If this Senate enquiry into tax evasion never achieves anything, we will all know why. This is
from WaPo:
Bank officials named in an unfolding Senate investigation have directed more than $2 million into this year's congressional and presidential campaigns, some of it arriving just as investigators finished a report accusing the bank of helping clients hide billions of taxable dollars from the Internal Revenue Service.
At the heart of the probe is UBS of Switzerland, one of the world's largest banks, which in June alone distributed $98,000 to members of Congress through its political action committee...
UBS always has been a major donor in Washington, in addition to spending close to $1 million a year on lobbying. The bank has spent more on the 2008 elections, which are still more than three months away, than during the entire 2006 cycle. The UBS political committee distributed $2.21 million to politicians and political groups over the past 18 months.
Peter Lowy has doled out $92,000 to members of Congress from both parties, while Westfield has handed out thousands more.
Lowy's attorney, Robert S. Bennett, said he had no idea what motivated his client's contributions. "Why does anybody give?" Bennett said. "He's very interested in politics. And he gives to both sides."
