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Posts Tagged ‘Tom DeLay’
Friday, March 22nd, 2013 by Geoffrey Lyons
THIS MORNING, POLITICO’S Anna Palmer and Elizabeth Titus published an article entitled “Why Republicans still run K Street.” In about 1,400 words, they offer eleven possibilities:
- K St. bet red in 2012 – “Some companies bet that Republicans would take back the Senate and the White House in 2012, beginning the process of scooping up talent months ahead of the election.”
- K St. is plain bias – “’There seems to be a philosophical and political bias against Democrats,’ McCormick Group’s Ivan Adler said.”
- K St. bet red in 2012 AND K St. is plain bias – “The bias toward hiring Republicans was on display over the past two years when corporations and trade groups continued to bet on Romney and Republican chances of taking back the Senate when making hiring decisions and in choosing to retain their top GOP talent.”
- There’s a shortage of Dems – “There are also fewer Democrats coming off the Hill or out of the White House who want to pursue corporate lobbying.”
- Republicans = business (1 of 2) – “The business world tends to hire more Republicans, anyway, since their beliefs align more closely with those of corporate clients, and potential Republican hires tend to have more corporate experience or a proven record leading an association or in-house team.”
- Republicans = business (2 of 2) -“Former Rep. Billy Tauzin told POLITICO that Republicans may dominate downtown ‘because most associations are business groups, which have, generally speaking, a closer association with the Republican Party.’”
- Tom DeLay – “[AKA the] K Street Project, in which then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) helped lead an effort to install Republicans in many of the top trade associations.”
- K St. hires Dems, just not for No. 1 roles – “Many Democrats are hired instead to be the No. 2 lobbyist in the shop, giving associations and companies plenty of political cover on Capitol Hill.”
- K St. is dominated by Republican issues – “There are also many industries — such as oil, financial services and health care — that a significant number of Democrats are unwilling to represent.”
- Administration officials are loath to lobby – “Democrats leaving the Obama White House have also been more reluctant than previous administrations of either party to join the influence-peddling ranks.”
- Powerful friends happen to be Republican – “Veteran Republican Frank Fahrenkopf said personal relationships and the scope of each group’s work matter more than partisan affiliation.”
Tags: Anna Palmer, billy tauzin, Elizabeth Titus, Frank Fahrenkopf, Ivan Adler, k st., lobby, Lobbying, lobbyist, mccormick group, Mitt Romney, Obama, politico, Tom DeLay, U.S. Senate, White House
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on POLITICO on Why K St. = (R) St.
Monday, February 28th, 2011 by Vbhotla
Tom DeLay, the former House Majority Leader convicted on conspiracy to launder money in state elections, and who has often been listen in connection with the Jack Abramoff trials, has established a new legal defense fund to appeal a January conviction.
According to the, in fact, he can now “accept contributions of any type or amount.”
In addition to catching heat for receiving contributions to his defense fund by lobbyists, several Congressmen, including fellow Texan Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tx.) were also noted as having contributed to DeLay’s first legal defense fund, in what some considered a breach of House Ethics rules.
Craig Richardson, a key fundraiser for DeLay while he was still in public office, has been listed one of two trustees of the fund. DeLay was sentenced to three years in prison, which he evaded by posting $10,000 bond, and ten years of community service in lieu of an additional five years on a related charge.
Tags: Contributions, Delay Defense fund, Jack Abramoff, Lamar Smith, legal defense, lobbyists, Rep. Lamar Smith, Tom DeLay
Posted in Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on DeLay establishes legal defense fund
Friday, December 3rd, 2010 by Vbhotla
We would be remiss if we did not in some way mention that Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader accused of money laundering and conspiracy, was convicted on felony charges over the Thanksgiving break. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20, though DeLay’s legal team will surely appeal the conviction.
