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Remember when candidate Obama said, “Lobbyists won’t find a job in my White House”? Apparently, he doesn’t. And really, no one who opposed his presidency to begin with is surprised. Even AP and the NY Times is noticing the lobbyists in Washington. And this piece is from the Washington Times:Obama’s lobbyists Their ranks grow in the new administration Thursday, May 7, 2009 During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama declared that, “lobbyists won’t find a job in my White House.” Now President Obama takes a different view of lobbyists.The Senate is expected soon to approve anti-tobacco lobbyist William Corr for the...

Senate lobbying records show that dozens of cities and counties signed up with lobbying firms in the first three months of this year. Their goal is to get a greater share of the money flowing out of Washington, from a record federal budget to the $787 billion economic stimulus package. Some of the communities hiring lobbyists have done so before and are simply shuffling their lineup or adding to it. But others are getting into the lobbying game for the first time. ... The stimulus legislation called for an extra $787 billion in spending, but President Barack Obama also put...

A group called Wall Street Watch is out with a report that finds that “Wall Street investment firms, commercial banks, hedge funds, real estate companies and insurance conglomerates made $1.7 billion in political contributions and spent another $3.4 billion on lobbyists” between 1998 and 2008. The report, "Sold Out: How Wall Street and Washington Betrayed America," concludes that the contributions were “aimed at undercutting federal regulation” and ultimately “led directly to the current financial collapse.” The two men behind the report are California lawyer Harvey Rosenfield of the nonprofit Consumer Education Foundation and Robert Weissman of Essential Information, a Washington...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG Monday, April 27th, 2009 at 1:03 pm Update on Lobbyist Contacts Regarding the Recovery Act In the spirit of transparency, Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, asked us to pass along this update on the President’s restrictions on lobbyist contacts regarding the Recovery Act. President Obama has made historic commitments to putting the public interest first and to cracking down on special interests and, in particular, lobbying abuses. To accomplish that, he has put forward the toughest rules in history closing...

More than nine United States lobbying firms are jostling for the highly paid job of representing the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the country. THISDAY learnt the firms have made their interests known officially by submitting their proposals to the government. Although, the identities of the companies were not revealed, a source who cannot be quoted because he is not authorised to speak to the press, said the matter is before the Federal Executive Council (FEC). FEC is expected to mull over the submissions before them and make an informed decision as to which firm will best represent Nigeria’s interests...

Ex-Pittsburgher in middle of earmark scandalProsecutors investigating Paul Magliocchetti's contributions through his lobbying firm, ties to congressmenSunday, April 05, 2009By Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteWASHINGTON -- Those who know him say Paul Magliocchetti cracked the code of the defense earmark: understand the system so well the people in charge turn to you for clarity. Described as bright, blunt and ambitious, Mr. Magliocchetti left a post as a staff member for the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee more than 20 years ago and set up shop as PMA Group, which became the premier lobbyist for defense firms seeking billions in federal dollars....

(04-04) 13:50 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawrence Summers, President Barack Obama's top economic adviser, earned millions over the past year as managing director of the hedge fund D.E. Shaw Group and through speaking fees, some from financial institutions now at the center of the government's rescue program. Financial disclosure reports released by the White House show that Summers received $5.2 million from D.E. Shaw. He also reported payments for appearances before institutions such as J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. Overall, Summers was paid $2.7 million for more than 40 appearances before different organizations and companies, including financial...

Star Lobbyist Closes Up Shop as Criminal Inquiry Heats Up By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and CHARLIE SAVAGE Published: March 29, 2009 WASHINGTON — For most of the last three decades, the lobbyist Paul Magliocchetti might have been mistaken for an owner of the Alpine, a wood-paneled Italian restaurant across the Potomac River from Washington where he routinely presided over boisterous tables of lawmakers and their staff members. “Get me some oysters! Get me some steamed crabs! Get me a rack of lamb!” Mr. Magliocchetti would tell the cooks, strolling into the kitchen. “Every day a different thing,” the chef and...

The first of an occasional series exploring the varied ways in which California lobbyists and their employers press the levers of power. Special interests spent a record $553 million lobbying California state government in the past two years. For them, it was money well spent. Makers of chemical fire- retardants poured in more than $9 million to kill a ban on fire-proofing chemicals in furniture that consumer groups say cause cancer. The Morongo Band of Mission Indians used $4.39 million to muscle through a gambling deal to let the tribe add thousands of lucrative new slot machines to its casino....

