WASHINGTON-The House Commerce subcommittee investigating the Portals lease issued subpoenas to developer Franklin Haney and his lobbyist Peter Knight late last week and said each faces contempt of Congress charges if they fail to produce the requested documents by June 17.
House and Justice Department investigators are focused on a possibly illegal $1 million fee paid by Haney to Knight, former ’96 Clinton-Gore campaign manager, for securing new housing for the Federal Communications Commission.
In addition, investigators are probing whether $230,000 contributed by Haney to Democrats in 1996 influenced the terms of the 20-year, $400,000 Portals lease. The General Services Administration has ordered the FCC to move into the Portals, but the agency says it will not do so until safety concerns are addressed.
Haney, like Knight, a friend of Vice President Gore, refused to comply with a previous Portals subpoena. The penalty for contempt of Congress can include a fine and/or jail time.
