In a post on The Caucus, Michael Luo uncritically quoted -- and The New York Times has yet to challenge -- the assertion by McCain adviser Charlie Black that “I have personally had a policy that, if I'm working in somebody's campaign that I do not lobby they and their staff, since 1984.” In fact, the Politico's Mike Allen reported that while “Black served as an informal adviser to the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign in 2004,” "[l]obbying filings show that in 2003 and 2004, Black's firm lobbied the Defense Department, State Department and Executive Office of the President on behalf of" Fluor Corp. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. According to a search of the Lobbying Disclosure Act Database, in 2003 or 2004, Black's firm lobbied the Executive Office of the President for 12 companies or individuals in addition to those Allen cited. Moreover, during the period that Black was lobbying the Bush administration, he and his wife were “Pioneers” for the Bush/Cheney campaign, raising more than $100,000.
NY Times has yet to challenge claim by McCain adviser and Bush “Pioneer” Charlie Black that he doesn't lobby candidates he works for
Published
In a May 19 post on the New York Times political blog The Caucus, Times reporter Michael Luo uncritically quoted -- and the Times has yet to challenge on The Caucus or in print -- the assertion by Sen. John McCain's chief political adviser, Charlie Black, that “I have personally had a policy that, if I'm working in somebody's campaign that I do not lobby they and their staff, since 1984.” According to Luo, Black “said he is now in retirement after stepping down as chairman of his lobbying firm, BKSH & Associates Worldwide, in March.” But Politico chief political writer Mike Allen reported in a May 19 article that “Black served as an informal adviser to the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign in 2004” and that "[l]obbying filings show that in 2003 and 2004, Black's firm lobbied the Defense Department, State Department and Executive Office of the President on behalf of the Fluor Corp., a U.S. contractor in Iraq. And the filings show that in 2004, Black's firm lobbied the Executive Office of the President on behalf of Occidental Petroleum Corp. on Middle East trade and energy issues." Black was also described an “informal Bush advisor” in a March 8, 2004, Los Angeles Times article (retrieved from the Nexis database). Moreover, during the period that Black was lobbying the Bush administration, he and his wife were "Pioneers" for the Bush/Cheney 2004 re-election campaign, having raised more than $100,000.
According to a Media Matters for America search of the Lobbying Disclosure Act Database, in 2003 or 2004, Black's firm lobbied the Executive Office of the President for 12 companies or individuals in addition to those Allen cited. The filings further indicate that Black “acted as a lobbyist” for each of these clients during this period, though they do not specifically indicate that Black personally lobbied the Executive Office of the President -- as opposed to another governmental entity -- on their behalf.
In addition to the companies Allen cited, in 2003 or 2004, Black's firm lobbied the Executive Office of the President for the following clients:
- Albert D. Huddleston, the chairman of Hyperion Resources. According to an April 13, 2006, Dallas Morning News article, Hyperion “has helped train Iraqi oil workers for the last two years.”
- Authentix Inc., whose website describes it as “the inventor and developer of many of the leading authentication nano-technologies in use today.”
- Magellan Systems International, which “develop[s] and commercialize[s]” the “ultra-high strength, ultra-high thermal and flame resistant” synthetic fiber M5.
- The National Mentoring Partnership, whose "mission" is “to connect kids with the power of mentoring.”
- The Institute for Legal Reform, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
- The information technology company SAP America Inc.
- Mining company Teck Cominco American.
- The health supplement company Vital Basics.
- The National Center for the American Revolution, which manages the American Revolution Center at Valley Forge.
- Pennsylvania-based Bethlehem Steel.
- The Public Broadcasting Service.
- United Parcel Service.
From the 2003 year-end report for BKSH & Associates' lobbying for Fluor Corp.:
From the 2004 year-end report for BKSH & Associates' lobbying for Fluor Corp.:
From the 2004 year-end report for BKSH & Associates' lobbying for Occidental Petroleum Corp.:
From Luo's May 19 post on The Caucus:
When asked when the campaign began considering a conflict-of-interest policy, Mr. Black demurred, saying the question should be deferred to Mr. Davis and Trevor Potter, the campaign's lawyer, but said that “some of it had already been in effect.”
“I can give you an example,” he said. “I have personally had a policy that, if I'm working in somebody's campaign that I do not lobby they and their staff, since 1984.”
Allen's May 19 article:
Charlie Black, a senior adviser for the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), told reporters Monday that he never lobbies candidates for whom he's working.
“I have personally had a policy that, if I'm working in somebody's campaign that I do not lobby they and their staff, since 1984,” Black said, as reported by The New York Times.
But that firm statement could provide fodder for the opposition in the upcoming general election.
Black served as an informal adviser to the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign in 2004.
Lobbying filings show that in 2003 and 2004, Black's firm lobbied the Defense Department, State Department and Executive Office of the President on behalf of the Fluor Corp., a U.S. contractor in Iraq.
And the filings show that in 2004, Black's firm lobbied the Executive Office of the President on behalf of Occidental Petroleum Corp. on Middle East trade and energy issues.
The McCain campaign did not dispute the records, but declined to comment.
Another Republican source pointed out that Black played a peripheral role, participating in conference calls with an array of Bush-friendly pundits.