been sentenced and is serving eight years and four months in an Arizona prison for his crimes.

In February 2006, Wade pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme and to having plied Cunningham with more than $1 million in bribes in exchange for contracts. He is awaiting sentencing. And one year later, a federal grand jury in San Diego indicted Wilkes for his alleged role in the web of bribery and deceit. He has pleaded not guilty.

On Tuesday, Waxman wrote the White House, saying in no uncertain terms that he expects some answers.

"Mr. Flood did not provide any of the information or documents the Committee requested," he wrote in the letter.

Waxman said he would be willing to consider a "reasonable extension" of the committee's production deadline.

"But any extension should be accompanied by a firm and expeditious schedule for production," Waxman wrote in his Tuesday letter.

The MZM contract to provide furniture and computers to Vice President Dick Cheney's office was relatively modest as far as contracts with the federal government go: $140,000.

By contrast, on Jan. 23, the same committee asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to provide it with documents on the department's $30 billion contract with Boeing to design and build a comprehensive border security plan. Fifteen days later, it received 1,800 pages in documents in response to its request.

Waxman seemed vexed with the delays on the MZM documents.

"The committee made a simple request," Waxman wrote in his response to the newspaper. "The contract is small and complying with the request should not be complicated."

-- Contact staff writer William Finn Bennett at (760) 740-5426, or wbennett@nctimes.com.

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