Wicker's Earmark Elicits Criticism

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), right, with Gov. Haley Barbour, said he sees no problem with his role in the earmark for Aurora Flight Science. (By Rick Guy -- Jackson Clarion-ledger Via Associated Press)

Records show that Aurora chief executive John S. Langford made his first contribution to Wicker in March 2005. In April, Aurora flew Wicker, Keast and another staffer on a private jet to Starkville, Miss., to attend the opening of the company's new facility there. Under old congressional ethics rules, the private flight was valued at the cost of a commercial flight, or $3,083.

Wicker said the facility is in an area referred to as "the golden triangle," on the border between two congressional districts, where several military contractors have factories. The Aurora plant has created 45 jobs and promises to yield as many as 200, Wicker said.

"It was not a requested earmark from DOD," said Kyle Steward, Wicker's spokesman. "But I will say we had discussions with DOD. They told us no one else is as close to developing this technology as Aurora, and DOD folks are very interested in it, and they see this technology as a need in the future."

On Feb. 5, 2006, after working jointly for Wicker and the Appropriations Committee, Keast left to join Cornerstone. He registered to represent Aurora on Feb. 14, 2006. Cornerstone reported earning $40,000 in lobbying fees from Aurora that year. The same year, Aurora employees donated more than $13,000 to Wicker -- his top campaign contributor that year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Wicker submitted his earmark request on March 22, 2007, less than two months after the one-year cooling off period in which Keast was barred from lobbying Wicker on Aurora's behalf. The company paid Keast's lobbying firm $60,000 in the first half of 2007.

Wicker said yesterday he had been "working with Aurora" long before Keast left his staff, and that he was certain that Keast "complied with all the waiting periods." Wicker said the company is one of several that have donated money to him and benefited from defense appropriations when he was on the subcommittee.

None of that should trouble people, he said. "Basically, I was just trying to create jobs for Mississippians and provide a strong national defense at the same time," Wicker said. "I'm a good vote for a strong national defense. When we can combine that with creating good jobs in Mississippi, in my mind, it's a two-fer."

Research director Lucy Shackelford contributed to this report.