MURTHA UPDATE: ALL IN THE FAMILY:

Powerful Democratic Rep. John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania has long treated defense contractors as if they are a part of a large dysfunctional family he controls. We are less than surprised he is patriarch of a clan that appears to survive by feeding on the government teat.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that in 2008, nearly $4 million in no-bid Pentagon logistics contracts went to a Glen Burnie, Md., business owned by Robert C. Murtha Jr., nephew of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee chairman. The nephew said he does not advertise his relationship to his uncle and the Pentagon. The Pentagon reportedly says Mr. Murtha did not apply pressure or have any say in hiring his nephew’s not-so-slyly named firm, Murtech Inc. We suspect he doesn’t have to. . . . The family connections to the defense spending Mr. Murtha oversees do not stop with Murtech. The New York Times reported last week that another nephew, Col. Brian Murtha, joined the Marine Corps’ legislative liaison office last July. He was previously a helicopter pilot. Robert C. “Kit” Murtha, the lawmaker’s younger brother and father of Murtech’s owner, was a longtime defense appropriations lobbyist. Mr. Murtha has reportedly directed millions in earmarks to clients of KSA Consulting Inc., where Kit Murtha was once a lobbyist. He also reportedly earmarked millions in federal funding to St. Vincent College when his cousin, the Rev. John F. Murtha, was its president. The family name carries a lot of weight.

Read the whole thing. Plus, from Roll Call: Hoyer Defers Questions About Murtha to Ethics Panel. “With the ethics troubles of Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) continuing to make headlines — and headaches for Democratic leaders — Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday again deferred any action on the matter to the House ethics investigators.” I’m sure they’ve got top people working on it . . . .