( – promoted by lowkell)
Crossposted at ProgressVA
Former Senator George Allen received over $100,000, Governor McDonnell over $90,000, from business interest that secretly sold petrochemical equipment to terrorism-sponsor Iran.
ProgressVA today called for Virginia politicians who have accepted contributions from Koch Industries and their owners, conservative activists Charles and David Koch, to return the money or donate it to charity. A Bloomberg investigation revealed Sunday that Koch businesses circumvented US trade embargos to sell millions of dollars worth of petrochemical equipment to Iran. Iran is one of four countries designated by the U.S. State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism. In a 2009 report, the State Department called Iran the most active state sponsor of terrorism, stating “Iran’s financial, material, and logistic support for terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East and Central Asia had a direct impact on international efforts to promote peace, threatened economic stability in the Gulf and undermined the growth of democracy.”
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Koch Industries has donated $897,037 to Virginia politics since 1996. David Koch, co-owner of Koch Industries, donated an additional $54,441 to Bob McDonnell’s 2009 gubernatorial campaign.
“Koch Industries has circumvented U.S. law to make money off of business dealings with a terrorist-supporting state,” said ProgressVA Executive Director Anna Scholl. “That dirty money has been funneled into Virginia political campaigns to the tune of almost $1 million since 1996. Virginia politicians have no business taking money from companies or individuals that do business with terrorist-supporting Iran. Our leaders should be protecting us against Koch and any corporation that trades American lives and American security for profits. George Allen, Bob McDonnell, and the other recipients should immediately return or donate this dirty money.”
The biggest recipients of Koch largess include:
➢ George Allen: $102,350 (see below chart)
➢ Bob McDonnell: $91,941
➢ Jerry Kilgore: $73,750
➢ Bill Howell: $57,000
➢ Republican Party of Virginia (including the Joint Caucus, Senate Leadership Trust, and House Campaign Committee): $77,700
➢ Commonwealth Victory Fund (Democratic Caucus): $44,000
(A full list of recipients of state level contributions can be found at http://www.vpap.org/donors/pro… Federal donations to George Allen and his affiliated committees are listed below.)
A former Koch Industries employee told Bloomberg that “Every single chance they had to do business with Iran…they did.”
According to the Bloomberg report, “Internal company records show that Koch Industries used its foreign subsidiary to sidestep a U.S. trade ban barring American companies from selling materials to Iran. Koch-Glitsch offices in Germany and Italy continued selling to Iran until as recently as 2007, the records show.
“The company’s products helped build a methanol plant for Zagros Petrochemical Co., a unit of Iran’s state-owned National Iranian Petrochemical Co., the documents show. The facility, in the coastal city of Bandar Assaluyeh, is now the largest methanol plant in the world.”
Amount Date Contributor Organization Recipient
$1,100 10/14/2006 FINK, RICHARD Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,000 06/06/2006 FINK, RICHARD Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,000 10/18/2006 FINK, RICHARD Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,000 02/09/1999 FINK, RICHARD Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,000 07/07/1999 FINK, RICHARD Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$3,000 06/02/2005 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$2,500 12/14/2005 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,500 07/18/2005 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,000 03/11/2005 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,000 06/02/2005 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,000 03/11/2002 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$2,500 05/10/1999 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,500 10/10/2000 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,500 03/17/2000 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,000 03/17/2000 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,000 05/12/1999 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,000 06/12/2000 Koch Industries Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$1,000 09/21/1999 KOCH, DAVID Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$250 09/27/2006 LOUGHLIN, PETER Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$500 09/27/1999 MITCHELL, NANCY Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$500 10/28/1999 MITCHELL, NANCY L WADLEY Koch Industries George Allen (R)
$5,000 06/11/2010 FINK, RICHARD H Koch Industries Good Government for America
$5,000 09/22/2006 Koch Industries Koch Industries Good Government for America
$5,000 09/22/2006 Koch Industries Koch Industries Good Government for America
$5,000 12/31/2005 Koch Industries Koch Industries Good Government for America
$5,000 12/20/2005 Koch Industries Koch Industries Good Government for America
$5,000 12/24/2003 Koch Industries Koch Industries Good Government for America
$5,000 06/08/2004 Koch Industries Koch Industries Good Government for America
$5,000 06/17/2004 Koch Industries Koch Industries Good Government for America
$5,000 12/31/2003 Koch Industries Koch Industries Good Government for America
$4,000 04/11/2002 Koch Industries Koch Industries Good Government for America
$4,000 03/11/2002 Koch Industries Koch Industries Good Government for America
$2,000 10/24/2002 KOCH, CHARLES Koch Industries Good Government for America
$2,000 10/24/2002 KOCH, ELIZABETH Koch Industries Good Government for America
$1,000 10/23/2002 Koch Industries Koch Industries Good Government for America
$1,000 10/23/2002 FINK, RICHARD Koch Industries Good Government for America
$5,000 06/16/2005 Georgia-Pacific Corp* Georgia-Pacific Corp George Allen (R)
$4,000 03/25/2005 Georgia-Pacific Corp* Georgia-Pacific Corp George Allen (R)
$1,000 03/31/2003 Georgia-Pacific Corp* Georgia-Pacific Corp George Allen (R)
$4,000 10/03/2000 Georgia-Pacific Corp* Georgia-Pacific Corp George Allen (R)
$1,000 06/22/2000 Georgia-Pacific Corp* Georgia-Pacific Corp George Allen (R)
$1,000 12/27/1999 Georgia-Pacific Corp* Georgia-Pacific Corp George Allen (R)
$1,000 04/27/2000 Georgia-Pacific Corp* Georgia-Pacific Corp George Allen (R)
$500 03/14/2000 TURNER, JOHN Georgia-Pacific Corp George Allen (R)
TOTAL $102,350
* Georgia-Pacific Corp is a subsidiary of Koch Industries.
*Good Government for America is Sen. Allen’s federal leadership PAC
** Georgia-Pacific Corp is a subsidiary of Koch Industries.
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