MURTHA UPDATE: Congress: The PMA Noose. “Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, released dozens of earmark requests late Thursday, including millions of dollars for projects sponsored by former PMA clients. Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.), who in previous years had sought earmarks for PMA clients, released his earmark list without a single request for a former PMA client.”

Plus, it’s not just Murtha: Carolyn McCarthy tied to PMA. “McCarthy’s top contributor this cycle is the now-defunct PMA Group. . . . Moreover, McCarthy has voted against a resolution that would initiate an ethics investigation into the relationship between lawmakers and the PMA Group, which the FBI raided in November and is currently investigating. That vote is complicated by McCarthy’s own work on behalf of the group. In the 2008 defense appropriations budget, for example, McCarthy secured $1 million in earmarks for clients of PMA, according to CQ.”