In other lobbying news:
- President: Howard Marlowe, President, Marlowe and Company
- 1st VP: Monte Ward, President, Advanced Capitol Consulting
- 2nd VP: Jim Hickey, Vice President, Government Affairs, Day & Zimmerman
- Secretary: Pam Whitted, Vice President, Government Affairs, Natl Stone Sand Gravel Assn.
- Treasurer: Kathy Calhoun Wood, Associate, Hurt, Norton & Associates
- Board Members: Michael Aitken, Director of Governmental Affairs, Society for Human Resource Management, Donald Erickson, Director of Government Relations, Security Industry Association, Wright Andrews, Partner, Butera & Andrews
- The group also unveiled a new PR campaign, kicked off with this video, designed to educate on the lobbying profession, the first-ever offensive effort to sway public opinion of lobbyists. President-elect Howard Marlowe is expected to further the campaign to improve popular perception of the profession.
- The resignation of Nick Calio, the former chief lobbyist at Citigroup, who has left the company to pursue a position with the Air Transport Association, has drawn attention to what appears to be a mass exodus from the bank. In addition to Calio, both the top Republican and Democrat lobbyists (Heather Wingate and Jimmy Ryan, respectively) and two other GR staffers have departed as well.
Tags: American League of Lobbyists, Citigroup, Citigroup lobbyists, lobbying PR, Nick Calio, Tom DeLay
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Friday, November 19th, 2010 by Vbhotla
In this, the week of ethical trial decisions, proceedings did not fare well for the defendants.
- The trial of Kevin Ring, the only Abramoff associate to try his luck in court, came to an end Monday, when a jury found him guilty of five felony counts of corruption. Ring took eleven congressional aides and Bush administration officials down with him, along with nine others.
- Tom DeLay, the former Speaker of the House charged with money laundering and conspiracy, did not take the stand in his own defense before his attorney rested his case. Though the case is largely circumstantial, several witness testimonies have implicated DeLay as having been involved in, or at minimum knowledgeable about, the transactions. Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday.
- Rep. Charles Rangle (D-NY) was found guilty of 11 charges, including improperly soliciting lobbying funds and failing to disclose income and assets.
- Though facing investigation, and not actually on trial, conservative backers of American Principles in Action received negative press for not disclosing funds spent on Latino outreach this past election. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is concerned that the group may have exploited the Citizens United decision beyond the Court’s initial intent.
Tags: American Principles in Action, Charles Rangel, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethic in Washington, Citizens United, corruption, CREW, Jack Abramoff, Kevin Ring, Tom DeLay
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly News Round-Up
Friday, November 12th, 2010 by Vbhotla
This week was full of developments, in the wake of several ethic investigations and a massive effort on K Street to prepare for the new Congress. Among the top stories we followed:
- Congresswoman in deep “Waters” over contributions – Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has recently been accused of penning legislation in favor of a firm whose lobbying arm paid her husband $15,000 in consulting fees. Waters was already knee-deep in an ethics scandal regarding her attempts to steer money into her husband’s bank.
- Jurors in the Kevin Ring ethics trial are having difficulty deciding whether or not Ring violated lobbying laws, specifically whether or not he intended corruption. The judge in the case has assisted with definitions, instructing jurors to further deliberations.
- Legislators in New Jersey are discussing whether or not lobbyists should be eligible for pension plans and health insurance. The State Assembly is set to vote on a bill to deny these benefits later this month, citing a new belief that lobbyists are not “genuine state employees.” With jurisdictions nationwide looking to cut spending, there is speculation as to whether or not this could become a national trend.
- Monday, Lobbyists testified in the ongoing money laundering trial of former Rep. Tom DeLay. Lobbyists for Bacardi and Reliant Energy admitted to $70,000 in donations to DeLay during his 2002 election campaign, but his lawyer claims these donations were simply “politics as usual.“
Tags: corruption trials, Kevin Ring, Rep. Maxine Waters, Tom DeLay
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-up
Monday, August 23rd, 2010 by Vbhotla
The government has ended a six-year investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom Delay’s (R-Texas)’s ties to the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The news was relayed by DeLay’s lead counsel in the matter, Richard Cullen, chairman of law firm McGuireWoods, who said he received a call from the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section informing him of the decision and letting him know that it was approved for public knowledge.
