Ethics Czar Defends Lobbying Reform Before ‘Tough Crowd’ at ABA Event
Norman Eisen, the former Zuckerman Spaeder parner who is President Obama’s new ethics adviser, says he did consult with lobbyists before instituting new ethics reforms—but only those who could have made valuable contributions.
Eisen defended the reforms and the process at an ABA Administrative Law Conference luncheon on Thursday, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Eisen faced a “tough crowd,” according to the story headline.
Audience members criticized or questioned Eisen for failing to consult before instituting reforms, for allowing some lobbyists who don’t register to slip through the cracks, and for failing to distinguish between lobbyists for corporations and for public interest causes. The audience member upset about a lack of consultation “harangued Eisen,” according to the story.
The reforms restrict registered lobbyists from government employment in areas they lobbied, require disclosure of lobbying or competitive grants for stimulus dollars, and open up White House visitor logs, according to the story.
Eisen said the reforms are working. “We think it is no accident that we have had one of the most scandal-free starts of any administration in modern history.”
But others said the problems caused by influence peddling won’t be solved until elections are publicly financed. One supporter is Harvard law professor Charles Fried.
He said there is no constitutional problem with shutting lobbyists out from government, calling the argument “a true nothing burger,” according to the BLT account. “You have the right to petition, you don’t have the right to be heard,” said Fried, a former U.S. solicitor general.
But Fried said it makes little sense to deny access to lobbyists, who are probably knowledgeable advocates. “The solution obviously has to do with the money.”