WASHINGTON — The number of significant pro-Iran lobbyists has grown and key players have gained access to the new administration of President Barak Obama, a report said. The Center for Security Policy said veteran Iranian lobbyists, several of them former government officials, have been granted access to the Obama administration. "A complex network of individuals and organizations with ties to the clerical regime in Teheran is pressing forward in seeming synchrony to influence the new U.S. administration's policy towards the Islamic republic of Iran," the report, titled "Rise of the Iran Lobby," said. "Spearheaded by a de facto partnership between...

At first glance, SmartSpark Energy Systems looks like a lot of technology startups. It raised $6 million in venture capital, employs 24 people and doesn’t make any money. What sets the company apart: It has two teams of lobbyists. The first jobs of the federal clean-energy stimulus plan are here -- and they’re for lobbyists. SmartSpark is part of a stampede of technology companies hiring insiders in Washington and state capitals to gain influence. They’re vying for a piece of last month’s $787 billion stimulus package. “There is so much at stake here that there’s an enormous need for entrepreneurs...

Early numbers suggest that the first quarter of 2009 has seen lobbying in the nation’s capital spike by nearly 22 percent over last year, which would be the largest ever increase in lobbying activity — and a strong indication that President Barack Obama has helped usher in a Golden Era for K Street. Between Jan. 1 and March 16 this year, the Senate Office of Public Records received 1,381 new lobbying registrations, which include new lobbying firms, new clients at existing firms, and businesses hiring their first lobbyists. This is the largest batch of new registrations since 1999, the first...

Anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli manifestations reached post-Second World War highs during Israel's recent Gaza campaign. Attacks came from many directions. They included strong condemnations of Israeli actions by several governments as well as partly violent demonstrations in a number of countries. Furthermore, there were physical attacks on Jewish individuals as well as institutions. There was also much hate speech. A number of new hate thresholds were crossed. There were much-increased public expressions of equating Israel with Nazi Germany. Calls for the murder of Jews abounded for the first time in demonstrations in Germany, as well as in the United States. Prominent...

The man behind a $50 billion Ponzi scheme that has roiled Wall Street and shaken up the nonprofit world was also a long-time contributor to Democrats, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has found. Bernard Madoff was arrested last Thursday and charged with operating a fraudulent money-management business with which he advised investors, hedge funds and institutions, including charitable foundations. Madoff made a fortune, and he played politics with some of that money. In total, he and his wife, Ruth, have given $238,200 to federal candidates, parties and committees since 1991, with Democrats getting 88 percent of that. Overall, Madoff...

In a country with an unbiased, watchdog press corps, the Bernie Madoff scandal would have Democrat pols in Washington shaking in their suits, fearing hearings, as many Republicans did during the Jack Abramoff scandal. Instead, you probably don't even know that Madoff is a big supporter of the Democratic Party. How could he not be? Could the Charles Ponzi of today thrive in any party other than the party that memorialized the Ponzi Scheme forever, with Social Security? As Liberty's Apothecary notes: (T)he storyline you likely will never see in any of the mainstream media is the list of Democrats...

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...

Crossposted from No Quarter with permission Just got back from lunch at a Capitol Hill watering hole–the 116 Club. Private place that caters to lobbyists and Senators. I spent most of lunch looking at Tom Daschle’s wife, Linda, who was sitting at a near by table. She’s an attractive lady. I was with a lobbyist who is well plugged in with Democrats and Republicans. So he asked me, “Do you know the nickname the lobbyists have for the stimulus bill?”“No, what is it,” I replied. “FYGK, which means we’re going to f&#k your grand kids.”The irony of the stimulus bill...

“For the better part of three decades, a disproportionate share of the Nation’s (sic) wealth has been accumulated by the very wealthy” - Barack Obama’s “A New Era of Responsibility Barack Obama won the 2008 election based on two factors: American dissatisfaction with the direction of the country and his verbal ability to sway independents, undecideds and knock-kneed Republicans with hopeful rhetoric. Well-meaning, but misguided Americans enthusiastically support him, not wanting to be perceived as part of the problem. Ironically, only by resisting the Obama agenda until their last breath can conservatives now be part of the solution. Many people...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama challenged the nation's vested interests to a legislative duel Saturday, saying he will fight to change health care, energy and education in dramatic ways that will upset the status quo. "The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long," Obama said in his weekly radio and video address. "But I don't. I work for the American people."