The extraordinarily long (more than 6 years) and expensive probe marked the rise of a wave of lobbying scandals that helped Democrats regain the House majority in 2006. In 2005, a Texas court charged DeLay with criminal violations of state campaign finance laws and money laundering. He pled not guilty, citing political motivation for the charges.
Once one of Washington’s top power brokers, DeLay now spends most of his time at his home in Sugar Land, Texas, and recently starred in the reality show, ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ He is also founder and president of a strategic political consulting firm, First Principles, which he launched after he stepped down from his Congressional seat in 2005.
Abramoff was released to a Baltimore half-way house in December 2009. Another figure in the case, ex-Rep. John Doolittle, was cleared in June. Kevin Ring, a former staff for Doolittle, and then a lobbyist for Abramoff, was refused an injunction on his own corruption case by Federal Judge Ellen Huvelle last week; Ring’s attorneys sought to get his case thrown out after the Honest Services Fraud statute was weakened by the Supreme Court in June.
A timeline of charges against DeLay is here from National Journal. A POLITICO article on the DeLay case is here.
Tags: Department of Justice, Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay
Posted in Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on DeLay Investigation Is Over, According to DOJ
Friday, August 20th, 2010 by Vbhotla
We’ve talked about it before… but thank heavens the DOJ cleared DeLay from his corruption charges, or the DC newspapers would have nothing to report on during recess.
Interesting Fox News report on the House Ethics Committee, what indictments and trials and hearings and investigations mean for the body. Here at The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Ethics Process in the House. (h/t Eric Brown).
More on what happened with Target Corp. in Minnesota in this New York Times article, Voter (and customer) beware.
The Office of Government Ethics warns the executive branch about granting ex-post-facto waivers: “Ethics office warns about waivers.” (From the Washington Times).
Paul Magliocchetti entered a not-guilty plea at the federal court house in Alexandria, VA on Friday. He has been charged with, among other things, making illegal campaign contributions. Read a longer story here at the Blog of Legal Times.
Quote of the Week:
“There is no nefarious handshake meeting that is being kept secret… Some participants prefer not to take a high profile… Some like to stay under the radar. But the point here is to get the right answer, and full disclosure and debate is the best way to achieve that.” – Scott E. Talbott, a lawyer and lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, on financial services lobbying, NYT, August 13
Tags: Financial Services Roundtable, House Ethics Committee, Office of Government Ethics, Paul Magliocchetti, Scott E. Talbott, Target Corp., Tom DeLay
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 by Vbhotla
Politico is reporting that the government has ended a six-year investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom Delay’s (R-Texas)’s ties to the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff .
 - Former Congressman Tom DeLay
The news was relayed by DeLay’s lead counsel in the matter, Richard Cullen, chairman of law firm McGuireWoods, who said he received a call from the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section informing him of the decision and letting him know that it was approved for public knowledge.
The extraordinarily long (more than 6 years) and expensive probe marked the rise of a wave of lobbying scandals that helped Democrats regain the House majority in 2006. In 2005, a Texas court charged DeLay with criminal violations of state campaign finance laws and money laundering. He pled not guilty, citing political motivation for the charges.
Once one of Washington’s top power brokers, DeLay now spends most of his time at his home in Sugar Land, Texas, and recently starred in the reality show, ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ He is also founder and president of a strategic political consulting firm, First Principles, which he launched after he stepped down from his Congressional seat in 2005.
Abramoff didn’t get to open a political consulting firm (as seems to be the next career step for ex-politicos). He’s employed, though, this time at a Kosher Pizzeria in Baltimore. Another figure in the case, ex-Rep. John Doolittle, was cleared in June.
Tags: Jack Abramoff, John Doolittle, Tom DeLay
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on DeLay Investigation Ends
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