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General Dymanics

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The recent lack of disclosures are not the first time Keane and Fox have failed to mention his business ties and potential conflicts of interest. In 2017, Media Matters reported that Keane repeatedly called for an increase in military spending while sitting on the board of directors of General Dynamics, a major defense contractor. (Keane is no longer a board member at General Dynamics.)

wiki

General Dynamics scandal

In the early1980s, structural welding flaws in submarines under construction were covered up by falsified inspection records, and the resulting scandal led to significant delays and expenses in the delivery of several submarines being built at the General Dynamics Electric Boat Division shipyard in Groton, Connecticut. The yard tried to pass on the vast cost overruns to the Navy, while Rickover demanded that the yard make good on its "shoddy" workmanship. The Navy settled with General Dynamics in 1981, paying out $634 million of $843 million in *Los Angeles*-class submarine cost overrun and reconstruction claims.[78][79] Secretary of the Navy John Lehman was partly motivated to seek the agreement in order to continue to focus on achieving President Reagan's goal of a 600-ship Navy. But Rickover was extremely bitter over the General Dynamics yard being paid hundreds of millions of dollars,[80] and he lambasted both the settlement and Secretary Lehman. This was not Rickover's first clash with the defense industry; he was historically harsh in exacting high standards from defense contractors.[81] It was later publicly announced by a former General Dynamics employee on **60 Minutes** with Mike Wallace that Rickover was right that General Dynamics was lying to the Navy, but by then Rickover's public image was already damaged beyond repair.[]

A Navy Ad Hoc Gratuities Board determined that Rickover had received gifts from General Dynamics over a 16-year period valued at $67,628, including jewelry, furniture, exotic knives, and gifts that Rickover had in turn presented to politicians. Charges were investigated that gifts were provided by General Electric and the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock, both major nuclear ship contractors for the Navy. Secretary Lehman admonished him in a non-punitive letter and stated that Rickover's "fall from grace with these little trinkets should be viewed in the context of his enormous contributions to the Navy." Rickover released a statement through his lawyer saying his "conscience is clear" with respect to the gifts. "No gratuity or favor ever affected any decision I made."[82] Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin, a longtime supporter of Rickover, later publicly associated a debilitating stroke suffered by the admiral to his having been censured and "dragged through the mud by the very institution to which he rendered his invaluable service."[83]

Forced retirement

By the late 1970s, Rickover's position seemed stronger than it had ever been. Over many years, powerful friends on both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees ensured that he remained on active duty long after most other admirals had retired from their second careers.[84] Jimmy Carter's admiration for Rickover was shown by the fact that the title of Carter's autobiography was based on a question that Rickover had asked Carter when the latter was in the Navy ("Why Not The Best?").[85][86] However, Secretary of the Navy John Lehman felt that Rickover was hindering the well-being of the navy. As Lehman stated in his book, Command of the Seas:

One of my first orders of business as Secretary of the Navy would be to solve ... the Rickover problem. Rickover's legendary achievements were in the past. His present viselike grip on much of the navy was doing it much harm. I had sought the job because I believed the navy had deteriorated to the point where its weakness seriously threatened our future security. The navy's grave afflictions included loss of a strategic vision; loss of self-confidence, and morale; a prolonged starvation of resources, leaving vast shortfalls in capability to do the job; and too few ships to cover a sea so great, all resulting in cynicism, exhaustion, and an undercurrent of defeatism. The cult created by Admiral Rickover was itself a major obstacle to recovery, entwining nearly all the issues of culture and policy within the navy.[87]

Secretary Lehman eventually attained enough political clout to enforce his decision to retire Rickover. This was in part assisted by the admiral's nearly insubordinate stance against paying the General Dynamics submarine construction claims, as well as his advanced age and waning political leverage. On July 27, 1981, Lehman was handed the final impetus for ending Rickover's career by way of an operational error on the admiral's part: a "moderate" loss of ship control and depth excursion while performing a submerged "crash back" maneuver during the sea trials of the newly constructed USS *La Jolla*. Rickover was the actual man-in-charge during this specific performance test, and his actions and inactions were judged to have been the causal factor.[88][89][90][91][92] On January 31, 1982, four days after his 82nd birthday, Rickover was forced to retire from the Navy after 63 years of service under 13 presidents (Woodrow Wilson through Ronald Reagan).[93] According to Rickover, he first learned of his firing when his wife told him what she heard on the radio.[49][94]