President Obama, in his weekly address to the country, said that getting the budget accepted would not come without a fight. And that there are strong lobbyist groups that will fight him on this. But he was elected to look out for the people. Finally the fighting words to the lobbyists: "Bring it On!" Obama is acting like a schoolyard bully on this one, and it is particularly galling. He already has the votes! The lobbyists will not be able to stop any of it. Even if they peel away a few Democrats, the edge is overwhelming to pass this....

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama challenged the nation's vested interests to a legislative duel Saturday, saying he will fight to change health care, energy and education in dramatic ways that will upset the status quo. "The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long," Obama said in his weekly radio and video address. "But I don't. I work for the American people." He said his ambitious budget plan, unveiled Thursday, will help millions of Americans, but only if Congress overcomes resistance from deep-pocket lobbies.

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...

The House voted Wednesday to kill a resolution calling for an ethics investigation into potential quid pro quo between lobbyist campaign donations and lawmakers. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., sponsored the proposal that would have forced the House Ethics Committee to launch a probe into ties between the source and timing of campaign contributions by lobbyists and subsequent legislator requests for special projects or earmarks. While open-ended, Flake's resolution was a direct response to the ongoing federal investigation into the PMA Group, a lobbying company accused of making fraudulent donations to lawmakers using names of people who did not exist. The...

Ben Smith has confirmed that Chas Freeman has been offered and accepted President Obama's invitation to be the Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, the intelligence community's primary big-think shop and the lead U.S. governmental body in producing national intelligence estimates. For the last dozen years, Freeman, the former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, has been President of the Middle East Policy Council (formally known as the American Arab Affairs Council) a lobbying group for the Arab world. One of the group’s primary functions is to publish a quarterly journal called Middle East Policy. The journal is filled with anti-Israel...

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.

Change comes to America, as promised by President Barack Obama, with the establishment of the brand new White House Office of Urban Affairs. This new presidential urban power house is a critical need according to the former community organizer and agitator, because "urban areas are where 80% of the American people live and work." Heading up this high level operation is the controversial Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion along with second in command, New York Governor Patterson's Washington lobbyist Derek Douglas. Michael Mcauliff of the New York Daily News reports Obama's announcement. "The Urban Affairs office will focus on wise...

News broke last week that Rahm Emanuel, now White House chief of staff, lived rent- free for years in the home of Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-Conn.) - and failed to disclose the gift, as congressional ethics rules mandate. But this is only the tip of Emanuel's previously undislosed ethics problems. One issue is the work Emanuel tossed the way of De Lauro's husband. But the bigger one goes back to Emanuel's days on the board of now-bankrupt mortgage giant Freddie Mac. Emanuel is a multimillionaire, but lived for the last five years for free in the tony Capitol Hill...

Marvin Hoffman is listed in campaign finance records as one of the many lobbyists with the powerful PMA Group donating money to lawmakers. But Hoffman is actually a soon-to-retire information technology manager in Marina Del Rey, who has never heard of the Arlington lobbying firm or the Indiana congressman to whom he supposedly gave $2,000. "It's alarming that someone is stealing my identity somewhere," Hoffman, 75, said in an interview. "I've never heard of this company." Another contributor listed as a PMA lobbyist is, in fact, a sales manager for an inflatable boat manufacturer in New Jersey. John Hendricksen said...

Let's x-ray the process that is giving us this so-called "stimulus" bill. The gargantuan spending bill now waddling through Congress is a lobbyist's dream. Do not think for a second that Democrats in Congress dreamed this up all by themselves. The principle behind it -- enlarging the government, creating more lobbyists and then robbing the taxpayers blind -- yes. This is gospel to liberals on Capitol Hill, always decked out in the language of superior morality and compassion. But the details? Please. The Congressional expertise in this area is close to zilch. Members of Congress are dependent on lobbyists for...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders are “concerned” by a widening criminal probe that may involve Rep. John P. Murtha, but sources close to the leadership say there’s no move afoot to force him out as chairman of the powerful Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. “We are watching to see what happens,” said a senior House Democratic aide. “At this point, there is nothing for us to do. There is not a clear indication yet that Mr. Murtha has done anything wrong or that the Justice Department is targeting him in any way, so there is...

