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Home , Bill Paxon, Bob Livingston, Jack Quinn (politician), Podesta Group, Susan Molinari, Tony Podesta

i$ii ired iiii rr uns $1'l Their weaponsnow areBlackBerries and cellphones. But cclnnections, sany, and fundraising clout are still the kevsto the influencewielded by the ciqzs5O top lobbyists. ,N t)Ni\r) AFTERALUCRAflIVE l2-year run on Capitol Hill, it hasn't bccr.rd.rc bcst of timcs fbr Washington lobbyists, especiallyRepublicalrs. Onc of thc most pror-r-rincntlobbyists, lack Abramofl, nor,v H"n *, resiclcsin (lumberlirr.rcl,Marvlar.rd, a guest of tl-rcFedcral Bu- reau of Prisons. His prosccutior.ror.r chirrgcs of giving illcgal w ,,.fJ gifts ar-rdr-nc:rls to lawrnakerslr-rd cleflaucling clients casta pall over tr profbssionthat, fbirly or not, dicl-r't l-ravcthe best rcpu- tation to begin witl-r. For Rcpublicans who thor-rght thir.rgscoulct.r't ger worse, thcv did. Dcurocrirtswor-r both housesof Congress in the 2006 clections, retnrning sorne old bulls-ar-r-rongthern llar- nev Frank, , lol.rr.rConyers, John Dingell, and Hcr-rryWaxmxn-to powe r. Twelve yearscarlier, new Republican n-rajoriryleader Torr-r Delay instituted tl-reI( Street Project, by r,vl.richloyal fliends of the 1994 Republicar-rrevolutiorr were to be rewarded. Big businesswas none too subtly infbrnted tl.rtrtf'r'ier.rds ar.rd aides of the victors should reap tl.respoils. Democratic powers like Tl.rornasHale Boggs fr. began talk- ing about retirement. Republican staffersand el,en rnembers i

".{qifui! * drui$"1L By Kim IsaacEisler ,, #"* .* Photograph by Gary Landsman "' rd"r."$- $ *:l FF

66 WASHINGTONIAN \ f - ll ry ofCongress, eagerto cashin, left the money,so they come to us." the minding comesin. Even after a bill Hill and beganrecruiting clientswho Depending on the sizeof the project is passedand signed,it is subjectto re- could benefit from their contactsand andthe targetfunding, feescan versal.The good lobbyist can't let his or influence. rangefrom $700,000to $1,000,000 her guard down. Abramoff was just one lobbyist who a year)on the high side.There are no becamea hot property. In 1998, when guarantees-lobbyists are not allowed lN THEWAKE of the Abramoff scandal, we lastpicked Washington's 50 top lob- to work on contingency.Ifthe project questionswere raised,as they periodi- byists,Abramoff ranked 22nd. Shordy is not includedin an appropriationsbill, cally are,about the need for a layerof thereafter he was wooed awayfrom one there is nothing to do but try, try again lobbyistsbetween corporate America or fum by another,whose revenues skyrock- the nextyear,perhaps with a more influ- municipalAmericaand the eted-and whosepartners apparently ential lobbyist. Congress.Lobbyists, almost to a per- didn't look closelyat how he operated. Earmarksare profitable , but manylob- son, write Abramoff off asthe bad apple The amount of money generatedby byistslook down their nosesat that prac- in the barrel rather than acknowledging people claiming to have influence that tice area.Says tax lobbyist |ohn Raffaelli, that the barrel itself might be the prob- can affect legislation,appropriations, "We don't playin that world. Our fum is lem. A few lobby firms haveappointed and agencydecisions is big. Lawsnow more involved in creatingstrategies for ethics officers;most saythey aren't require lobbyiststo file financial-disclo- policiesthat my clientsare advocating." needed.But evengood onessometimes sure forms when they make contact with work in the shadows.As one prominent ((My a legislator.Those forms revealthe min- CRUDELYDISTILLED INTO ttree words,prac- lobbyist observes, greatestsuccess imum that lobbyistscan make.Much titionerssay, the lobbying gameboils down every year is getting something done more moneystill legallygoes unreported -for organizing grassrootslobbying campaigns,advising clients on how they Membersof Congressmake $16b,2oo canlobby, making speeches, contacting regulatoryagencies, and creatingpub- a year.Ex-members make that much lic-relationscampaigns. representinga singleuniversity. A MAJORGROUP ofclients is public uni- versities,hospitals, and municipalities, to "finding, grinding, and minding." without havingmy fingerprintson it." which