Closed loop: US Department of Defense (Pentagon) → Boeing → Rick Larsen → US Department of Defense (Pentagon)

Involved entities

Inference logic

1. Edge A→B: US Department of Defense (Pentagon) → Boeing (relationship: funding-type, "Rick Larsen received $132,939 in campaign contributions from Boeing Co ($26,939 individuals + $106,000 PAC) over his career (1999-2024). Boeing is the top employer in his district (Everett Factory with 20,000 employees). He voted against the FY2025 and FY2026 NDAAs which fund Boeing defense programs, while touting military pay raises and frigate homeporting secured in those bills.").
2. Edge B→C: Boeing → Rick Larsen (relationship: authority-type, "Larsen served 22 years on the House Armed Services Committee and raised over $1.75 million from defense, transportation, and fossil fuel interests over his career. 73% of his 2017-18 fundraising came from defense and transportation PACs. He was the top Democratic recipient of defense industry contributions among Washington state representatives.").
3. Edge C→A: Rick Larsen → US Department of Defense (Pentagon) (relationship: benefit-type, "Boeing is a major defense contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense, producing military aircraft (F/A-18, F-15, KC-46, P-8), weapons systems, and providing sustainment services. While no specific contract award was found in the automated search, this is a well-established relationship.").
Each edge is independently documented in the connections table (IDs 17749, 17751, 16900). Together they form a directed cycle: money flows from A, authority flows through B, benefit returns to A. This is the structural definition of a closed conflict-of-interest loop.

Source edges (3)

• Boeing ↔ US Department of Defense (Pentagon) — contractor (Boeing is a major defense contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense, producing military aircraft (F/A-18, F-15, KC-46, P-8), weapons systems, and providing sustainment services. While no specific )
• Rick Larsen ↔ Boeing — donor (Rick Larsen received $132,939 in campaign contributions from Boeing Co ($26,939 individuals + $106,000 PAC) over his career (1999-2024). Boeing is the top employer in his district (Everett Factory wit)
• Rick Larsen ↔ US Department of Defense (Pentagon) — oversight (Larsen served 22 years on the House Armed Services Committee and raised over $1.75 million from defense, transportation, and fossil fuel interests over his career. 73% of his 2017-18 fundraising came )

Comparative baseline

Steelman — strongest benign interpretation

Sensitivity

Replication query (SQL)

Anyone can re-execute this query to verify the published value. If the result diverges, the finding auto-flags as stale.

SELECT (
      EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM connections WHERE ((entity_a_id=31234 AND entity_b_id=11224) OR (entity_a_id=11224 AND entity_b_id=31234)) AND (relationship_type ILIKE '%investor%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%donor%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%donation%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%contributor%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%contribution%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%funder%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%founder%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%co-founder%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%shareholder%'))
      AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM connections WHERE ((entity_a_id=11224 AND entity_b_id=94) OR (entity_a_id=94 AND entity_b_id=11224)) AND (relationship_type ILIKE '%oversight%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%regulatory_oversight%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%regulatory%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%regulator%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%committee_membership%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%committee%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%chair%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%appointed_by%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%appointment%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%supervisor%'))
      AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM connections WHERE ((entity_a_id=94 AND entity_b_id=31234) OR (entity_a_id=31234 AND entity_b_id=94)) AND (relationship_type ILIKE '%contractor%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%contractor_relationship%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%client%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%supplier%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%vendor%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%grant_recipient%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%employment%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%employee%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%former_employee%' OR relationship_type ILIKE '%consultant%'))
    )::int AS value

Questions this raises

Each question can be commissioned at the matching investigation tier.

• SEED — $5 What is the timeline of these three relationships — does US Department of Defense (Pentagon)'s support of Boeing predate Boeing's authority over Rick Larsen?
• SKETCH — $20 What is the dollar value flowing on each edge over the past five years?
• SKETCH — $20 Are there public records of Boeing recusing from any decision involving Rick Larsen?
• DOSSIER — $75 Map every contract, grant, or appointment between the three entities since the loop closed.