Name: Vicki Lee Iseman DOB: October 1967 Home State: Pennsylvania Education: Indiana University in Pennsylvania, class of 1990 Links To McCain McCain’s Close Relationship With Lobbyist Worried Advisers On 2000 Campaign. Advisers from McCain’s 2000 campaign for president were worried about the extent of a relationship between McCain and Vicki Iseman. According to the New York Times, “A female lobbyist had been turning up with him at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a client’s corporate jet. Convinced the relationship had become romantic, some of his top advisers intervened to protect the candidate from himself — instructing staff members to block the woman’s access, privately warning her away and repeatedly confronting him, several people involved in the campaign said on the condition of anonymity.” [New York Times, 2/21/08] • McCain’s Advisers Noticed A ‘Close Bond’ Between McCain And Iseman. According to the New York Times, McCain and Iseman “both say they never had a romantic relationship. But to his advisers, even the appearance of a close bond with a lobbyist whose clients often had business before the Senate committee Mr. McCain led threatened the story of redemption and rectitude that defined his political identity.” [New York Times, 2/21/08] • McCain Was ‘Blinded By Confidence.’ According to the New York Times, “Even as he has vowed to hold himself to the highest ethical standards, his confidence in his own integrity has sometimes seemed to blind him to potentially embarrassing conflicts of interest.” [New York Times, 2/21/08] • Iseman Was ‘Always Around’ McCain’s 2000 Campaign. According to the New York Times, “[Charles] Black said Mr. McCain and Ms. Iseman were friends and nothing more. But in 1999 she began showing up so frequently in his offices and at campaign events that staff members took notice. One recalled asking, “Why is she always around?” [New York Times, 2/21/08] McCain Was ‘Just Like Other Lawmakers’ And Flew On The Corporate Jets Of Iseman’s Clients. According to the New York Times, “…like other lawmakers, he often flew on the corporate jets of business executives seeking his support, including the media moguls Rupert Murdoch, Michael R. Bloomberg and Lowell W. Paxson, Ms. Iseman’s client.” [New York Times, 2/21/08] • McCain & Iseman Flew On The Corporate Jet of Paxson Communications, Iseman’s Client. According to the New York Times, Mr. McCain and Ms. Iseman attended a small fund-raising dinner with several clients at the Miami-area home of a cruise-line executive and then flew back to Washington along with a campaign aide on the corporate jet of one of her clients, Paxson Communications.” [New York Times, 2/21/08] Campaign Staffers Were Concerned McCain’s Relationship With Iseman Was Romantic. According to the New York Times, “…according to two former McCain associates, some of the senator’s advisers had grown so concerned that the relationship had become romantic that they took steps to intervene. A former campaign adviser described being instructed to keep Ms. Iseman away from the senator at public events, while a Senate aide recalled plans to limit Ms. Iseman’s access to his offices.” [New York Times, 2/21/08] McCain Admitted Inappropriate Behavior. According to the New York Times, “In interviews, the two former associates said they joined in a series of confrontations with Mr. McCain, warning him that he was risking his campaign and career. Both said Mr. McCain acknowledged behaving inappropriately and pledged to keep his distance from Ms. Iseman.” [New York Times, 2/21/08] • McCain Wrote Letters To The FCC, Urging the Approval Of Glencairn Deal. According to the New York Times, “Mr. McCain wrote letters in 1998 and 1999 to the Federal Communications Commission urging it to uphold marketing agreements allowing a television company to control two stations in the same city, a crucial issue for Glencairn Ltd., one of Ms. Iseman’s clients.” [New York Times, 2/21/08] • McCain Pushed Tax Incentives For Iseman’s Clients. According to the New York Times, “[McCain] introduced a bill to create tax incentives for minority ownership of stations; Ms. Iseman represented several businesses seeking such a program.” [New York Times, 2/21/08] • McCain Pushed For Expedited Approval Of Paxson Communications Deal. According to the New York Times, In late 1999, Ms. Iseman asked Mr. McCain’s staff to send a letter to the commission to help Paxson, now Ion Media Networks, on another matter. Mr. Paxson was impatient for F.C.C. approval of a television deal, and Ms. Iseman acknowledged in an e-mail message to The Times that she had sent to Mr. McCain’s staff information for drafting a letter urging a swift decision.” The Chairman of the FCC rebuked McCain for the interference. [New York Times, 2/21/08] • McCain Wrote Letters After Paxson Donated More Than $20,000 To His 2000 