spendhundreds of millions of You find a clientwith a need,and then On the surface,the lobbying indusuy dollarseach year to win appropriations, you haveto go into the systemand find seemsto be highly competitive. Legal often in the form ofearmarks-language a way to get what the client wantsdone . TimesrecentJy listed 50 firms with rev- designating that funds go to a specific That's the grinding. The minding is enuesof more than $7 million a year. project or institution-that their elected making surethat your languageor your The highest-grossingof the 50, the law representativesdon't havethe time or earmarkstays in the bill until it is signed firm Akin Gump, reported $76 million power ro ger. by the Presidentand isn't axed,thanks in lobbying feeslast year. "Congressionalstaffs are extremely to a rival lobbyist, at the last minute. Law firms, owned by their partners, busy,and often there aren't enough The minding, lobbyistssay, continues are quite competitive.But in recent staffersto do everything," saysa lobby- evenafter your legislationis passed. yearsprivate lobby shops,operating ist who specializesin representingcities. In 2006 a mysteriouslast-minute pro- outside the stricturesof bar-association "Our job is to facilitatecommunicarion, vision that had the effect of prohibiting codes,have proliferated. A little secret packagepriorities, and makesure that online poker madeits way into a port- of Washington lobbying is that three requestsfor funding meet deadlinesand securitybill. Martin Gold, the lobbyist largeinternational advertising compa- get includedin legislation." responsiblefor makingit happen,is with nies own most of the powerful lobby This has createdan odd situation on Covington & Burling, which represents companies.They areOmnicom, based Capitol Hill. Members of the House of the National Football kague. The NFL in , and two London co{pora- Representativesmake $I65,200 a year. wasnot reallyinterested in poker, but tions, WPP and Interpublic Group. Former congressmenlike Bill Paxonof many online gambling sitesalso allow , a former Minnesota con- NewYork and Bob Livingston of Loui- betting on football games.The NFL gressmannow perceivedas one of the sianamake that much representinga wants to stamp out gambling on its most influential Republicanlobbyists, single university,hospital, or water dis- games.It doesn't like that online gam- works for a relatively obscure consult- trict. Livingston's lobby group took in bling sitesmake money off its product ing firm called Clark & Weinstock.But $16 million lastyear, much of it from without paying the NFL for the privi- Clark & Weinstockis owned by Omni- government institutions in lege. Online poker got caught in the com. Omnicom also owns Ketchum, a that he formerly represented. crossfirewhen Gold's provision made largePRfum, which owns the Washing- Two ofthe biggestlobby fums in Wash- it much more difficult to transfer cash ton Group, whose CEO is former con- ington, Cassidy& Associatesand Van from American banksto online casinos. gresswomanSusan Molinari. Omnicom ScoyocAssociates, specialize in earmarks. After the new Congresstook power in alsoowns the giant PRfirm Fleishman- "Public institutions arestarved for fa- 2007, House FinanceCommittee chair Hillard aswell as the Washington lobby cilities," saysStewart Van Scoyoc,who Barney Frank announced that he would companyPorter Novelli. countsdozens of collegesamong his cli- revisit the ban on Internet gaming and British-basedWPP owns three gi- ents. "They can't go to their statesbe- hoped to rescindthe measurethe NFL ant PR companies-Ogilvy, Burson- causethe legislaturesclaim they haveno paid for. That, lobbyists say,is where Marsteller, and Hill & Knowlton. With-

