The Department of Justice is being asked to investigate why Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) sought a $1.2 million anti-drug grant for a private firm.

Campbell's name appeared on a letter exhorting the Denver-based Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area to award a no-bid contract to Thinkstream. But soon after he announced his retirement from the Senate, Campbell said he did not sign or approve the letter although he inserted a $1.2 million earmark for Thinkstream.

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:
Grant to drug task force sought by Campbell draws call for probe (The Denver Post 4/30)

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Campbell letter pushed for award of $1.2M contract (03/18)