John McCain Says He’s ‘Proud’ Of Ex-Lockheed Martin Lobbyist He Hired As Defense Staffer [View all]

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http://www.republicreport.org/2012/john-mccain-says-hes-proud-of-ex-lockheed-martin-lobbyist-he-hired-as-defense-staffer/




John McCain Says He’s ‘Proud’ Of Ex-Lockheed Martin Lobbyist He Hired As Defense Staffer
Posted at 3:48 pm by Zaid Jilani

Earlier this year, we reported that Northrop Grumman gave one of its lobbyists an effective $500,000 bonus when he joined the House Armed Services Committee to make defense policy. It now appears that this isn’t the only pay-out from the industry to a future staffer.

Last week, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) noted that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, hired Ann Elise Sauer, who was a lobbyist for Lockheed Martin last year, as the Republican staff director for the committee in February.

POGO revealed that Sauer received $1.66 million in pay last year and this year from Lockheed, which was described as “RETIRED PAY” in her required personal financial disclosures. This indicates that she received a de facto bonus for leaving lobbying to join government.

In response to the POGO report, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers defended the choice of Sauer, saying, “Senator McCain is very proud of Ms. Sauer’s long, distinguished career working on a range of important defense issues both in Congress and in the private sector.”