Campaign. According to the Associated Press, “McCain wrote the letters after he received more than $20,000 in contributions from Paxson executives and lobbyists. Paxson also lent McCain his company’s jet at least four times during 1999 for campaign travel.” [Associated Press, 2/21/08] McCain’s Campaign Planned Two Use A Two-Pronged Attack To Beat the Iseman Story. According to Politico, “The McCain campaign is using a two-pronged attack to push back against the story. First, they’ll argue it was a thinly sourced piece of innuendo journalism. But McCain aides will also strike at the source, using the Times’ liberal reputation as a means of self-defense to draw sympathy from the GOP’s conservative base.” [Politico, 2/21//08] • McCain Denied Inappropriate Ties To Iseman. During a press conference, McCain denied having any inappropriate ties, romantic or professional, with lobbyist Vicki Iseman. According to the Associated Press, McCain insisted that, “It’s not true,” and, “At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust.” [Associated Press, 2/21/08] • Cindy McCain: I Know He Would Never Do Anything To Disappoint Our Family. Despite McCain’s admitted marital infidelity in his first marriage, Cindy McCain said at a press conference, “My children and I not only trust my husband, but know that he would never do anything to not only disappoint our family, but disappoint the people of America. He’s a man of great character.” The Bush White House Jumped To Defend McCain. White House deputy press secretary, Scott Stanzel said, “I think a lot of people here in this building, with experience in a couple campaigns, have grown accustomed to the fact that during the course of the campaign, seemingly on maybe a monthly basis leading up to the convention and maybe a weekly basis after that, the New York Times does try to drop a bombshell on the Republican nominee.” [Associated Press, 2/22/08] YouTube Member Mentioned McCain-Iseman Relationship on Site. A YouTube member calling themselves “EllaLohan” left a comment to a YouTube video of McCain saying, “Ask John McCain about his lobbyist ‘friend’ Vicki Iseman. I dare you…” [YouTube, “Stallone on McCain,” comment, accessed cached version on 2/5/08] Vicki Iseman’s Work As A Lobbyist Iseman Works for Washington Lobbying Firm. Iseman is a partner at Alcade & Fay, a lobbying firm with a large portfolio of clients ranging from municipal governments and public authorities to private companies. Iseman “represents corporate and public clients on issues as diverse as government contracting and regulatory reform” and she represents “clients before Congress, Federal government agencies and local opinion leaders.” Her official bio cites her “extensive experience in telecommunications, representing corporations before the House and Senate Commerce Committees.” McCain was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee from 1997–2001, for a period in 2001, and again from 2003-2005. [Alcade & Fay, http://www.alcalde- fay.com/meet_the_firm/BiosDetail.cfm?id=44] • Iseman Worked her way up from Receptionist. After working for a few months as a receptionist at Alcade & Fay, Iseman walked into the company president’s office and said, “You don’t really know me, but I answer the phones. I’m a college graduate and I’d like you to consider me for a secretarial or an administrative position.” He agreed and within a year she became “his special assistant.” [Indiana University of Pennsylvania Magazine, Fall 2002] • Iseman Became Firm’s Youngest Partner. After eight years at Alcade & Fay, Iseman “became the youngest partner ever in the firm.” [Indiana University of Pennsylvania Magazine, fall 2002] Iseman Billed over $8 Million for Lobbying. Between 1999 and June 1997, Iseman and her lobbying firm billed her clients alone at least $8,005,000 for lobbying services. [CQ Moneyline, accessed 2/4/08] Iseman’s Clients Gave Thousands to McCain. • Computer Sciences Corporation PAC gave McCain $4,000. Iseman has lobbied for Computer Sciences Corporation PAC Since at least 1999, during which time it has given John McCain $4,000 in campaign contributions. The PAC gave him $2,000 to his Senate reelection campaign in 2006, $1,000 to his Senate reelection campaign in 2004, and $1,000 to his presidential campaign in 2000. [CQ Moneyline, accessed 2/5/08] • Executives at Defense Contractor CACI gave McCain Thousands Within Days of Iseman Beginning Relationship with Company. According to Defense News, a part of the Army Times Publishing Company, CACI ranks 43rd in defense contracts and took in over $1.28 billion in Defense revenue in 2006. It receives over 73 percent of its revenue through DOD contracts. CACI executives and consultants have given at least $10,100 to McCain’s 2008 presidential bid, including a $2,300 contribution from CACI Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board J.P.