Politics Makes Strange Homeowners

By Ken Silverstein

It has recently been reported that Representative Jerry Lewis, a California Republican who heads the House Appropriations Committee, is under federal investigation for possibly steering federal monies to well-connected corporations. In a story on June 2, the New York Times profiled Letitia White, a lobbyist and former Lewis staffer, who also appears to be attracting attention from investigators.

White currently works for Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White. The “Lowery” in the firm's title refers to former Congressman Bill Lowery, who has very close ties to Lewis. In December 2005 the San Diego Union-Tribune published a story in which someone identified as a “Capitol Hill insider” said, “Word is getting around that if you want to be close to Jerry Lewis, it's a good idea to be close to Bill Lowery.”

One of Copeland Lowery's clients is Trident Systems Incorporated, a “technology solutions” firm based in Fairfax, Virginia, which, the New York Times reported, was charged $160,000 in fees by the lobbying firm. This year, Trident Systems received a $2 million earmark from the Lewis-chaired House Appropriations Committee.

I've learned that Letitia White's ties to Trident Systems are far stronger than previously reported. A Beltway lobbyist (who knows all the key players involved in the story) told me that when White worked for Representative Lewis she was an aggressive advocate for Trident Systems, helping the firm win millions in federal earmarks. After White left Capitol Hill in 2003, she went to work as a lobbyist, and on February 1 of that year she signed up Trident Systems as one of her first clients. (Trident Systems had previously worked with two Washington lobby shops, including one in which Dennis DeConcini, the former Arizona Senator who served on the Senate Appropriations Committee, was a partner. Trident dumped its other representatives after White came on the market.)

The connection between White and Trident Systems extends beyond lobbying. I've learned that in December 2003, White and Nicholas E. Karangelen, one of the owners of Trident, bought a $1 million townhouse together in the heart of Capitol Hill. The attractive yellow and green home, which I visited today, is currently assessed at $1.3 million.

Copeland Lowery is a significant contributor to Lewis's campaign fund. Between 1999 and 2005 the firm as a whole gave at least $49,500. Karengelen is also a major contributor. Records show that he gave $25,000 to Jerry Lewis's Leadership PAC between 2001 and 2005. (The article in the San Diego Union-Tribune found that Lowery, his associates, their spouses, and their clients—many of them defense contractors—had collectively raised over $480,000 for Lewis since 2000.)

So Letitia White, a former staffer for Jerry Lewis, now a lobbyist, is the co-owner of a home with Nicholas Karengelen, a client of her lobbying firm. Karengelen's firm is the recipient of $2 million (and likely more) disbursed by a committee headed by Lewis. Surely these connections merit the attention of those looking into the Lewis case.

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