6A WASHINGTONIAN in that framework, the British now own It was thought, after Republicans wasWhite House chief of staff. suchpowerful lobby firms asQuinn Gil- took power in the 1990s,that Boggs's When Republicanscame to power, the lespie&Associates, Timmons & Com- influencewould wane.He talked about former Ted Kennedy aide deftly part- pany,and Wexler & Walker.Interpublic retiring to his EasternShore farm, nered with Republicanstrategist Dan is the owner ofone ofWashington'sbig- where he liked to take House commit- Mattoon, a pal of then-SpeakerDennis gestlobby shops,Cassidy & Associates. tee chairmen on weekend hunting trips. Hastert's.Mattoon hired Hastert's son Wayne Berman, whose homegrown Now, with close friends like John Ding- to work with him. With Nancy Pelosi FederalistGroup turned into Ogilvy ell, Henry Waxman, and Barney Frank now Speaker,Mattoon, the younger Government Relations, owned by \4IPP, backon top, Boggs'slaw firm, Patton Hastert, and Podestasplit up earlier this is typicalin claimingthatthe foreign own- Boggs,makes $70 million a yearfrom year.Podesta and his team of23 lob- ershipis no problem: "It givesus a larger more than 350 lobbying clients. byistsare saidto collect $I2 million to canvasand offices all over the world." His biggest and best-known client, $I5 million in annualbillings. I askedanother lobbyist how people Mars, payshim $2 million a year.In re- would feel if a Chinesecompany rather turn Boggshas for yearsmade surethat 4. , Quinn Gillespie& fu- than a British one owned five ofthe most everyUS servicemanand woman gets a sociates.A former White House coun- influential lobbying firms in America Snickersbar or pack of M&Ms in his or sel to PresidentClinton and confidant with manyformer membersof Congress her rationsalmost every day. of 's, on the payroll. ]ack Quinn has "I never thought of it that way," he re- 2. Robert Dole,Alston & Bird. The jumped to the plied. "I guessthat might be a problem." onetime presidentialcandidate and Re- top ofthe heap publican Senatemajority leaderlet it be offormerDem- THEMOST SUCCESSFUT Iobbyists do known after leaving office that he was ocraticbigwigs. more than representtheir clients' inter- willing to promote anything from Vi- His firm lists

E ests.They alsoraise money from clients agrato Visa to Dunkin' Donuts. Sure revenuesof for the politicians whose favors they enough, of all the US senatorsturned some mil- i $18 z seek.And someof t}reir millions of dol- lobbyists,Bob Dole is at the top. lion a year and E larsin feesgoes to the wining and dining \4/henmany people expressed outrage is growing at I5 percentayear. His client z of legislators,though much of the os- that the managementof outr vitaLsea- feesinclude $560,000 annually from the .;E tensiblegraft has been taken out ofthe ports wasbeing outsourcedto an Arab- Alliancefor Quality Nursing Home Care, 2 q systemwith restrictionson free meals, owned company,Dubai Ports World, and he pulls in millions more from pub- gametickets, and the like. Dole signedon to build public support lic accountants,drug companies,banks, '= With Republicanrule at an end for for the takeover.Dole's fee from Dubai and telecommunicationscompanies. now and Democratsback on top in was$320.000 in2006.The Wall Sneet Quinn and his partner, Republican Congress,there naturallyare changes in in April that Dole had suategistEd Gillespie,sold ownershipof ; Jowrnalreported z who's on top in the lobby world. But accepteda $560,000fee to help a con- their businessseveral years ago to Lon- Republicansare not completelyout of troversialRussian billionaire under sus- don-basedWPP. The saleno doubt net- luck. The 5l-49 makeupof the Senate picion in Russiafor bribery obtain a visa ted Quinn millions. His greatestlobbying is tenuous.As one GOP-orientedlob- to the United States.Dole, who sayshe coupremains his mostnotorious-win- byist says,"We are down but not out. doesn'tlobby his wife or other members ning a presidentialpardon forinternational $ The Democratscan't get anythingdone ofthe Senate,persuaded the StateDe- financing fugitive Marc Rich asPresident o in the Senatewithout us." Partm€ntto grant the visa. Clinton wasleaving the White llouse. After culling the lobby disclosurere- At 83, Dole is describedby colleagues ports and checkingon who hasgotten asan unreconstructedworkaholic who 5.Vin Webef Clark & Weinstock.The things done, who is likely to get things hasnever been happier-and certainly past 12 yearshave been good onesfor done in the next few years,and who has nor more ProsPerous. Minnesotaex-congressman Vin Weber, the best connectionsand influence, we once a neighbor of 's in presentWashington's 50 top lobbyists. 