Exclusive—Republican Jim Bognet Slams ‘Slippery’, ‘Corrupt’ Matt Cartwright for Taking Saudi-Backed Money

Pennsylvania Republican Jim Bognet, running in the Keystone State’s Eighth Congressional District, slammed his “slippery and corrupt” opponent, Democrat Rep. Matt Cartwright, on Breitbart News Saturday, for taking tens of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and corporate PACs with connections to Saudi Arabia.

Bognet responded to the attacks from Cartwright and Democrat-aligned groups about his previous employer’s work with the Middle Eastern country. The Republican told Breitbart News’s Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle that Cartwright’s campaign ads are on a slippery slope.

“[Cartwright’s] taken tens of thousands of dollars from lobbyists for Saudi Arabia,” Bognet said, partially referring to a recent Breibart News story that outlined the Democrat congressman’s hypocrisy. “He’s taking hundreds of thousands of dollars this election and more than a million from the biggest corporations’ lobbyists in the country. People like Boeing and Capital One, and GE — his father was the president of GE Canada [and] he grew up in Canada.”

Bognet explained further that Cartwright has been taking the campaign donations from “huge companies” outside the district to run ads against the Republican, claiming he worked on behalf of foreign countries.

“It is so sick and twisted that you would take lobbyists’ money and corporate money from out of our district to then run ads, accusing your opponent of being what you are. But that’s a slippery and slick and just evil,” Bignet said. “These people are mad; they will do and say anything to protect their power… If we want to change the direction of our country, if we want to turn things around, we can’t keep voting for the same jokers.”

The Keystone State Republican described the stark differences between his upbringing versus Cartwright, illustrating how Bognet’s grandfather was an immigrant and how he worked for a living while the Democrat married into wealth.

“My grandfather was an Italian immigrant coal miner. He had nine children. I drive a car that has 165,000 miles on it. I’m a working person. I come from a construction background. My family owns a construction company. My high school and college education was digging ditches,” Bognet stated. “Cartwright married into the wealthiest family in Scranton, Pennsylvania. They’re a big group of trial lawyers. They sue small businesses. He has earned over $10 million of money, him and his wife, while he’s in Congress, he’s become a multi, multi-millionaire – between $10 and $20 million – and you hit the nail on the head. You know how he gets to work while we’re driving beat up old cars and paying $4 and $5 a gallon for gas. He’s flying a private jet from Scranton, Pennsylvania, down to Washington, DC, and you know who’s paying to park that jet? The taxpayers.”

Bognet went on to explain another recent story about Cartwright, where he was suspiciously silent after reports came to light that he used taxpayer funds to pay the monthly parking fees for his private plane.

Every month, Cartwright pays $425 to the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the New Castle Airport in Delaware. A report from the Washington Free Beacon noted that the monthly price matches the airport’s advertised “small hangar” monthly storage price. The monthly payments to the Delaware River and Bay Authority were marked on Cartwright’s financial disclosures as “Taxi/Parking/Tolls” and “District Office Parking,” despite the airport being outside his congressional district.

Cartwright’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comments at the time seeking clarification about the monthly payments.