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While much of K Street has seen a dip during the recession, Tony Podesta has managed to buck the trend. His firm, the Podesta Group, has earned more in lobbying fees in nine months than it did in all of 2008, has nearly doubled its staff and is expanding its office space by one floor. It helps that Podesta is arguably the most recognizable Democratic name on the Washington lobbying scene. Podesta is modest about his success. In an interview with The Hill, he called lobbying “a people business” and credited his success to his staff, listing off a bipartisan...

Top aides to President Barack Obama have met early and often with lobbyists, Democratic political strategists and other interests with a stake in the administration's national health care overhaul, White House visitor records obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press show. The AP in early August asked the White House to produce records identifying communications that top Obama aides -- including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, senior advisers David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett and Pete Rouse, and 18 others -- had with outside interests on health care. The AP in late September narrowed its request to White House visitor records for those...

President Obama has always made a pretty big deal about not working with “lobbyists”. Registered lobbyists can’t get stimulus money, can’t be White House advisors and are not allowed access to meetings and summits. So how does one get around that? It’s simple; you just don’t register as a lobbyist. That’s what Andy Stern did and it may come back to bite him.

"...White House Lawyer for “ethics and government regulation,” Norman Eisen, had this to say, "We think it is no accident that we have had one of the most scandal-free starts of any administration in modern history.” ...Eisen said there have been only three waivers in some 2000 posts filled...Mr. Eisen, check your math, sir. Lobbyists working for the Obama Administration include…Bill Lynn, William Corr, Mark Patterson, Jocelyn Frye, Cecilia Munoz, Naomi Walker and Patrick Gaspard... Assistant Secretary of State Richard Verma was a lobbyist (team Obama decided he didn’t need a waiver because…well, because they decided he didn’t need one),.....

Today, I offer evidence suggesting Ben Barnes, lobbyist for the plaintiff in a lawsuit that could cost San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron $27 billion, has been reading this blog. It takes a while to explain, but I think you’ll find it offers worthwhile and relevant information about the Chevron lawsuit now being tried in a thoroughly-corrupt Ecuadoran legal system.

The independence of American charities has steadily eroded in recent years as more philanthropic institutions have come to see their mission as one of partnership or collaboration with the government. That’s a nice way of saying, “seeking government dough.” Now, in the throes of a severe economic crisis and budget cutbacks at state and local levels, many charities are in a panic about reduced levels of funding. Anyone with eyes to see could have seen this coming.A recent report in The Chronicle of Philanthropy spoke of a California budget crisis where “charities there are braced for steep cuts to social...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the first time yesterday suggested she may be backing off her support of the public option.

Assemblyman Michael Duvall (R) Orange County is caught on a hot mic speaking about spanking and more; talks about relationship with woman 19 yrs younger than the married father; runs from reporter than avoids him.

Durbin on town hall chaos: ‘This is clearly being orchestrated’ Posted: August 9th, 2009 11:04 AM ET From CNN Political Producer Rebecca Sinderbrand WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Senate’s second-ranking Democrat slammed recent town hall protests Sunday as organized disruptions of the democratic process. “We have these screaming groups on either side. That isn't helpful. Let's be honest about this. Town meetings are not bean bag, I've had hundreds of them and sometimes folks get upset. And that's part of America, part of our process,” he told CNN’s John King on “State of the Union.” “But this is clearly being orchestrated...

The all-time champion in HMO money is Barack Obama. Democrats have pulled in twice as much from the insurance industry this cycle as have the Republicans. And the top recipient of HMO money this cycle is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Washington Post Publisher and Chief Executive Officer Katharine Weymouth said today she was cancelling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where, for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few": Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee began work on a bill encompassing President Barack Obama's top legislative priority. It marked the first time since President Bill Clinton's ill-starred attempt in the early 1990s that Congress was tackling such a broad overhaul. But the more important Senate Finance Committee announced it would delay action, as senators sought to retool their proposals to slash the cost by more than one-third, from an intial $1.6 trillion over 10 years, to less than $1 trillion. Of the five major panels working on health care, Finance has the best odds of coming up...

