In 2008, the Associated Press documented that McCain's Presidential campaign was being supported by a number of EADS backers, including McCain's co-chairman and key financial supporter Tom Loeffler, a former Texas congressman whose firm lobbied for EADS.Federal contractors and foreign citizens are forbidden to contribute, but not their allies.
McCain's investigation originally received mostly positive reviews. "It's the best example of congressional oversight that we've seen in a decade," Keith Ashdown, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, told the Washington Independent. "It was before the completely bone-headed decision to bring on all those EADS lobbyists."
Last June, the Government Accounting Office overturned the EADS/Northrop Grumman award, saying that the Bush administration's criteria had been slanted to favor their planes.
Northrop Grumman dropped out of the bidding this year, saying the bidding process was too expensive and its bid with EADS was unlikely to succeed under Air Force specifications. That left Boeing's opponents scrambling for credible partners and strategies.
Last month, a Los Angeles lawyer said his client United Aircraft, a holding company for several Russian aircraft companies, would soon announce a joint venture with an unnamed U.S. defense contractor to seek the contracts. But the company itself denied interest, and Russia's prime minister edged away from advocacy of that proposal.
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