Senator Feinstein's Conflict of Interest

Feinstein Must Resign

Senator Feinstein chairs the Senate Rules Committee but she at one time was the top Democrat on the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies sub-committee (“Milcon” for short), in that position she may have funneled more than $1 billion to companies that are controlled by her husband. It looks like during the period between 2001 and 2005 she took part in decisions that ended up putting millions directly in her husband’s pocket and this is a classic conflict of interest.

Due to Senator Feinstein’s work on the Milcon subcommittee, two companies URS and Perini Corporation that her husband Richard C. Blum controlled were awarded $1.5 billion in government contracts.

Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington, or CREW, usually focuses on the ethical lapses of Republicans and conservatives, but even she is appalled at the way Sen. Feinstein has abused her position. Sloan told a California reporter earlier this month that while “there are a number of members of Congress with conflicts of interest … because of the amount of money involved, Feinstein’s conflict of interest is an order of magnitude greater than those conflicts.”

And the director of the Project on Government Oversight who examined the evidence of wrongdoing assembled by California writer Peter Byrne told him that “the paper trail showing Senator Feinstein’s conflict of interest is irrefutable.”

Senator Feinstein resigned from this committee at the same time her husband sold his stake in both companies, and interesting occurrence. That year the total income for the two of them was up by 25% to over $40 million.