The U.S. Federal Reserve is on track to hire a veteran lobbyist to help manage its relations with Congress at a time of heightened attention to its role in national affairs, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday. The Fed plans to hire Linda Robertson, who previously worked for now-defunct energy company Enron, as well as the Clinton administration. She is currently head of government, community and public relations at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the hiring process was not complete. The Fed believes it will be...

Presidential candidate Obama said: “I am in this race to tell the lobbyist in Washington that there days of setting the agenda are over. They have not funded my campaign, and they will not work in my Whitehouse. That’s why they won’t drown out your voices anymore when I am president of the United States of America.” TDC asks, Americans, is Obama only telling you what you want to hear while listening to and taking marching orders from someone else?

The top 25 US originators of subprime mortgages – the risky assets that sparked the global financial crisis – spent almost $370m in Washington over the past decade on lobbying and campaign donations as they tried to ward off tighter regulation of their industry, an investigation has shown... Most of the top 25 originators, most of which are now bankrupt, were either owned or heavily financed by the nation’s largest banks, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan and Bank of America. Together, they originated $1,000bn in subprime mortgages in 2005-07 – almost three-quarters of the total... The banks, which...

Plenty of folks have noted that the Justice Department has been the landing place for a number of RIAA lawyers. Some have suggested not to get too worked up about this, given that the Obama administration's ethics rules supposedly forbade those lawyers from being involved in issues related to their former work. However, it looks like the limit on these guys is actually quite narrow and for a very short period of time. We'd already noted that the highest ranking former RIAA lawyer, Thomas Perrelli, in his Senate confirmation hearings, said he hoped to use his position to increase intellectual...

Goldman Sachs' new top lobbyist was recently the top staffer to Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., on the House Financial Services Committee chaired by Frank. Michael Paese, a registered lobbyist for the Securities Industries and Financial Markets Association since he left Frank's committee in September, will join Goldman as director of government affairs, a role held last year by former Tom Daschle intimate, Mark Patterson, now the chief of staff at the Treasury Department. This is not Paese's first swing through the Wall Street-Congress revolving door: he previously worked at JP Morgan and Mercantile Bankshares, and in between served as senior...

WASHINGTON — Federal law enforcement officials who raided the lobbyist Paul Magliocchetti’s PMA Group appear to be examining the firm’s relationship with Representative Peter J. Visclosky, a low-profile lawmaker with big influence over federal spending, people familiar with the matter said this week. One person with knowledge of the investigation into the PMA Group said prosecutors had asked specific questions about Mr. Visclosky and his staff. Two people close to Mr. Visclosky, an Indiana Democrat, said he was taking steps to prepare for legal scrutiny, including retaining lawyers to review his compliance with campaign finance laws. All spoke on condition...

President Barack Obama may be uneasy with lobbyists, but lobbyists are easily finding business during the first months of his new presidency. The Sunlight Foundation reported that lobbying firms and special interest groups filed nearly 1,700 new registration forms in the first quarter of 2009. (That’s likely about 400 more new registrations than during the same period last year, though reporting isn’t yet complete.) Lobbyists reported to the Senate Office of Public Records, and took on clients from Microsoft to MillerCoors less than two years after Obama told crowds on the campaign trail that lobbyists “think they own this government,...

Earmarks went to Mass. clients WASHINGTON - US Representative Michael E. Capuano, Democrat of Somerville, received more than $60,000 in campaign contributions from donors associated with a high-powered lobbying firm at the center of an FBI investigation, and inserted earmarks for three of the firm's Massachusetts clients into recent defense spending bills. Representative Capuano's earmarks to the firm's clients totaled $4.4 million for defense-related projects. EARMARK TOTALS The firm, the PMA Group, is reportedly under federal scrutiny for using straw donors to funnel illegal campaign contributions to dozens of lawmakers. In an interview with the Globe, Capuano said that he...

Virtually every member of Congress- including Orange County’s six House members and California’s two senators – have shared in $40 million that an embattled Washington lobbying firm and its clients have contributed to lawmakers since 1998. And the biggest O.C. winner in this sweepstakes is Rep. Loretta Sanchez. The firm is the PMA Group, which is the latest Beltway lobbying firm to reportedly be under investigation by the FBI for violating campaign finance laws. The firm’s bread and butter are getting federal earmarks for its clients. According to a tally by the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign cash watchdog,...

