When Lobbyists Become Insiders

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Lake's firm also represents the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which owns a majority stake in the scandal-plagued Bank of Credit and Commerce International. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has accused the holding company of hiding evidence of B.C.C.I.'s fraud from U.S. investigators. In April, according to documents filed with the Justice Department, Lake put aside his campaign work for five days and flew to Abu Dhabi to consult with company officials about "strategy and developments." Says Lake: "We gave them advice. That's not lobbying."

Lake and Black have many Japanese clients as well, which led Patrick Buchanan in January to liken the two men to "geisha girls of the new world order" and charge that "Mr. Bush's campaign is virtually a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan Inc." Senior White House officials later pressed Lake and Black to sever ties with their firms to prevent Clinton from capitalizing on the issue, but the effort fizzled. Explains Bush-Quayle counsel Bobby Burchfield: "If you have to sever your ties with business in order to work in presidential campaigns, people will not work in presidential campaigns."

Clinton has not exploited the issue, in part because many of his own advisers do lobbying work too. Clinton national campaign chairman Mickey Kantor is a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Manatt, Phelps, Phillips & Kantor, which represents Japan's NEC Corp., United Airlines and the National Cable Television Association. Democratic Party chairman Ron Brown is an "inactive" but still salaried partner in the Washington law firm of Patton, Boggs & Blow, which represents more than 100 companies, governments and other clients, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Should lobbyists moonlight for presidential campaigns? Montana Senator Max Baucus has introduced a bill to prohibit senior campaign officials from lobbying for foreign interests to "ensure that they do not use their public positions to promote the agendas of their private-sector clients." But the problem isn't only foreign lobbyists. As long as presidential candidates rely on the advice of those whose salaries are paid by special interests, foreign or domestic, they reinforce the impression that government is for sale to the highest bidder.