CONFLICTS OF INTEREST–CONGRESS

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST—CONGRESS. Spouses and close relatives of legislators should not be permitted to lobby Congress. This seems obvious. Yet such lobbying is well known and rarely questioned. I don’t want to mention names because I want to be general, but such lobbying is open and notorious at the highest levels in Washington—and in state governments as well. The defense is sometimes made that the lobbyist does not lobby on issues of national importance. Well, of course. One would expect that most of the lobbying would be on matters of small national importance but great value to individuals, such as government contracts. Contrast these blatant conflicts of interest with the rigorous standard that federal civil servants are held to—and comply with strictly and honorably. Years ago I represented one of a number of corporations that were suing the Federal Trade Commission. Depositions were attended by a large number of lawyers representing the corporations and by the lone attorney representing the FTC. The law firm hosting the depositions would generally provide sandwiches at lunch time for the witness, the reporter and the lawyers (of course, thereby saving everybody a lot of time). The government lawyer would not join us, but rather brought his own lunch in a brown paper bag. I have always thought that this was not because he preferred his own sandwiches.