Mitchell Wade and Iran

Convicted felon and Cunningham briber, Mitchell Wade had his fingers in lots of Washington pies. What was his interest in Iran? Wade saw the Bush Administration crony give-away in Iraq and his company, MZM, profited greatly from the "war on terror." So it is likely that Wade was just ahead of the curve with his Iranian Democratization Foundation. Or, did Duke Cunningham share some insider information with Wade?

Wade and the two partners, who have been large contributors to Republican political campaigns, formed the Iranian Democratization Foundation in April 2004, according to incorporation papers filed in Washington.

The timing coincides with a push by opponents of the theocratic regime in Tehran to appropriate more money for democracy programs.

In November 2004, Congress approved spending $3 million to promote democracy in Iran. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month asked Congress for a large boost in funding, to $75 million.

Absent an assist from Cunningham, you have to assume that Wade was canny enough to know where to look to find a new source of crony earmark funds.

UPDATE: We'll more like backdated. TPM has more on Wade's plans for Iran.