Rep. Adam Schiff of California, a Democrat, spent years in the public spotlight spreading baseless hypotheses about the late President Donald Trump, some of which resulted in Trump’s initial impeachment.
Schiff is currently under a different kind of limelight as a potential Senate contender to succeed the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and what it’s revealing might not be good for his Senate bid.
As of now, Rep. Adam Schiff of California is the front-runner to succeed Feinstein, followed by Rep. Katie Porter of Southern California, a fellow Democrat.
According to a University of California, Berkeley survey, Schiff won 20% of the vote and Porter 17% of the vote among probable voters. About a third of those polled weren’t sure which choice they preferred. At least sixteen candidates have expressed interest in the role.
However, Schiff’s murky background may come back to haunt him, particularly in light of a Politico investigation that described Schiff’s history of befriending influential interests and paying them with public funds when it benefited his political goals.
According to a Politico investigation, Schiff set aside about $10 million for defence firms that have given to his campaign.
Schiff allocated more than $10 million in taxpayer funds to five companies for the development of military technologies from 2001 to 2007, according to a Politico analysis of earmark records, which also revealed that these companies had contributed tens of thousands of dollars to his campaign.
In a statement to Politico, Steve Ellis, the founder of the organisation “Taxpayers of Common Sense,” said of Schiff’s earmarks: “We were always concerned about the pay-to-play aspects.” “It has that perception if you’re getting a campaign contribution and getting an earmark for the same company or a client of that lobbyist.”
Added by The Daily Caller:
The greatest donor earmarks by Schiff, amounting to $6 million, were made to Smiths Detection, which was creating chemical weapons sensors for the military, and Phasebridge, Inc., which was creating a naval radar system.
Paul Magliocchetti, a lobbyist hired by both of these organisations, also gave $8,500 to Schiff’s campaign committees around the same time. Later on, Magliocchetti was found guilty on federal charges of making unauthorised campaign contributions and served 27 months in prison.
Additionally, Schiff set aside $1 million for Eureka Aerospace, a company engaged in the creation of military technologies for the purpose of catching cars that are eluding checkpoints. It is noteworthy that between 2006 and 2020, the CEO of Eureka Aerospace and other members of his household gave $34,500 to Schiff’s campaign, according to Politico.
“Schiff allocated an extra $1 million to Tanner Research, Inc., which was working on developing methods for identifying improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which claimed the lives of numerous American service members in Afghanistan and Iraq. Tanner’s CEO gave $15,800 to Schiff between 2003 and 2012, according to a report by The Daily Caller.