Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo has retained a Washington law firm that handles white collar criminal cases according to her latest quarterly filing with the Federal Election Commission.
The Congresswoman’s second quarter filing with the FEC shows a disbursement of close to $5,000 to the law firm of KaiserDillon PLLC. The entry on the filing is misspelled, “KaiserKillon,” but the address is the same as KaiserDillon at 1401 K Street, NW, Suite 600.
The Office of Congressional Ethics, through the House Ethics Committee announced last week it was investigating the eight-term Congresswoman, but it did not release specifics, however it was forced to disclose the probe publicly once the case was “referred” to the Ethics Committee itself for further investigation.
The FEC filing shows the disbursement of $4,746 on June 22 which occurred about the time rumors of a Congressional ethics probe involving Bordallo surfaced. It was, however, after the June 12 date the matter was “referred” to the Ethics Committee.
Attempts to reach the Congresswoman’s spokesman for comment on the weekend were unsuccessful.
Adam Carbullido, Bordallo’s communications director told PNC last week the announcement was “the result of a politically-motivated complaint filed with the Office of Congressional Ethics regarding Congresswoman Bordallo’s lodging on Guam,” explaining that Bordallo rents an apartment owned by her sister on Guam while leasing her own property due to her extensive travel.
That home is in Jonestown, Tamuning and is being leased to members of the Japan Consulate Office, according to Democratic Party Chair and a former Bordallo Chief of Staff Joaquin Perez.
Perez, interviewed by House Administration attorneys, said he had signed a non-disclosure agreement, but pointed out the questions dealt with Bordallo’s business, including properties on Guam, and pointed to her lodging and living arrangements there.
The Ethics Committee says “the mere fact of a referral does not itself indicate any violation or reflect any judgment” by the Ethics Committee.
Still, the case may be more serious based on the referral and the nature of the law firm Bordallo has retained.
Two of KaiserDillon’s partners–Matt Kaiser and Jon Jeffress–are former Assistant Federal Public Defenders. Another Justin Dillon is a former Assistant US attorney and the fourth, William Pittard, has handled white-collar matters for more than a decade.
KaiserDillon’s founding partner, Matt Kaiser, was formally sworn in on June 6 as President of the Bar of the District of Columbia, the oldest private voluntary association representing lawyers practicing in the nation’s capital.
The firm’s website boasts a “strong track record of trial work, victories on pretrial motions and negotiations to resolve cases short of a trial.”
Bordallo is Guam’s longest-serving delegate and is the top Democrat on the powerful House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee.
