Harris says she sought jobs, not political cash

Posted on Fri, Mar. 03, 2006
WASHINGTON

Harris says she sought jobs, not political cash

Her campaign dogged by ties to a defense contractor who pled guilty to corruption, Katherine Harris attempted to explain.

BY LESLEY CLARKl
clark@MiamiHerald.com

WASHINGTON - Seeking to distance her struggling U.S. Senate campaign from a corruption scandal, Rep. Katherine Harris Thursday released details of a $10 million budget request she made on behalf of a defense contractor who last week pleaded guilty to steering illegal campaign contributions to her.

Harris, in a statement that accompanied the paperwork, said she ''never requested the money in exchange for any contributions,'' but rather to bring jobs to her Gulf Coast district.

But the release of the documents -- which the Sarasota Republican had previously refused -- could raise more questions about her relationship with MZM, a Washington-based firm with a Florida branch. The request to the House defense appropriations subcommittee that Harris made on behalf of MZM president Mitchell Wade was not part of her initial package, dated March 18, 2005.

ANTI-TERROR PROPOSAL

Instead, a month later, she asked the subcommittee to add funding for the ''U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service'' project, ''to support counter intelligence and combating terrorism missions.'' The project, she noted, should be put third on her list of funding priorities.

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