The Jerry Lewis – Lowery lobbying firm controversy stems from the relationship between Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and a lobbying firm, known as Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White, where good friend and former U.S. Congressman Bill Lowery was a partner from 1993 to 2006.

The basic allegations are that Lewis, by virtue of his chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee (since January 2005), and his prior chairmanship of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, was able, through earmarks and other methods, to steer hundreds of millions of dollars to clients of Lowery's firm. Lowery and his firm have earned millions of dollars in fees from these clients. Lowery and others in his firm, in turn, have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Lewis' campaign committee and political action committee. Defense contractors who are clients of the lobbying firm have also given hundreds of thousands of dollars. Lewis, who has not faced serious opposition in his re-election campaigns in the past ten years, has used his campaign and PAC funds in support of other Republicans, something that helped him become chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

The Justice department ultimately dropped its investigation into the firm and Mr. Lewis. A spokesman for the department had no further comment.

In addition, two key individuals on Lewis' staff (Letitia White and Jeff Shockey) went to work for Copeland Lowery, earning millions of dollars for themselves; Richard White, Letitia's husband, has seen a steep increase in his income since he switched to being a lobbyist for defense firms; Lewis' stepdaughter has benefited from his ties to the lobbyists; and Jeff Shockey, upon returning to work of Lewis in 2005, was paid two million dollars by Copeland Lowery as "severance", based upon projected revenues of the lobbying firm for the eleven months following his departure.

Federal investigation No individual has been formally charged with any wrongdoing, but there is now an ongoing federal investigation being run by the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles, and a federal grand jury in Los Angeles has issued at least 10 subpoenas. As of early July 2006, one of Lowery's two ex-wives, Melinda Morrin, has been interviewed twice by the FBI about her ex-husband's dealings.Eric Werner, "Lawmaker-turned-lobbyist at center of 'earmarking' probe" , Associated Press, July 15, 2006

On June 1, 2006, the San Bernardino Sun reported that the City of Redlands, California and San Bernardino County, California, both clients of Lowery's law firm, had been subpoenaed in the federal investigation into possible lobbying and earmarking abuses by Lowery's firm and Lewis.Guy McCarthy, "FBI eyes county records; Sources: Feds probe lobbyist tied to Lewis" , San Bernardino County Sun, June 1, 2006 Four days later it was revealed that two other clients of the law firm, California State University San Bernardino and Riverside County, California, had also been subpoenaed.John Bresnahan, "Subpoenas Indicate Lewis Probe Is Heating Up", Roll Call, June 5, 2006 On June 6, three more California cities, Loma Linda, Yucca Valley, and Twentynine Palms stated that they had been issued subpoenas.George Watson and Andrew Silva, "Subpoenas revealed: 2 more cities asked to give documents related to Lewis", San Bernardino County Sun, June 6, 2006Guy McCarthy and Andrew Silva, "Yucca Valley tied to Lewis Inquiry" , San Bernardino County Sun, June 6, 2006 On June 14, Highland, California announced it had been issued a subpoena.George Watson, "Highland's turn in Lewis inquiry" , San Bernardino County Sun, June 15, 2006

On June 28, 2006, an official of ESRI said that the company had also received a federal subpoena as part the ongoing investigation into the ties between Lewis and Copeland Lowery. "We have no concerns," ESRI spokesman Don Berry said. "We retain a lobbyist and it is not an issue for us."Duane W. Gang, "Lewis probe expands" ,Press-Enterprise, June 28, 2006 On September 5, 2006, the Associated Press reported that federal investigators were looking into a donation of of land to the city of Redlands by the owners of ESRI in 2001, land adjacent to the home of Lewis.Jerimiah Marquez, "Feds looking at land deal involving Jerry Lewis", Associated Press, September 5, 2006

On December 4, 2010, the New York Times reported that the Justice Department had ended its investigation on the relationship between Mr. Lewis and Copeland Lowery. "The D.O.J. response confirms what I've known from Day 1 — that the facts and the truth of this matter will ultimately prevail," Mr. Lewis said in a statement.

Chronology

The early years From January 1985 to January 1993, Congressmen Jerry Lewis and Bill Lowery served together on the House Appropriations Committee, where they became friends. In 1993, Lowery became a lobbyistKelly Rayburn and Jacob Ogles, "Pressure is on popular Lewis: Supporters stand by him" , San Bernardino County Sun, January 23, 2006 and partner in a lobbying firm that James Copeland helped found in 1992.Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, "Lobby Firm Disbands Because of Investigation: Some Partners Have Ties to Rep. Lewis", Washington Post, June 17, 2006 Since 1993, Lewis and Lowery have celebrated birthdays together, vacationed together and often shared meals at restaurants near their Capitol Hill homes. Lewis was the best man at Lowery's second marriage. Lowery emceed a gala for Lewis in Redlands, California in 2004. Their day-to-day contacts are made convenient by Lowery's special access to Capitol Hill. As a former congressman, he can exercise at the House gym and walk onto the House floor. In January 1995, Lewis became chairman of the Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies Appropriations subcommittee.

