Powerful Lawmaker's Relative Linked Financially to Contractor

Lewis has repeatedly said he was only dimly aware of Wilkes. He recently said that the last time he could recall meeting with Wilkes was "well over 10 years ago," and he said they never discussed federal contracts.

But records show that Lewis traveled to the Poway, Calif., offices of Wilkes' firm shortly before it received one of its first major government contracts in 1998. He met with executives and got a briefing on the company, ADCS Inc., which was formed a few years earlier and sought government contracts to convert paper records to electronic format.

The trip to ADCS headquarters was uncovered by the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog organization.

Speaking of the pattern of trips and other favors provided to Lewis by contractors and their lobbyists, Danielle Brian, executive director of the watchdog group, said: "In essence, what we see here is a well-scrubbed quid pro quo. Although this arrangement may be legal, there is no way it is proper. You can't convince me that the public interest is being served."