3. ,. A Arlington. Rather than join the Gin- native who came to Washing- grich revolution,Weber decided to take 1. ThomasHale Boggt Patton Boggs. ton in 1970 to work for Common Cause, advantageof it. He becamethe Wash- His fatherwasDemocratic House majority Tony Podestahas apractice that's changed ington faceofa once-obscureNewYork leader.FIis mother succeededher husband in recent years.Once associatedwith law firm and built it into a ten-person, in Congressaf- high-tech and mediaclients, he recendy $9 -million lobblng practice. ter his deathin a was hired by British Petroleum, whose Weberhas received more than $2 mil- plane crash.His pipelineproblems and refineryfues have lion in recent yearsfrom BNP Paribas,a sisteris a lead- createdregulatory and public-relationsis- French bankinvolved in the controversial ing Washington sues.Podesta has quiedy beenguiding BP oil-for-food program journalist.An- through congressionalhearings. under which SaddamHussein is saidto other sisterwas He also representsLockheed Martin havepocketed some $10 billion. Weber a New ]ersey and GeneralDynamics, trying to sell steeredbank executivest}rough a gannt- mayor. But this Congressand the Pentagonon another let ofcongressionalhearings and expla- son ofWashing- versionof their Stryker troop-transport nations to the lYhite Flouse and State ton power, never elected to political office, vehicle. During the Clinton administra- Department,and BNP Paribasemerged surpassesthem all in influence. tion, it didn't hurt that brother John (coNtrNuro oN PAGE t14)

JUNE 2OO7 69 40. KennethKieq Clark ConsultingFed- 43. Charles Brain, Capitol Hill Strategies. & Partners.A former aide to Democratic eral Policy Group. Probablythe leading A former aide to once-powerfi;l congressman SenatorBill Bradleyand a graduateofthe pure tax lobbyistin Washington,Kies once Dan Rostenkowski, Brain saw his lobbying University ofVirginia Law School, Podesta was chair of the tax practice at the Wash- career going down when his boss and men- is well known asa patron of the ars. Sheand ington office ofwhite-shoe law firm Baker tor went up the river for fraud and embezzle- lobbyist husbandTony Podestacollect con- & Hostetler. He is a former chief counsel ment. Brain left lobbying and joined the Clin- temporary art and keepa home in Venice, of the HouseWays and MeansCommittee ton administration as a congressional liaison. Italy.After severalyears lobbyingwith a Phil- and later was chief of staff for the House- When George W. Bush became president, adelphialaw firm, Podestais on her own. SenateIoint Committee on Taxation. Brain went to work for New York congress- To sayshe has panache is an understate- joined He -basedClark Consult- man Charles Rangel, now chair of Rosten- ment. A Wall StreetJournal profie re- ingin2OO2.His blue-chipclient list on tax kowski's old committee,Ways and Means. vealedthat sheonce had four femalechefs issuesthere is the bestin town. Caterpil- Back in business as a lobbyist, Brain is from Seattleflown in for a fundraiser for lar, Michelin, and Microsoft all count on once again sought by corporations that Washingtonsenator Maria Cantwell. In Kies to keeptheir taxeslow in a political want to get a hearing with the chair. Citi- her first week on the job, FlouseSpeak- atmospherethat could require all of Kies's group, Wachovia Bank, and Prudential er Nancy Pelosiwas seen giving Podesta contactsand experience. are just three that shelled out more than a hug and a kiss.Since then, Podestahas $100,000 each in 2006 for Brain's help. signedup morethan $100,000 a month in 41. HowardVine, DicksteinShapiro. A business,and more is likely on the way. graduateofAmerican IJniversityand George tl4. Florence Prioleau, Pillsbury Winthrop Mason law school,Vine beganlobbying Shaw Pittman. Prioleau was an assistantfor 48.J.C. Watts, |.C. WattsCompanies. 