According to former President Jimmy Carter, several weeks following his retirement, Rickover "was invited to the Oval Office and decided to don his full dress uniform. He told me that he refused to take a seat, listened to the president [Reagan] ask him to be his special nuclear advisor, replied 'Mr. President, that is bullshit,' and then walked out."[95] The Navy's official investigation of General Dynamics' Electric Boat division was ended shortly afterward. According to Theodore Rockwell, Rickover's Technical Director for more than 15 years, more than one source at that time stated that General Dynamics officials were bragging around Washington that they had "gotten Rickover."[96]

On February 28, 1983, a post-retirement party honoring Admiral Rickover was attended by all three living former U.S. Presidents at the time: Nixon, Ford, and Carter, all formerly officers in the U.S. Navy. President Reagan was not in attendance.[97][98]

an 4 22

Toyota Motor Corp. was targeted by the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project with a digital ad campaign this week assailing the company for resuming its political donations to members of Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021.

A new report by the liberal group Accountable.US finds that the carmaker is just one of many Fortune 500 companies that have resumed giving money to election certification deniers.

Vice News indicates that the group says that "hardware giant Home Depot and agricultural equipment manufacturer Deere & Company, donated more than $800,000 last month to Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 election results."

Just in March, the home improvement retailer gave $95,000 to 20 House Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 election results last January. Deere tossed $75,000 to more than a dozen Republicans and aerospace giant Boeing - the second-largest federal contractor in the U.S. - donated $45,000 to 32 different Republicans who objected to the 2020 results, according to FEC records. Boeing has more than $23 billion in federal contracts in FY2021, including the construction of the new planes that will serve as Air Force One.

Also donating more than $20,000 each to multiple GOP members in March were General Dynamics, Motorola Solutions, FedEx and Tyson Foods, according to the data.

According to Accountable.US, House Republicans who voted against the certification of the 2020 election raked in more than $800,000 from corporate and trade group PACs last month. Those groups have donated more than $12 million to Jan. 6 objectors since the insurrection.

“Corporations that have failed to align their political spending with their stated values supporting democracy should stop misleading the public about what they value far more - amassing political influence,” Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US, said in a statement to VICE News.

“It’s short-sighted for any corporation to marginalize concerns from its customers and shareholders when it comes to democracy, because a healthy democracy will always be what’s best for business.”

By far, Home Depot has been the biggest corporate donor to Republicans who voted to overturn the election. Its top recipients include House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy ($456,000), House Minority Whip Steve Scalise ($353,000), and Missouri Rep. Sam Graves ($290,000).

facing so

That same month, factor by which the Trump administration increased the number of children in custody at the ORR shelter in Homestead, Florida, which has been described by critics as a "prison camp": almost 2

Value of the tax break Comprehensive Health Services, the Florida company that co-manages the Homestead facility, got from the state in July 2017: $600,000

Five months before receiving the tax break, amount the company paid to settle a medical fraud claim brought by the U.S. Justice Department: $3.8 million

Value of the contract that Virginia-based defense contractor General Dynamics got to provide training and technical assistance at the Homestead facility: $1.6 million

Year in which the investment firm D.C. Capital Partners purchased Comprehensive Health Services and three other companies to form Caliburn International LLC: 2018

Month in which Caliburn announced plans for a $100 million initial public offering of stock, promising growth because of Trump's immigration policies — plans it withdrew after negative press coverage: 10/2018

Month in which former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a former adviser to D.C. Capital Partners, joined Caliburn's board of directors: 5/2019 ()

In a victory for the movement to end migrant child detention, date on which North Carolina-based Bank of America, Caliburn's chief financier, announced it would no longer work with operators of immigrant detention centers and private prisons: 6/26/2019

General Dynamics is the sixth largest defence manufacturer in the world [1]. Established in 1952, it includes Electric Boat, which built the first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus. In 1982, it added its first Combat Systems unit, Land Systems, which makes armoured vehicles and in 2003, it increased this area of work with the acquisition of the Canadian GM Defense. In 2002, General Dynamics registered a 25% growth in military business. Primary categories of military hardware produced by the company include nuclear submarines, warships, armoured vehicles, and ammunition. General Dynamics is headquartered in Virginia, US, and employs people in the US, Canada, Mexico and the UK.

