The Times is publishing a series of articles exploring the causes of the financial crises. The latest is a profile of Sen. Schumer. Senator Schumer plays an unrivaled role in Washington as beneficiary, advocate and overseer of an industry that is his hometown’s most important business. … Donors describe the Schumer pitch as unusually aggressive: […]
Category: LDA
Abramoff Case Development
James Hirni pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit honest services fraud, according to this report and this DOJ press release. The plea came just three weeks after Hirni was fired by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., where he worked as a director of Republican outreach. The charge stems from his last few weeks at Sonnenschein, Nath […]
Zephyr Teachout on Lobbying
Zephyr Teachout, a Duke Law professor, has this interesting and timely piece on lobbying reform in Democracy, A Journal of Ideas (free registration required). Some excerpts: Lobbying distorts American democracy by introducing a pay-to-play scale to the public’s ability to petition the government. It turns our government from a fundamentally public-facing entity to a private-facing […]