Lewis moves up; staff moves out (and back) In January 1999, Lewis became chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees more discretionary spending than any other congressional subcommittee. That year, Jeff Shockey, who had worked for Lewis since 1991Paul Kiel, "Revolving Door Staffer Paid Big Money by Prior Clients" , TPMMuckracker.com, June 12, 2006 left Lewis' employ to join Copeland Lowery, where he would work for the next six years.Timothy J. Burger, "The Lobbying Game: Why the Revolving Door Won't Close", Time Magazine, June 16, 2006 Shockey's wife, Alexandra Shockey, who had been on Lewis' personal staff since 1992, continued to work for Lewis. (She eventually left Lewis' staff to start a family.) In 2000, Richard White, the husband, of Letitia White, a key Lewis staffer, stopped lobbying for the Brown & Williamson tobacco company and registered to do defense lobbying. On January 8, 2003, Letitia White, who had worked for Lewis for 21 years, including as chief of staff, and was known as his "gatekeeper",Zachary Coile, "New Move to Trim Political Pork: Congress considers fresh limits on 'earmarks' -- pet projects usually benefit legislator's home state", San Francisco Chronicle, February 15, 2006 left Lewis' employ, and government service. She too went to work for Copeland Lowery, registering as a lobbyist on January 9, 2003. In 2003, Lewis became the fundraising chairman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. In January 2005, Lewis became chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which oversees about $900 billion in federal spending each year. That same month (January 2005), Jeff Shockey left Copeland Lowery, where he was a partner, to become deputy chief of staff of the committee. He received approximately $2 million from Copeland Lowery as a "separation/buy-out agreement" (see below). After Shockey left Copeland Lowery, the firm changed its name (removing "Shockey"), with White becoming a name partner in the firm.Paul Kane, "Lewis, Calvert Records Eyed: FBI Also Looks at Aides' Filings" , Roll Call, June 8, 2006 Lewis said White is so dedicated to public service that she also asked to rejoin his staff when he became chair of the appropriations committee. But according to Lewis, he said no, because he wanted White, whose husband is in his early 70's, to build some financial security. "I said, 'Letitia, I'm afraid you shouldn't do that,'" Lewis said. In February 2005, Alexandra Shockey was hired as a subcontractor by Copeland Lowery, taking over some of her husband's clients. Other clients went to White. In February 2005, Julia Willis-Leon, one of Lewis' stepdaughters, became head of a newly registered political action committee, Small Biz Tech PAC. The PAC address was a townhouse half-owned by Letitia White and her husband. During the first 17 months of the PAC's existence, 40% of the $114,000 in revenues for the PAC came the Whites and from small defense contractors represented by Copeland Lowery.

The end of Copeland Lowery; the federal investigation begins On December 23, 2005, the San Diego Union Tribune published a lengthy article on Lewis, Lowery, the Whites, and the Shockeys. In late May 2006, the FBI sent a special agent from its office in Riverside, California, to the Cannon House Office Building to retrieve documents as federal prosecutors in Southern California were issuing a series of subpoenas to towns and counties in Lewis' Congressional district, all of which were represented at one time or another in lobbying activities by a current or former Lewis staffer. (See above for details.) The FBI obtained financial disclosure forms from 1999 through 2004 for both Lewis and his wife, Arlene Willis, who is chief of staff for Lewis in his personal office. In late May or early June 2006, Lewis hired a high-profile legal team from a Los Angeles-based law firm. The team includes former Solicitor General Ted Olson; Robert Bonner, who once led the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles and was once head of Customs and Border Protection; Mel Levine, a former Democratic congressman from California; and Joseph Warin, a former federal prosecutor.Erica Werner, "Lewis Hires Legal Team Amid Investigation", AP, June 13, 2006 In June 2006, Copeland Lowery amended 35 prior government filings which reported the firm's lobbying revenues and clients between 1998 and 2005. The firm had failed to disclose at least $755,000 in income from 17 nonprofit organizations and governmental entities, and $635,000 from 18 other clients."Lobbying firm involved in Rep. Lewis case underreported income", Associated Press, July 6, 2006Justin Rood, "Lobbying Firm in Lewis Scandal Failed to Report $2 Million in Lobby Fees" , TPMMuckracker.com, June 29, 2006 In June, the firm split into two. Democratic Party partners Copeland and Jacquez formed a firm called CJ Strategies. Republicans Lowery, Denton and White formed a firm called Innovative Federal Strategies. In early July, a spokesman said that "The firm is continuing to review its lobbying disclosure forms," and that "The firm is planning to amend the 2003 and 2004 statements involving [San Bernardino County] in the coming days," with underreported income in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.David Baumann, "Lobbying: Thousands Missing From Copeland Lowery Income Reports", National Journal, July 7, 2006 By October 2006, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission, Lewis had spent about $800,000 of his campaign funds for lawyers.Paul Kiel, "CA Rep Drops Nearly $800,000 on Legal Fees" , TPMMuckraker.com, October 18, 2006

The earmarks