Retiring Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) signed a letter pushing a federal drug enforcement task force to award a $1.2 million contract to a private firm but now says he didn't approve it, according to news reports.
On November 21, Campbell wrote the Denver-based Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. He said he was "disappointed" that the task force did not award the contract to company called Thinkstream Inc.
Campbell has since rescinded the letter and says a former staffer wrote it. Yet he secured a
$1.2 million earmark in an appropriations bill to pay for the Thinkstream contract.
Campbell has asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate the letter as part of an ongoing probe into an alleged bonus/kickback scheme involving former chief of staff Ginnie Kontnik and another former employee. He said he knew the former employee was receiving bonuses but not that Kontnik was allegedly benefiting from it.
Thinkstream is a client of the law and lobbying firm of Brownstein Hyatt & Farber. Interior Secretary Gale Norton and her Congressional affairs director David Bernhardt worked at the firm before joining the Bush administration.
Get the Story:
Campbell ethics inquiry expands
(The Denver Post 3/18)
Campbell's office faces 2nd ethics inquiry
(AP 3/18)
Relevant Documents:
Campbell Statement
| Sen. Daniel Inouye Statement | White
House Statement | Sen.
Wayne Allard | Reaction
to Campbell's Decision
Relevant Links:
Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell - http://campbell.senate.gov
Related Stories:
Udall drops short bid for Campbell's Senate
seat (3/11)
Mark Udall to seek
Campbell's open Senate seat (3/10)
Indian senator a man of contradictions (3/5)
Ben Nighthorse Campbell ending Senate run
(3/5)
Campbell 'relieved' to be
leaving U.S. Senate (3/4)
Campbell
remembered as independent politician (3/4)
Editorial: Campbell true to form -- he has none
(3/4)
Editorial: Campbell never
forgot his Indian roots (3/4)
Democrat chides Campbell for being 1/16th Indian
(3/1)
Campbell treated at hospital for
chest pains (2/27)
Campbell's office
center of possible criminal probe (2/25)
Ex-aide suggests Campbell approved kickback
(2/23)
Campbell's remarks on casino
stir Democrats (01/19)
Campbell
reiterates opposition to 'Sand Creek' casino (1/16)
Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes cite support for Colo.
casino (1/15)
Harjo: Secrets of the
Sand Creek land purchase (12/22)
Democrat lawyer to challenge Campbell in
'04 (09/24)
Democrats seek candidate
to challenge Campbell (08/06)
Report: Campbell fails to meet
fundraising goal (07/15)
Democrats don't want Campbell to
run in 2004 (06/23)
Campbell, Inouye disclose financial
worth (6/17)
Spokesperson: Campbell ready for
2004 campaign (04/16)
In
the Loop: Campbell wants top Olympic post (03/19)
Politics
Campbell letter pushed for award of $1.2M contract
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Stay Connected
Contact Us
indianz@indianz.com202 630 8439 (THEZ)
Search
Top Stories
Trending in News
1 Tribes rush to respond to new coronavirus emergency created by Trump administration
2 'At this rate the entire tribe will be extinct': Zuni Pueblo sees COVID-19 cases double as first death is confirmed
3 Arne Vainio: 'A great sickness has been visited upon us as human beings'
4 Arne Vainio: Zoongide'iwin is the Ojibwe word for courage
5 Cayuga Nation's division leads to a 'human rights catastrophe'
2 'At this rate the entire tribe will be extinct': Zuni Pueblo sees COVID-19 cases double as first death is confirmed
3 Arne Vainio: 'A great sickness has been visited upon us as human beings'
4 Arne Vainio: Zoongide'iwin is the Ojibwe word for courage
5 Cayuga Nation's division leads to a 'human rights catastrophe'
More Stories
Ex-Chemawa students recall holding cell experiences BIA student struggles familiar ground for Anderson
News Archive
2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000