Obama's Big Fib

[Warph]

Obama tied to lobbyists, but boasts of not taking money
By Ken Dilanian, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama often boasts he is "the only candidate who isn't taking a dime from Washington lobbyists," yet his fundraising team includes 38 members of law firms that were paid $138 million last year to lobby the federal government, records show.
Those lawyers, including 10 former federal lobbyists, have pledged to raise at least $3.5 million for the Illinois senator's presidential race. Employees of their firms have given Obama's campaign $2.26 million, a USA TODAY analysis of campaign finance data shows.



Thirty-one of the 38 are law firm partners, who typically receive a share of their firm's lobbying fees. At least six of them have some managerial authority over lobbyists.

"It makes no difference whether the person is a registered lobbyist or the partner of a registered lobbyist, if the person is raising money to get access or curry favor," said Michael Malbin, director of the Campaign Finance Institute, a non-partisan think tank.



  OBAMA FUNDRAISER NUMBERS


38
Members of law firms that lobby in Washington

31
Partners

10
Former federal lobbyists

6
Manage lobbyists

$3.5 million
Minimum the lawyers pledged to raise

$138 million
Lobbying fees earned last year by their firms or subsidiaries

Source: Obama for America, Senate Office of Public Records, Center for Responsive Politics, USA TODAY research




OBAMA FUNDRAISERS: Lobbyist ties

These 38 fundraisers for Barack Obama's presidential campaign work for law firms that have lobbying operations in Washington, D.C. The dollar figure reflects the minimum amount each has pledged to raise for the campaign.

                  MIN.
BUNDLMIN.  PLEDGE LOCATION FIRM

Scott Harris  $200,000 DC Harris, Wiltshire and Grannis

Allan J. Katz  $200,000 FL  Akerman Senterfitt

Michael Lawson  $200,000 CA Skadden, Arps

John Levi  $200,000 IL Sidley Austin

Karol Mason  $200,000 GA  Alston & Bird

Thomas J. Perrelli  $200,000 VA Jenner & Block

Thomas A. Reed  $200,000 VA Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis

Christina Tchen  $200,000 IL Skadden, Arps

Tony West  $200,000 CA Morrison & Foerster

Mark L. Alderman  $100,000 PA Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen

Timothy M. Broas  $100,000 MD Winston & Strawn

Peter Bynoe  $100,000 IL  DLA Piper

Gregory B. Craig  $100,000 DC Williams & Connolly

Norman Eisen  $100,000 DC Zuckerman Spaeder

Nicole Lamb-Hale  $100,000 MI  Foley & Lardner

Andrew Schapiro  $100,000 NY Mayer Brown

Charles C. Adams Jr.  $50,000 Switzerland Hogan & Hartson

David Burd  $50,000 DC Arnold & Porter

Tom Cole  $50,000 IL Sidley Austin

Michael H. Dardzinski  $50,000 China Reed Smith

Howard W. Gutman  $50,000 MD Williams & Connolly

Jeff Horwitz  $50,000 NY Proskauer Rose 

David C. Jacobson  $50,000 IL Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal

Hrishi Karthikeyan  $50,000 DC  Covington & Burling

Ronald Kirk  $50,000 TX Vinson & Elkins

William T. Lake  $50,000 DC WilmerHale

Edward Lazarus  $50,000 CA  Akin Gump

Jack Levin  $50,000 IL Kirkland & Ellis

Kenneth G. Lore  $50,000 DC  Bingham McCutchen

Charles B. Ortner  $50,000 NY Proskauer Rose

Susan Pravda  $50,000 MA  Foley & Lardner

Paul N. Roth  $50,000 NY Schulte Roth & Zabel

John Schmidt  $50,000 IL Mayer Brown

Robert M. Sussman*  $50,000 DC Latham & Watkins

Kathryn Thomson  $50,000 VA Sidley Austin

Barry B. White  $50,000 MA  Foley Hoag

Steven M. Zager $50,000 TX Akin Gump

Robert S. Litt  n/a MD Arnold & Porter

* Robert M. Sussman retired as a partner on December 31, 2007. 
Source: Obama for America, Center for Responsive Politics, Public Citizen