Rumsfeld a special guest at Allen West fundraising breakfast

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld appeared today at a Washington, D.C. breakfast fundraiser for Rep. Allen West, R-Fort Lauderdale, with suggested contributions from $500 to $2,500. West, a former lieutenant colonel, resigned from the Army in 2003 after “it was disclosed that he fired a pistol near [an Iraqi] detainee during an interrogation, apparently in an effort to frighten the man into disclosing information about impending attacks.” Rumsfeld was secretary of defense at the time.

According to politicalpartytime.org, the fundraiser was hosted by the Van Scoyoc Associates Political Action Commitee and Marlin “Buzz” Hefti, vice president of Van Scoyoc since 2002 and former principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs in the George W. Bush administration.

Van Scoyoc Associates is a D.C. lobbying firm that “provides companies, nonprofits, universities, research centers, towns, cities, and other organizations with a full menu of services to achieve their goals,” with an extensive list of clients in the United States, including Florida.

According to Open Secrets, West has raised, as of Sept. 30, more than $4 million for his 2012 reelection bid.