The Vanity Fair article on the Duke-Stir Affair that will appear in the next issue is an interesting summary of all that has happened in the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Cunningham/Lewis Affair. It is becoming painfully clear that we have not heard the last of this particular scandal. Besides Lewis, expect a lot more scrutiny on Katherine Harris (“Representative B”). Also, Bill Lowery, the Congressman that imediately preceded Duke, will also be using a lot of legal services in the future. Of course, this is nothing new for Lowery, who lost his seat do to his role in the House Banking Scandal; Lowery and his wife cashed over 200 hot checks. Dusty Foggo, Porter Goss’ No. 3 man at the CIA, will also be sharing the mess hall with the Duke Stir.
On trips to Washington, Casey recalls, Wilkes was able to usher him into the presence of important members of the armed-services and appropriations committees, including, most notably, Lowery and Lowery’s closest friend on the latter, fellow California Republican Jerry Lewis, now 71. The genteel Lewis and the earthy Lowery reportedly loved to dine and even vacation together. “Everyone on the defense committee always works cooperatively,” says Casey, who realized pretty quickly that no money came his way without their support. “It was team play, and they emphasized that to me constantly.”
Wilkes also introduced Casey to Dusty Foggo, who often passed through Washington. Around 1994, during a visit to a Washington strip club, Casey says, Foggo wore a gun in a shoulder holster and flashed his identification at the club doorman. He was promptly seated by the stage. “Foggo sits there the whole night telling me how he likes to fuck girls in the ass,” Casey recalls. “He sees a girl there, he jabs you and says, ‘She’s ready to go—let’s double-team her.’ The weirdest combination of sex and domination! And Wilkes, he’s just laughing the whole time.” (Vanity Fair 7/5/06)
Haha! Yes, it’s hilarious using your CIA badge to get laid at strip clubs. I particularly think the whole double-team comment is a priceless one, and worthy of the Washington Hall of Corruption Fame. But that’s just me. The more telling part is that Lewis worked very closely with Duke. Either he was naive or he was complicit. The latter now seems far more likely:
“Tom, let’s cut to the chase. I want you to get stock options for Bill Lowery” was how Lewis opened their conversation, Casey recalls. Specifically, Casey adds, Lewis suggested that a very large number of Audre stock options issued in Canada be given to Lowery, but put under other names. Lewis’s actual words were “I am going to give you a list of names,” says Casey, who declined to go along. That was the last time he and Lewis had a pleasant conversation, Casey says. (Through a spokesman, Lewis acknowledges that he “thinks he remembers meeting Tom Casey,” but denies the story. “What’s described sounds illegal to me,” says the spokesperson. Through his lawyer, Lowery also denies any knowledge of the proposed deal.)
Unparalleled really doesn’t do this scandal justice. It dwarfs the Abramoff scandal. It dwarfs Rostenkowski, or Traficant. This will end several careers, and see the exposure of Conservatism for what it really is: Great in theory, terrible in power.
Simply put, Conservatives cannot govern. Their loathing of government works great in opposition, but not so well in power. When they actually gain power, we see that they have no respect for the institutions and for those that elected them.