President Obama has issued waivers allowing two appointees who were formally registered lobbyists to work for his administration. The waivers ensure the two appointees can work for the administration under his executive order on ethics, which was intended to reform the revolving door between K Street and the government. The waivers were provided for Jocelyn Frye, director of policy and projects in the Office of the First Lady, and Cecilia Munoz, director of intergovernmental affairs in the executive office of the president. The two waivers were announced on the White House blog Tuesday evening, which said the exceptions were granted...

President Obama may not have announced any detailed new programs Tuesday night, but his words will provide special interests large and small much food for thought. Touching on big-money industries such as financial services, housing, energy, healthcare and education, Obama laid out an ambitious agenda even as he pledged to rein in government spending. “Now is the time to jumpstart job creation, re-start lending and invest in areas like energy, healthcare and education that will grow our economy, even as we make hard choices to bring our deficit down,” Obama said. With that short but profound litany of priorities, the...

President's Nominee for Trade Rep, a Lobbyist in 2008, to Take Advantage of Loophole in Anti-Lobbyist Regs On first blush, Ron Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas and President Obama's nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, could seem as though he has an enormous impediment standing in his way to the Cabinet: President Obama's high standards against lobbyists in his Cabinet. As recently as last year, Kirk was a lobbyist for investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., and President Obama has said no one can work in his administration on issues they lobbied on in the previous two years.

We're receiving E-mails from Capitol Hill staffers expressing frustration that they can't get a copy of the stimulus bill agreed to last night at a price of $789 billion. What's more, staffers are complaining about who does have a copy: K Street lobbyists. E-mails one key Democratic staffer: "K Street has the bill, or chunks of it, already, and the congressional offices don't. So, the Hill is getting calls from the press (because it's leaking out) asking us to confirm or talk about what we know—but we can't do that because we haven't seen the bill. Anyway, peeps up here...

NRO---please read the article.

George Mitchell, the former Senate majority leader tapped by the Obama administration as its special envoy for the Middle East, was chairman of the international law and lobbying firm DLA Piper until the end of 2008. Mitchell, a well known rainmaker for the firm, now holds the title of chairman emeritus of DLA's global board. The firm has considerable international reach: It boasts a fast-growing Middle East practice with some big government and private clients, plus offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. Partner William Minor said that Mitchell intends to resign from the firm in several weeks...

Capitol Weekly, a purported online *newspaper for California politics and government,* has a news story out written by Richard Holober, *Oil Severance Fee: For California, the Time Has Come* (Jan. 29) - here: http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?_adctlid=v|jq2q43wvsl855o|xqbmuu5kaslg9n&issueId=xq9ncu7stlxrke&xid=xqaujs7hlvt5nd But who is Richard Holober who stands behind the journalistic curtain like the Wizard of Oz and pretends to tell us that a brand new 9.9% tax on oil extracted off the California coast is way overdue for California? Richard Holober is a lobbyist for labor and consumer organizations including the California Nurses Association, the California Labor Federation, and a member of the Millbrae, California school...

Heard this on Rush Limbaugh - The Washington Times is reporting on this (direct link to Washington Times):EXCLUSIVE: Stimulus has plum for lawmaker's son I already posted the Washington Times article (Free Republic link):EXCLUSIVE: Stimulus has plum for lawmaker's son

A top House Republican is demanding an investigation into whether the more than $2 billion for national parks in the House stimulus package is proper in light of the fact that the chief lobbyist for the National Parks Conservation Association is the son of House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey.

It only took a few hours for President Barack Obama to go back on his executive order concerning the imposition of stricter limits on lobbyists that wish to work for the White House, and CNN's Campbell Brown is quite displeased. Not only did she begin Friday's "No Bias, No Bull" voicing her disgust about "the Obama administration now [wanting] a waiver to its own rule," but she also wrote a commentary about the matter which was published at CNN.com later that evening. For what it's worth Campbell, I'm impressed (video and transcript below the fold, h/t NB reader Patrick, file...