Senate clears ex-lobbyist as Pentagon No. 2 Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:06pm EST Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text [+] By Jim Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate approved William Lynn, a former Raytheon Co lobbyist, to be deputy secretary of defense after he received a special White House waiver from strict new rules meant to close a "revolving door" between government and big business. Lynn, the Pentagon's chief financial officer from November 1997 to January 2001 under former President Bill Clinton, was confirmed by a vote of 93 to 4 on Wednesday. Raytheon is...

The FBI raided the offices of a defense lobbying firm with close ties to Democratic Rep. John Murtha (Penn.), sources tell ABC News. The FBI searched the Virginia headquarters of the PMA Group in November, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. PMA was founded by former Murtha aide Paul Magliochetti and specializes in winning earmarked taxpayer funds for its clients. Good government groups have long criticized Murtha's cozy relationship with a handful of lobbyists and defense firms, ties that see millions of dollars in government spending go out from Murtha's office, and hundreds of thousands...

The PMA Group, a lobbying firm with close ties to Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), was raided by the FBI in November, a PMA spokesman confirmed... Developing

In Chicago, Barack Obama’s M.O. was to talk the talk of a reformer and walk the walk of an old-school machine politician. When he got called on it, he did what machine politicians do: He waxed eloquent about his commitment to transparency even as he stonewalled, obfuscated, and lied. That is how convicted fraudster Tony Rezko was transformed, before our very eyes, from a guy Obama barely knew to a contributor who may have helped Obama’s political campaigns, then to a bundler who’d actually raised more than $250,000 (some five times the amount claimed in Obama’s initial admission), to a...

The leading candidate to head the Justice Department office that oversees legal policy and judicial nominations recently has been a lobbyist for several business clients, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and would require a waiver from the Obama administration's recently imposed ethics rules. FOR THE RECORD: An article reporting that Mark Gitenstein is the lead candidate to head the Justice Department office that oversees legal policy and judicial nominations said his nomination would require a waiver from the Obama administration's ethics rules. The article should say it may require a waiver; as the article later states, a Justice Department...

In the end, Tom Daschle had to go, not because of his tax problems, but because he had allowed a glimpse inside the Obama sausage factory. And what folks saw could have made even a certain peanut plant look pristine by comparison. It can be argued that Daschle's tax avoidance was less egregious than Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's, even though the amount was substantially more....

REVIEW & OUTLOOKFEBRUARY 4, 2009 Tom Daschle's Washington His riches illustrate the expanding power of the political class. Just as Tom Daschle's Senate pals were preparing to grant absolution for his six-figure tax-free limousine -- could've happened to anyone -- the former Majority Leader yesterday withdrew his nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. Give Mr. Daschle credit for making the honorable choice, and sparing President Obama from a bipartisan populist revolt. Before this episode vanishes into Beltway lore, however, it's worth drawing a few lessons. Especially because the political left seems to want to make this a...

<p>Just as Tom Daschle's Senate pals were preparing to grant absolution for his six-figure tax-free limousine -- could've happened to anyone -- the former Majority Leader yesterday withdrew his nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. Give Mr. Daschle credit for making the honorable choice, and sparing President Obama from a bipartisan populist revolt.</p>

President Obama is back on the campaign trail. Not literally. But for the first time as president, he is on the stump in the virtual world, heading what political and tech experts say represents Act II of the groundbreaking, tech-savvy political organizing effort that helped take him to the White House. On Monday, Obama hit the keyboard on behalf of his stimulus package, sending e-mails to millions of his supporters through the group called Organizing for America, ( www.mybarackobama.com), a new arm of the Democratic National Committee. The recipients include the army of Americans who signed up for campaign e-mails...

The Times of India claimed that Barack Obama had appointed seventeen lobbyists to high government positions in the first 14 days of his administration. Politico provided a list of twelve of these last week, a handy reference with which we can start building our lists of “exceptions� to the Obama Administration Ethics Policy: Here are former lobbyists Obama has tapped for top jobs: Eric Holder, attorney general nominee, was registered to lobby until 2004 on behalf of clients including Global Crossing, a bankrupt telecommunications firm [now confirmed].Tom Vilsack, secretary of agriculture nominee, was registered to lobby as recently as last...

