McCain In Their Pocket: Lobbyists Work on McCain Campaign Staff
INDIANAPOLIS - Sen. John McCain said Friday that while lobbyists serve as close advisers to his presidential campaign, they are honorable and he is not influenced by corruption in the system.
McCain, who has styled himself as an enemy of special interests, defended having lobbyists working for his campaign. He is the expected Republican presidential nominee.
“These people have honorable records, and they’re honorable people, and I’m proud to have them as part of my team,” McCain told reporters following a town hall meeting in Indianapolis.
The issue of lobbying and influence has arisen in published reports, first in The Washington Post, suggesting that McCain had an inappropriate relationship with a female lobbyist and advanced the interests of her clients. McCain on Thursday emphatically denied the reports.
“I think a lot of people here in this building, with experience in a couple campaigns, have grown accustomed to the fact that during the course of the campaign, seemingly on maybe a monthly basis leading up to the convention and maybe a weekly basis after that, The New York Times does try to drop a bombshell on the Republican nominee.
For his part, McCain refused to comment on the White House statements.
“I don’t have any more comment about this issue. I had a press conference yesterday morning, and I answered every question,” McCain said.
Siding with McCain, the White House accused the Times of repeatedly trying to “drop a bombshell” on Republican presidential nominees to undermine their candidacies.
White House deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel noted at a Friday morning briefing that the story has received a lot of attention. In the mean time, lobbyists are delivering “free” services to the McCain Campaign and will expect a payback when the time comes for the corporate interests to fill up their pockets.