A telecommunications company has confirmed for this columnist that its vice president for policy—who is also an Obama donor and a former lobbyist—is advising Barack Obama’s transition team on telecom policy.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama, who deliberately distanced himself from lobbyists during his campaign and his transition, appointed a defense contractor's lobbyist Thursday to become his No. 2 official at the Defense Department. Obama acknowledged that his choice appeared to break with his self-imposed rules to keep lobbyists at arm's length.

We here in Washington are anticipating a stampede of lobbyists, influence peddlers, media consultants, paid "experts" and self-styled crusaders. Who brought us this onslaught of special pleaders? Why it's Barack Obama, the man who vowed to "change" how Washington works and banish from the political arena all those "special interests" that were depicted as a form of lowlife. Well, this is one Obama promise doomed to fail. The only way to eliminate lobbying and special interests is to eliminate government. The more powerful government becomes, the more lobbying there will be. So, paradoxically, Obama's ambitions for more expansive government will...

It’s bad news when politicians replace markets American Account Irwin Stelzer Now we know what it must have been like for the manager of a Soviet steel mill called before Joe Stalin to explain why he had not met his production quota. We know that not because we have gained access to still-secret Russian archives, but because we watched top automaker executives abase themselves before Congress in an attempt to get $34 billion (£23.2 billion) in emergency loans, in addition to the $25 billion already promised to subsidise the development of greener vehicles. First comes praise for the leader. The...

By CHRIS FRATES on Politico.com One of the leading members of President-elect Barack Obama’s Health and Human Services transition team was an anti-tobacco lobbyist as recently as September, a position that would appear to break a transition team rule that prevents lobbyists from serving in policy areas they have worked to influence within the past year. But in an example of how the tough-sounding rules can provide Obama plenty of wiggle room, the campaign explained how the lobbyist’s work didn’t violate the restrictions. Bill Corr, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, unsuccessfully pushed Congress to give the Food...

WASHINGTON -- A Maryland lobbyist was attacked by a deer outside his home and says the buck repeatedly stabbed him with its antlers, before he was able to wrestle the animal to the ground. Gilbert Genn, a former state delegate from Montgomery County, says the bizarre incident occurred Thursday, as he left his Gaithersburg home to walk his dog, Yuffie. When the deer appeared on the front lawn of his home, his chocolate labrador ran to chase it off, but the buck didn't budge.

There was little in the federal bailout bill that most Americans could wrap their arms, much less their minds, around. What did strike a chord—and one of the rare notes of consensus—was that greedy executives of failed institutions should have to give up their high salaries and golden parachutes before getting a life raft from Uncle Sam. But the CEO’s needn’t be too alarmed. The $2 billion their industry has invested in Washington politicians over the last 20 years will likely bring healthy returns. Pesky details like “who” and “how much” to penalize were kicked down the road or left...

EADS North America has appointed former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) to its board of directors. The American subsidiary of European defense conglomerate EADS — which is also Airbus’s parent company — has been vying for a lucrative contract to provide the Air Force with midair refueling tankers. EADS North America teamed with Northrop Grumman to compete against Boeing for that contract. “Trent Lott brings unparalleled experience and perspective to the EADS North America Board of Directors following a distinguished career of public service,” said EADS North America Chairman and CEO Ralph D. Crosby Jr. “He will provide invaluable expertise as...

Congressional approval of the $700 billion bailout last week marks the beginning of a new debate over how to prevent a similar financial crisis from happening again. “The $700 billion rescue plan is a life-support measure. It may keep our economy from collapsing, but it won’t make it healthy again,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), after he brought to order the first of five hearings his committee will hold in the coming weeks concerning the financial crisis. “To restore our economy to health, two steps are necessary. First, we must identify what went wrong. Then we must enact real reform...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose corruption scandal shook up Washington's power elite and contributed to the Republican loss of control in Congress, was sentenced on Thursday to four years in federal prison. Judge Ellen Huvelle issued the sentence on conspiracy and other charges after federal prosecutors recommended leniency due to Abramoff's cooperation in pursuing corruption cases against lawmakers and former administration officials. He faced a maximum of 11 years under a plea deal reached in 2006.

