Questions Remain About Duncan Hunter

Questions Remain About Duncan Hunter — updated –
(cross-posted on firedoglake)

Once upon a time there was a Congressman named Duncan Hunter who sold
out his brother in arms Jack Murtha. That time, I believe, is now.

This post brings together the information readers and I and others have uncovered so far, plus adding
some new developments, into one place. It's cross-posted at FDL, though this
post has some changes within it, because my regular readers know much of what
is below. But since the number of eyes on this page has broadened considerably,
it's important to compile the information.

It started with MurthaLied.com last
week, which I announced on FDL in the comment section, leading to its webmistress,
Amanda Doss.
But a funny thing happened on finding
out about her. It led my readers and me to a guy named Tony Snesko, who
was one of the Swiftboad Vets for “Truth” that targeted Kerry. Following
Tony Snesko, however, led to an interesting place. His wife, Valerie
Snesko, is the personal appointment secretary to Duncan Hunter, the House
Chairman of the Armed Service Committee. Raw Story did a piece on it over the
weekend, which included yours
truly and the hate mail I get as opposed to what Amanda put up on he site
when we caught her with only her URL up. Not only that, but Tony Snesko is listed
as Duncan Hunter’s contact for a July event right on the National Republican
Congressional Committee’s site.

July 14, 2006 7:30am Rep. Duncan Hunter Invites you to join him for Breakfast in the Grill Room Capitol Hill Club / Grill Room- 300 1st Street, SE Washington, DC $1,000 per PAC $500 per Person RSVP to Tony Snesko- (202)255-4945 or Snesko@aol.com National Republican Campaign Committee

After that little piece of information appeared on my blog and elsewhere, Tony
evidently got barraged with emails. I got a hold of an email Tony sent to someone
that harkened back to the bad old Nixon days. You know, those days of the non
denial denial.

In light of other E-mails I have received today, I am assuming that you are connecting me with Murtha, who I have said nothing against and I am not associated with the Murthalied. Tony Duncan Hunter’s Lair: A Non-Denial Denial

Murtha now has a challenger for his congressional seat. Her name is Diane Irey.
She’s sort of the Katherine Harris of Pennsylvania, only with better looks.
She’s been adopted by Fox “News” lately and basically made her
campaign about swiftboating Jack Murtha. But she’s got some help. Vets4Irey
is a group of veterans put together by the same guy who put together Vets4Bush,
who swiftboated Kerry throughout the 2004 election.

We’ve now got Drudge blasting the headline: Murtha says U.S.
poses top threat to world peace; more dangerous than Korea, Iran. Not long afterwards,
you had Bill O’Reilly, Newt Gingrich and Tucker Carlson fuming over the
headline. That headline comes from The
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, though in their article they provide no quote
at all. Readers at Think Progress got the Sun-Sentinel to promise a correction.
We shall see. UPDATE: The Sun-Sentinel retracted the statement, which Brit Hume read on Fox “News.”

Suzanne, Yes, we know. We will be publishing a correction in tomorrow’s paper. Thank you for pointing this out. Gail Bulfin, Editor for News Research, Training and Readership South Florida Sun-Sentinel

But this is a lot of action that seems orchestrated and thought out. It originates
with people connected to the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, who targeted Kerry.
Of course, Tony Snesko has issued a non denial denial, but that’s not
really the worst of it.

When Murtha turned against the war it affected Duncan Hunter in a big way.
It enraged him because it hit him where he lives and breathes, his bank account.
So Hunter went after Murtha on the House floor.

Murtha’s resolution included language the Republicans wanted to avoid, such as “the American people have not been shown clear, measurable progress” toward stability in Iraq. It also said troops should be withdrawn “at the earliest practicable date,” although Murtha said in statements and interviews Thursday that the drawdown should begin now. Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) drafted a simpler resolution calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops, saying it was a fair interpretation of Murtha’s intent. Members were heatedly debating a procedural rule concerning the Hunter resolution when Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) was recognized at 5:20 p.m. Schmidt won a special election in August, defeating Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett, and is so new to Congress that some colleagues do not know her name. (snip) It was past 10 p.m. when Murtha addressed a relatively subdued House. Hunter’s resolution “is not what I envisioned” because it avoids a broader debate of the war, which “is not going as advertised,” Murtha said. “The American people are way ahead of us” in wanting a strategy to bring the troops home, he added. “It’s easy to sit in your air-conditioned offices and send them into battle.” (snip) Top Democrats attacked the GOP tactic. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the Republicans “engaged in an act of deception that undermines any shred of dignity that might be left in this Republican Congress.” She called Hunter’s resolution “a political stunt” and “a disservice to our country and to our men and women in uniform.” House Rejects Iraq Pullout After GOP Forces a Vote Democrats Enraged By Personal Attack

Hunter wants Murtha out of Congress, so Diane Irey is mounting a show campaign,
sort of a smear another veteran action to try and humiliated and hobble Murtha.
But her
family isn’t clean either, so the GOP is letting her hang. Diane Irey’s
husband looks to me like he was yet another Iraq war profiteer. Maybe this is
what Irey has in common with Duncan Hunter, who backed the defense crook Duke
Cunningham until the golden commode was out of the crook’s castle. Anyway,
Irey’s husband went into business in Iraq to make boat loads of money
off of the war, but on the way to being arms dealers, with contacts to Chalabi
and whatever else, his partner ended up accusing the Iraq Defense Ministry of
malfeasance, which got
him murdered.

However, it’s really about the money and whether Jack Murtha is threatening
Duncan Hunter’s sweetheart defense contract payroll. Newsweek reported
that the FBI is investigating Brent “boom
shaka laka” Wilkes’s ties to Duncan
Hunter.

Follow
the money, because it looks like it leads to Duncan Hunter’s sweet
chairmanship of the House Armed Services Committee. Is Murtha’s talk on
Iraq threatening Hunter’s payroll? Jack Murtha is the strongest Democrat
speaking out against the war in Iraq. You’ve got to wonder if Hunter wants
him to pay a price. Maybe we should ask him.

Contact Rep. Duncan Hunter DC Office: 2265 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: 202-225-5672 Fax: 202-225-0235 Web Email Website District Office- El Cajon: 1870 Cordell Court Suite 206 El Cajon, CA 92020 Phone: 619-448-5201 Fax: 619-449-2251