2 with the NationalAssociation of Manufac- domestic policy in the Carter administra- Twice the most valuableplayer in the Or- turers three decadesago and eventuallywas tion, but her ca- angeBowl, the former OklahomaSooner hired by Miami-basedGreenberg Traurig to chet noq like that quarterbackhas parlayed his leadership ! open its Washingtonoffice . He left Green- of Charles Brain, is skillsinto a six-companyorganization. bergTraurig in 2003 becauseofhis discom- her longstanding Electedto Congressin 1994, he left in fort over the lobbying of former partner association with 2002ro go into lobbying. JackAbramoff, now in federalprison after Ways and Means He received$f20.000 from the Bowl pleadingguilty to fraud. If everyWashing- chair Charles ChampionshipSeries last year and the same ton scandalhas a hero,Vine is a nominee. Rangel. Prioleau amount to representthe NASCAR auto- In additionto a full plateofwork on behalf worked with Ran- racing circuit. Watts hasbeen sought out by ofenergy companiestrying to get research gel from 1975 to traditionallyblack colleges and universities = appropriationsand tax benefitsfor more-ef- 1979. After20 yearsat PattonBoggs, this including Grambling and MississippiVal- -' ficient energyprojects, Vine doespro bono yearPrioleau is suddenlya hot property. Iey State.His personality,high profile, and work for groups promoting gay marriage a The Goucher College and Georgetown ability to get along with alliesand opponents a and for the proposedNational Music Cen- law grad is marriedto sporrsagenr Bill alikeput him in good position to continue ; ter at DC's old CarnegieLibrary. Strickland,who guided the earlycareer of to do well no mafterwho is in power. :. Andre Agassi.As part of her practicerep-

42. , the Washington resentingcities, Prioleau helps coordinate 49. Steven Elmendorf,Elmendorf Strat- f Group. This bubbly former congresswom- appropriationsrequests from clientssuch egies.For this veteranDemocratic opera- an pursuedseveral career paths, including asAtlanta and Cleveland. tive, his party'sreturn to power signalslots = a stint as anchor of work. Elmendorf was senior adviserto for CBS NewsSat- 45146.BruceMehlman and David Cast- former DemocraticHouse majority leader €. wrd.ayMorning, agnetti, MehlmanVogel Castagnetti.Uni- Richard Gephardt,and he maintainsclose d beforefinding her versityof Virginia law grad Bruce Mehl- links with most of the Flouse leadersand € callingas a lobby- man wasonce telecommunications-policy committeechairs. In 2006 Elmendorfwas f ist. Molinari has counselfor CiscoSystems, the big high- registeredfor only about $60,000worth of been tappedby tech company.l{e went to the Commerce business,but he is saidto havetripled his cli- the worldwide PR Department after that, and now he is one ent roster this year.FIe's now working on a agencyKetchum ofthe undisputedexperts on high-tech is- pension-reform bill for Northwest Airlines. to be the top per- sues.With strong GOP connectionsin the son in Washingtonfor its lobbying subsid- HouseofRepresentatives, where he hasalso s0.John EdwardPorter, Hogan & Hart- iary,where sheis halfof a lobbying duo with worked,Mehlman attracts$322,000 a year son. An Illinois congressmanfor 2I years, former Tom Daschleaide Rita kwis. from IBM and $240,000 from Hewlett- Porterhelped write manylaws on SocialSe - Molinari and Lewis helped land the Packard-just two of some 30 regular curiry and public-healthissues. Today he is $4.6-billion appropriationfor Hurricane clients. consideredone ofthe most knowledgeable Katrina relief on behalfof the Louisiana The changeto a DemocraticCongress lobbyistsfor clientslike the AmericanRed RecoveryAuthority. Molinari also carries shouldn't slow this firm much: Mehlman's Cross,from whom he receives$160,000 a the flag of the Republic of Panama.With principal partner, David Castagnetti,was year.Porter alsorepresents several colleges severalprojects in the works there, includ- chief of stafffor SenatorMax Baucus,now and takesan $80,000 feeto help get fund- ing the widening of the canal,she should chair of the FinanceCommittee, which ing for Chicago'sLincoln ParkZoo. illl/ have no shortage of work. She lives with overseesSocial Security and relatedhealth her husband,Akin Gump lobbyist Bill Pax- programs.His clients include drug and on-they haveneverworked on a project to- pharmaceuticalcompanies. National editor Kirn Eisler has been writing about gether-in Alexandriaand is working on the Wosbington lawyers and. lobbyiasfor wore than 20 years. Somefgures in this article are from the presidentialcampaign of Rudolph Giuliani. 47. Heather Podesta, Heather Podesta Center for ResponshtePolitics and kgal Times. II8 WASHINGTONIAN