The family of Joe Biden, who will be officially nominated as the vice presidential candidate of the Democratic Party's 'reform Washington' ticket with Barack Obama Thursday night, appears to be enmeshed in the same D.C. money game that Obama denounces. One of the senator's sons -- Hunter, a Washington lobbyist -- and the senator's brother, James --received a $1 million investment in their purchase of a hedge fund company from the senator's largest political donor, an Illinois law firm, SimmonsCooper. The brother and the son subsequently repaid the $1 million to the law firm, which specializes in representing asbestos victims....

Cleveland nun to close one night of Democratic convention with prayer By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service WASHINGTON – St. Joseph Sister Catherine Pinkerton of Cleveland is not usually one to seek the spotlight, but she will take center stage at the Democratic National Convention Aug. 27 when she gives the benediction to close the party’s third day of business. Sister Catherine, 86, a lobbyist for Network, a national Catholic social justice lobby, will close the convention on the night that Sen. Barack Obama is expected to formally become the party’s nominee for president. The invitation to lead the prayer...

John McCain's top foreign-policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, is a leading expert on U.S.-allied Georgia -- and was a paid lobbyist for the former Soviet republic until March, in the run-up to what has become a major battle between Georgia and Russia. Democratic rival Barack Obama's presidential campaign was quick to try to paint Mr. Scheunemann's dual roles as a conflict of interest after Sen. McCain swiftly took Georgia's side in the dispute, and cited it as evidence that Sen. McCain is "ensconced in a lobbyist culture," as Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan told reporters over the weekend. But given the rapid...

A lobbyist with close ties to the White House is offering access to key figures in George W Bush’s administration in return for six-figure donations to the private library being set up to commemorate Bush’s presidency. Stephen Payne, who claims to have raised more than $1m for the president’s Republican party in recent years, said he would arrange meetings with Dick Cheney, the vice-president, Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, and other senior officials in return for a payment of $250,000 (£126,000) towards the library in Texas. Payne, who has accompanied Bush and Cheney on several foreign trips, also said...

WASHINGTON - The Democratic National Committee, now operating under Barack Obama's fundraising rules, on Friday returned about $100,000 in money from lobbyists and political action committees. The donations were already "in the pipeline" when Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, instituted the standards for the committee, a party official said. Obama imposed the rules to avoid a conflict with his own ban on money from federal lobbyists and PACs. On Thursday he sent one of his top strategists to the DNC to help with its general election operation. Republican John McCain does accept money from lobbyists and PACs as does...

WASHINGTON - John McCain's national finance co-chairman has stepped down, becoming the latest adviser to leave the Republican's presidential campaign because of ties to lobbyists. Former Texas Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler, one of McCain's key fundraisers, resigned after the campaign last week instructed staff to disclose all lobbying ties and to make certain they are no longer registered as lobbyists or foreign agents. McCain's campaign on Sunday confirmed Loeffler's resignation. Loeffler lobbies for the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., which with Northrop Grumman Corp. won a lucrative contract to provide air refueling tankers for the Air Force. McCain helped...

Around noon today, the powers-that-be at NEWSWEEK posted "A Convention Quandary" on our website. In the story, investigative ace Michael Isikoff reported that the man chosen by John McCain's presidential campaign to run this summer's GOP convention--Arizonan Doug Goodyear--was causing some headaches within the ranks. The problem? Goodyear is CEO of DCI Group, a consulting firm that earned $3 million last year lobbying for ExxonMobil, General Motors and other clients--not the most convenient association for a candidate who's already struggling to reconcile his reputation as an anti-special interests crusader with the sizable number of lobbyists on his senior staff. Further...

HR4774 On March 5th, the US House of Representatives unanimously approved the naming of a Post Office after Cyndi Taylor Krier. Normally, a vote like this would not make news in The Daily Congressional. This, however, is a special case. According to The Washington Post“One of Washington’s minor traditions is to name post offices after heroes, usually recently deceased. A lot of them have been named recently for service members killed in Iraq. But Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) has taken a new approach. He’s pushing to name a post office after a prominent, very-much-alive lobbyist. And that’s not all. His...

Howie Carr live thread, starting off with his Sunday Boston Herald column