Robert "Pinata" Gibbs was beaten like an old rug again today at the latest Obama presser. I am actually beginning to feel sorry for this rumpled sad sack who continues to bring a nerf bat to a gun fight. Among today's gems was a new explanation of how Obama could already have seventeen lobbyists working for his administration (revealed by Indian and British newspapers since American papers won't) after looking America in the eye during the campaign and giving us his solemn pledge that no lobbyist's feet would ever touch the floor in his White House. If I understood Gibbs,...

WASHINGTON – Barack Obama promised a "clean break from business as usual" in Washington. It hasn't quite worked out that way. From the start, he made exceptions to his no-lobbyist rule. And now, embarrassing details about Cabinet-nominee Tom Daschle's tax problems and big paychecks from special interest groups are raising new questions about the reach and sweep of the new president's promised reforms. Maybe he shouldn't have promised so much, some open-government advocates say. They're willing to cut him some slack — for now

Too bad the American media hasn’t kept as close an eye on Barack Obama and his promises to clean up government as the Times of India has. Noting that Obama has already issues 17 exceptions to his no-lobbyist rules in the first two weeks of his inauguration, they wonder how it could worse:

From the early days of his campaign, Obama made with the flourish that, should he be elected, lobbyists would not be welcome in his new tone Washington, his Washington of change and hope. Soon after the election, Obama's spokesman John Podesta made a great show of announcing that Obama was insisting on the "strictest ethics rules ever applied" to his ongoing choices for members of his administration and his transition team. In the early November news conference, Podesta proudly proclaimed that Obama was so interested in distancing himself from the old, business-as-usual Washington that they didn't care if they were...

When Barack Obama announced in early December that he had selected Tom Daschle to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services as well as his "health care policy czar," Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi -- who had spent several months studying the inner workings of the 2006 Congress in order to profile its limitless corruption -- wrote the following reaction on his blog...

Obama appointed more than 17 lobbyists after talking big on anti-lobbyist, clean Governance Adrian Nathan Jan. 31, 2009 It is easy to project yourself as a clean politician after making your debut in South Side Chicago with buddies like Rahm Emanuel. US president Obama has appointed more than 17 lobbyists after talking big on anti-lobbyist Governance and rooting corruption out of the American Government. Dreams are dreams. Facts are facts. President Obama is surrounded by corrupt lobbyists ready to sell America cheap. One good silver lining – if Obama Adminsitration’s corruption index is 10, Bush Administration’s was 95. Take the...

Daschle's Lobbyist Wife Might Complicate New Post The newly pegged secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, might be facing some questions about his wife's lobbying activities. President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat to fill the cabinet post, and that of "health czar." The 59-year-old Daschle, according to sources speaking to The Washington Post's Ceci Connolly and Chris Cillizza, is expected to take the jobs. Daschle's new position might be complicated by his wife, Linda Hall Daschle, who is a registered lobbyist with the Washington firm of Baker,...

As he began the transition, President Obama announced with great fanfare that there will be no lobbyists in his administration. The MSM followed up with editorials praising the move of the Obamessiah. Soon after VP "Regular" Joe Biden's Chief of Staff was announced, former lobbyist at the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers Ronald Klain. Earlier this week he named David Axelrod, chief campaign strategist for his campaign as a Senior Advisor. Axelrod is not registered as a lobbyist but that's only because he operates in Illinois, a state with lose rules about registering as a lobbyist. Then he named...

Washington-Based PMA Group Has Close, Controversial Ties To Congressman   WASHINGTON -- WJACTV.com has learned a Washington lobbying powerhouse with close connections to Johnstown Rep. John Murtha is undergoing a shakeup. Its founder, a longtime Murtha aide whose business dealings with the Congressman have attracted scrutiny, could be on his way out. The PMA Group, founded by former Murtha staffer Paul Magliocchetti, might soon part ways with Magliocchetti. Patrick Dorton, a PMA Group spokesman, told WJACTV.com, "There are ongoing discussions inside the firm about its future business structure." Multiple sources told WJACTV.com PMA and Magliocchetti could soon part ways. Several...

(CNN) -- Unfortunately, we are again asking the president to explain why exactly he announced, with great fanfare, new ethics rules if he had no intention of abiding by them. The Obama administration is yet again asking for a waiver to its very own rules about hiring lobbyists. This time, it is the new treasury secretary, Tim Geithner. He wants a former lobbyist for Goldman Sachs to be his top aide at the Treasury Department. My view is simple: Mr. President, if you want to hire former lobbyists because you think they are the best people to do the job,...