Scandal - McCain’s Lobbyist Connections

Sen. John McCain has cast himself as a crusader against special interests and Washington's lobbying culture, but his 2008 presidential campaign has been beset by ethics concerns about his ties to lobbyists.

McCain first came under fire in late February, when The New York Times published a story suggesting that McCain's relationship with a female lobbyist was too close for comfort for some staffers. The story was widely criticized, but it offered a glimpse into McCain's lobbyist-ridden campaign staff.

The next month, EADS, a European company, won a $35 billion Pentagon contract because McCain had pushed the Pentagon to open the bidding process to it. Critics questioned whether the three former EADS lobbyists on his staff had influenced that decision.

Then, on May 10, Newsweek reported that McCain's pick to run the 2008 Republican Convention, the CEO of lobbying firm DCI Group, had lobbied for Burma's military junta in 2002. He promptly resigned, as did one of McCain's eleven regional campaign managers who had been the chief lobbyist at DCI Group and also lobbied for Burma.

On May 15, McCain's campaign manager issued a new set of rules requiring registered lobbyists to either resign from the campaign or sever ties with outside lobbying firms and political groups. Even part-time volunteers were bound to disclose any lobbying work. The new guidelines resulted in the resignation or dismissal of several top staffers.

But on May 27, MSNBC reported that McCain's national campaign co-chair and key economic advisor, ex-Sen. Phil Gramm, had lobbied Congress for UBS about the mortgage crisis at the same time he had been helping McCain craft his housing policy. UBS deregistered Gramm on April 18, but he remained a vice president. And by that point McCain had already rolled out much of that policy. Gramm quit on July 18.

Then in August, after the conflict between Russia and Georgia broke out, the Wall Street Journal noted that McCain's top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, had been a lobbyist for Georgia up until March. The Washington Post later reported that Scheunemann had prepped McCain for an April phone call with the Georgian president on the same day that the lobbyist's firm extended its contract with Georgia. McCain has been a staunch defender of Georgia throughout the crisis.

Read a fuller description of McCain's past and current campaign staffers with ties to the lobbying industry and take a look at Muckety's John McCain Relationship Map. The Arizona Republic has also compiled a list of McCain's staffers with ties to the lobbying industry.

McCain Insider Allegedly Had Ties to NRA Spy Op
- ABC, August 19

McCain Defends Adviser’s Lobbying Work
- USA Today, August 18

Lobbying Filings Detail McCain Aide’s Past Work for Georgia
- TPMmuckraker, August 15

In Split Role, McCain Adviser Is Sometimes a Lobbyist
- New York Times, August 14

Did McCain Adviser Engineer Nobel Nomination of Georgian Prez?
- Think Progress, August 13

Aide Advised McCain While His Firm Lobbied for Georgia
- Washington Post, August 13

McCain Adviser Lobbied for Company With Big Biz in Cuba
- McClatchy, August 12

McCain Adviser Lobbied for Georgia
- Wall Street Journal ($), August 11

DHL Deal Gone Sour Haunts McCain in Ohio
- Los Angeles Times, August 8

McCain Calls for Probe of Company He Once Aided
- AP, August 8

High-Ranking McCain Campaign Officials Lobbied For Hess
- Talking Points Memo, August 7

McCain Had a Role in ‘03 DHL Deal That Now Threatens Ohio Jobs
- Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 6