Contents [hide]

Description

It has four major business segments

Combat Systems includes "Ordnance and Tactical Systems" (formerly Primex Technologies) which includes ammunitions, including those which might utilize depleted uranium penetrators.

General Dynamics Ordnance Systems has been the prime contractor for the Hydra-70 rocket system since 1995 and is teamed with PRIMEX of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Alliant Techsystems of Hopkins, Minnesota. [[2]](http://www.generaldynamics.com/news/press_releases/1999/News%20Release%20-%A0%20Friday,%20June%2018,%201999.htm)

General Dynamics acquired Primex Technologies in 2001. See the Press Release. GD also acquired in that year Spain's leading defense manufacturer, Santa Barbara Sistemas. [3]

General Dynamics acquired Anteon International Corp. in 2006. See the Press Release.

Political contributions

General Dynamics gave $1,039,200 to federal candidates in the 2006 election through its political action committee - 35% to Democrats, 64% to Republicans, and 1% ($10,000) to independent Joseph Lieberman (I-CT). [1]

Lobbying

The company spent $9,364,234 for lobbying in 2006. In-house lobbyists and over 20 lobbying firms were used, including PMA Group, Clark & Weinstock, and Potomac Advocates. [2]

Personnel

Accessed May 2010: [3]

From 2006

Key executives and 2006 pay: [4]

Options

exercised
Nicholas D. Chabraja, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer$4,500,000$21,520,000
L. Hugh Redd, Chief Financial Officer$778,000$115,000
Bryan T. Moss, President Emeritus of Gulfstream$1,170,000$62,000
David A. Savner, Senior Vice President$1,160,000$3,350,000
Gerard J. DeMuro, Group Executive, Information Systems and Technology$1,260,000$1,220,000

Selected members of the Board of Directors: [5]

Contact

2941 Fairview Park Drive

Suite 100

Falls Church, VA 22042

Phone: 703-876-3000

Fax: 703-876-3125

Web: http://www.gendyn.com

Resources and articles

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ 2006 PAC Summary Data, Open Secrets, accessed September 2007.
  2. ↑ General Dynamics lobbying expenses, Open Secrets.
  3. ↑ Directors, General Dynamics, accessed May 12, 2010.
  4. ↑ General Dynamics Key Executives, Yahoo Finance, accessed September 2007.
  5. ↑ Investor Relations, Corporate Governance, Board of Directors, General Dynamics, accessed September 2007.

External resources

Categories:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=General_Dynamics

CIR:

The nation’s vast network of anti-terrorism “fusion centers” for law enforcement have produced shoddy, untimely and often useless intelligence reports that have done little to keep the U.S. safer, a scathing U.S. Senate report concludes.

The 141-page report, a copy of which was obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting, identified problems with nearly every significant aspect of the Department of Homeland Security’s more than 70 fusion centers, which were designed for law enforcement to coordinate their intelligence gathering.

The report marks one of the most blistering indictments to date of the Department of Homeland Security’s domestic intelligence operation. The department, investigators conclude, “has not attempted to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the value federal taxpayers have received for that investment.”

Fusion centers were created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as the best way to get local, state and federal officials to share terrorism-related information, speak with each other and “connect the dots” of terrorist plots before they happened.

Many of the conclusions in the new U.S. Senate Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee probe mirror a CIR report last year on the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence and analysis office, which supports the fusion centers. The report found that intelligence and analysis often produced "intelligence spam" that relied on stale information and provided little valuable analysis, and which was widely ignored by federal counterterrorism officials.

In the rush to stand-up the department’s intelligence arm, the short-staffed office relied heavily on contractors, such as Booz Allen Hamilton and General Dynamics, which reaped millions of federal dollars.

In the new Senate report, investigators found that with the lack of oversight, fusion centers spent money wildly, including a San Diego fusion center that bought 55 flat-screen televisions at a cost of $75,000 to watch the news and display calendars.

Some fusion centers only exist on paper. For instance, taxpayers have shelled out millions of dollars in federal grants for a planned Philadelphia fusion center, but Department of Homeland Security dollars for it have since been frozen, and as of August this year, "the center still did not physically exist," according to the report. 

All told, Homeland Security officials couldn’t account accurately for how much money has been spent on fusion centers, offering an estimate that ranged from $289 million to $1.4 billion, a billion-dollar swing.

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