James C. King

Lt. Gen. James C. King, who retired in November 2001 after serving 33 years in the U.S. Army, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Athena Innovative Solutions, Inc. founded in September 30, 2005, by Veritas Capital, "a leading private equity firm focused on the defense and federal sectors," after Veritas completed the purchase of "selected assets" of MZM Inc.. At the time of the acquisition, King was serving as chief executive at MZM. 

In a June 2005 e-mail sent to MZM employees, which was obtained by the North County Times (California), King "wrote that he took the job" at MZM "only after" Mitchell J. Wade, the owner, "agreed to relinquish all authority and sell the firm." 


 * Note that in February 2004, MZM Inc. won a $222,368 NIMA contract.

King was also a member of the professional staff for the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, also referred to as the Silberman-Robb Commission. 


 * Former Director, Sure Foundation

CIFA
In 2001, retired Lt. Gen. King, who had been working as a consultant to David A. Burtt II, the Director of the Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA), a Department of Defense intelligence agency, left to join MZM, Paul Kiel reported March 3, 2006, for TPM Cafe. CIFA was established in September 2002, and, &mdash; right afterwards &mdash; Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham "helped" his friend Mitchell J. Wade's company MZM "land a $6.3 million contract with CIFA through an earmark. The earmark set aside the money for CIFA, and Cunningham made sure that MZM got the contract. How he made sure of that is not clear," Kiel wrote.

Profiles
King was born March 18, 1946, in Salt Lake City, Utah. "He entered the United States Army as a distinguished military graduate of Utah State University's Reserve Officer Training Corps program. His assignments included tours in the continental United States, Japan, Europe, the Middle East, and a combat tour in Vietnam." 

According to his Gestalt, LLC Advisory Board profile, King is "an acknowledged expert in the development intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence on operations concepts, architectures, requirements, and system solutions. During his 33 years in the U.S. Army, he was involved in foreign and national security policy formulation and implementation, intelligence operations, and leadership of large organizations."

"He established and led the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, a Department of Defense and National Intelligence Agency comprised of 13,000 employees and contractors, created as a result of the merger of eight distinct organizations. He served as the principal architect for the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance input for information superiority and information operations planning and implementation, for the Secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has managed budgets of over $900M, implemented one of the largest digital information management acquisition programs in government, and led the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community effort to establish a national collaborative environment."


 * Note: King served at NIMA from March 1998 until September 2001.

"Lt. General King has a B.S. degree from Utah State University, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Missouri. He is a graduate of the NSA Junior Officer Cryptologic Career Program, Fort Meade, Maryland and the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Lt. General King is a demonstrated leader and accomplished speaker and writer, having written and delivered numerous presentations to Congress, the Executive Branch, and private industry." 

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Congressional Bribery and a DC Sex Scandal

Profiles

 * Profile: Lt. Gen. James C. King, Joint Military Intelligence College Foundation.
 * MZM Inc., Center for Public Integrity.

Articles & Commentary

 * Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough, "Notes from the Pentagon," Inside the Ring, May 18, 2001: Scroll down to "NIMA Under Fire."
 * Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Renae Merle, "Lawmaker's links with contractor raise questions. Calif. Republican on defense panel," Washington Post (Boston Globe), June 19, 2005: "During March, April, and May of 2003 ... Wade, his wife, MZM officer James C. King, and King's wife" gave Republican congressman from Virginia, Virgil Goode's "election campaign a total of $12,000, according to PoliticalMoneyLine.com."
 * Renae Merle and R. Jeffrey Smith, "Pentagon Ends New Work On D.C. Firm's Contract. MZM to Name New CEO as Relationship With Congressman Is Under Investigation," Washington Post, June 28, 2005.
 * Renae Merle and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, "Grand Jury Demands Lawmaker's Documents. Investigation Centers On Ties to Contractor," Washington Post, June 29, 2005.
 * Mark Walker, "Bitterness expressed at owner at center of Cunningham controversy," North County Times (California), June 29, 2005.
 * Katherine McIntire Peters, "Easy Come, Easy Go," GovExec.com, August 15, 2005.
 * Walter Pincus, "Pentagon Agency's Contracts Reviewed," Washington Post, March 3, 2006.
 * Paul Kiel, "The Daily Muck: Today's Duke Cunningham Sentencing Day!" TPM Cafe, March 3, 2006.
 * Laura Rozen, re MZM Inc. and CIFA, War and Piece, March 21, 2006.
 * Justin Rood, "EXCLUSIVE: CIA Nominee Hayden Linked to MZM," TPM Muckraker, May 8, 2006.
 * Justin Rood, "Hayden Aide Assisted in Illegal MZM Donation Scam," TPM Muckraker, May 8, 2006.
 * Justin Rood, "EXCLUSIVE: Hayden Aide Assisted in 2nd MZM Donor Scam," TPM Muckraker, May 9, 2006: "In addition to faking $8,000 in personal contributions to Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) on his company's behalf, government records indicate King faked several thousand dollars in donations to Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA), also."