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The Lobbyist Ties That Bind

By Matt Cooper

Andrea Chalupa reports from Denver: Try as he might, Barack Obama is finding there's no escaping lobbyist ties in Washington.

Obama has been so determined to keep lobbyists away from his presidential campaign that he disinvited supporter, former senator, and celebrated war veteran Max Cleland from an Atlanta fundraiser last month. Cleland, it turned out, is a registered lobbyist for a company that makes injury recovery technology for soldiers.

Now it turns out Obama's newly selected running mate, Joe Biden, is bringing a some close and personal lobbyist ties to the table.

Several news organizations zeroed in on the career of Biden's son, Hunter. A lawyer and co-founder of the Washington-based law firm Oldaker Biden & Belair, the 38-year-old Hunter Biden has been a registered lobbyist since 2001 and has consulted clients with direct interest in legislation his father helped push through, USA Today reported.

According to the New York Times, the younger Biden consulted from 2001 to 2005 for financial services firm MBNA Corporation at the same time his father was in the Senate pushing for a measure favored by credit-card companies to make bankruptcy protection more difficult for consumers.

The bill passed, and Obama has criticized his G.O.P rival, John McCain, for supporting it.

Hunter Biden's lobbying fees for MBNA Corporation are undisclosed, but the New York Times reported he received, at one time, $100,000 a year on retainer.

In the first half of this year alone, he earned $380,000 for his firm, according to federal records cited by Bloomberg. USA Today said Biden represents nine clients, including five universities and two biotechnology firms.

His firm has even received $208,000 in legal services for his father's two campaign funds since 2005, according to CQMoneyline.

The Obama-Biden campaign assured reporters that Hunter Biden adheres to Senate Ethics and has never lobbied his father. But this revelation on the heels of Obama's VP announcement proves that lobbying is one sticky web in Washington.

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Full post as published by Portfolio.com: Capital on August 25, 2008 (boomark / email).