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Jonathan D. Salant

Washington, D.C.
As seen in: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, LinkedIn, MSN, Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg News, HuffPost, The Washington Post, Aol, Boston.com, SFGate, Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and
Covers:  Congress, New Jersey politics, national politics, polls, lobbying, campaign finance, federal government, government waste, government misconduct & ethics
DC columnist, @PittsburghPG. @SPJDC Hall of Fame. Former president @PressClubDC, @RegionalReports & @SPJDC. @dcmediasoftball player-coach.
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Secret Donors Multiply in U.S. Election Spending

Secret Donors Multiply in U.S. Election Spending

Bloomberg News — In the weeks before last November's election, television viewers in South Carolina were treated to an animated caricature of Representative John Spratt high- kicking in a chorus line with President Barack Obama and then- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "It's the worst economy in decades," the ad intoned, "and the folks in Washington are living it up, spending our tax dollars like there's no tomorrow." That ad and a second one mocking Spratt appeared at least 723 times between Sept. 25 and Election Day and were paid for by a group called the Commission on Hope, Growth and Opportunity, according to ad trackers at Campaign Media Analysis Group, a unit of WPP Plc.
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Google Helped Honor FTC Chairman During Agency Inquiry

Google Helped Honor FTC Chairman During Agency Inquiry

Bloomberg News — Google Inc. (GOOG) contributed $25,000 to honor the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission while the company was under investigation by the agency for antitrust violations, Senate records show. Google donated the money to Common Sense Media Inc., a San Francisco-based advocacy group that gave FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz an award for his work in developing policies to help children, according to a January disclosure report. Google was listed as one of the sponsors of the awards ceremony along with several other companies, including Comcast Corp., AOL Inc. and a charitable arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
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Giuliani Law Firm Lobbies in Texas for Chavez-Controlled Citgo

Giuliani Law Firm Lobbies in Texas for Chavez-Controlled Citgo

Bloomberg News — By Henry Goldman and Jonathan D. Salant March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Rudolph Giuliani's law firm lobbies for Citgo Petroleum Corp., a unit of the state-owned oil company controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the U.S.'s chief antagonist in the Western Hemisphere. Bracewell & Giuliani LLP registered to lobby for Citgo in Texas on April 26, 2005, less than a month after the former New York mayor joined the firm and became a name partner, state records show. Citgo renewed the contract in 2006 and 2007 and pays the firm $5,000 a month to track legislation.
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Bush has his Lincoln Bedroom

Bush has his Lincoln Bedroom

Associated Press — Bush has his Lincoln Bedroom Fund-raisers were overnight guests at Texas governors mansion By Jonathan D. SalantAssociated Press WASHINGTON - Eight of the 31 overnight guests at the Texas governor's mansion last year helped Gov. George W. Bush raise a record $70 million for his Republican presidential bid, documents show. Bush's chief rival, Sen. John McCain, likened the practice to President Clinton's use of the Lincoln Bedroom to house big givers to the Democratic Party.
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Congress Makes NASA Finish Useless $350 Million Structure

Congress Makes NASA Finish Useless $350 Million Structure

Bloomberg News — NASA will complete a $350 million structure to test rocket engines at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi early this year. Then, it plans to mothball the 300-foot-high, steel-frame tower for the foreseeable future. The reason: Congress ordered the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to finish building the facility even though the agency doesn't need it. The tower was designed to test a GenCorp Inc. (GY) engine for a rocket program canceled in 2010. Its funding survived thanks to Mississippi Republican senators led by Roger Wicker, who crafted a provision requiring the agency to complete the work.
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Goldman Favors Romney Over Obama in Race for Wall Street Funds

Goldman Favors Romney Over Obama in Race for Wall Street Funds

Bloomberg News — A year after President Barack Obama signed into law the most extensive financial regulations since the Great Depression, Wall Street so far is putting its political money elsewhere. Employees of Goldman Sachs Group gave Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney $238,250 in the last three months, more than workers at any other company, according to a computer-assisted analysis of Federal Election Commission data. Obama took in $10,113. Four years ago, employees of New York-based Goldman gave $994,795 to Obama and $234,275 to Romney, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group. For both candidates, it was more than any other company's employees.
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Corporations Donate to Groups on Both Sides of Voter-ID

Corporations Donate to Groups on Both Sides of Voter-ID

Bloomberg News — Companies giving at least $2 million to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation -- nearly half of its reported 2010 donations -- also backed an organization championing voter identification laws that caucus members say "suppress" minorities' right to vote. The group, the American Legislative Exchange Council, lists 22 corporate and trade association members on its private enterprise board. Thirteen of those firms also contributed to the black caucus foundation in 2010, according to Internal Revenue Service records and the latest available data on the websites of both organizations. The dual support puts companies, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), AT&T Inc.
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Northrop Boosts Spending as Congress Stands by Its Drone

Northrop Boosts Spending as Congress Stands by Its Drone

Bloomberg News — Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) tripled its political giving and increased spending on lobbying as it fended off Obama administration efforts to cut spending for a version of its Global Hawk surveillance drone. The defense contractor's political action committee made $1.3 million in federal campaign donations during the first six months of 2013. That was second only to Honeywell International Inc. (HON) and three times the $372,000 contributed during the same period two years ago, Federal Election Commission reports show. Northrop spent $9.3 million to lobby from January to June, up from $8.6 million in the first half of 2012, according to U.S.
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From filet mignon to a White House run, here's how N.J. lawmakers spend special interest-fueled '...

From filet mignon to a White House run, here's how N.J. lawmakers spend special interest-fueled '...

NJ.com — Leadership PACs allow members of Congress to collect millions of dollars in extra donations .
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N.J. lawmakers who backed Obamacare repeal invested in health companies during debate

N.J. lawmakers who backed Obamacare repeal invested in health companies during debate

NJ.com — WASHINGTON -- The two New Jersey lawmakers who voted to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act bought or sold securities in health care companies while the issue was before the House, financial disclosure filings show. Rep.
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N.J. is a 98-pound weakling in Congress: How it got this terrible

N.J. is a 98-pound weakling in Congress: How it got this terrible

NJ.com — WASHINGTON -- Hailing from a state that has more people than most and enjoys a high profile across America, you'd think New Jersey's congressional delegation is flexing its political muscle every day in the nation's capital. But an NJ Advance Media analysis that tracks congressional clout paints a different picture.
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You can be dead and stay active in Jersey politics. Here's how politicians influence elections fr...

You can be dead and stay active in Jersey politics. Here's how politicians influence elections fr...

NJ.com — WASHINGTON - The late Gov. Brendan Byrne famously quipped, "I want to be buried in Hudson County so that I can remain active in politics." Of course, the joke was about Hudson County's infamous ballot-stuffing past, when, as legend has it, even the dead could vote.
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Why you shouldn't count Cory Booker out of the 2020 presidential race

Why you shouldn't count Cory Booker out of the 2020 presidential race

NJ.com — WASHINGTON - Does Cory Booker still have a shot? True, the New Jersey senator's campaign for president isn't exactly setting the world on fire. Low poll numbers stuck in neutral at 2 or 3 percent. Not raising the campaign cash like the Democratic frontrunners - or getting even a fraction of the attention.
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Cory Booker just wowed 'em in New Hampshire. Here's how he can do it again in a 2020 run for pres...

Cory Booker just wowed 'em in New Hampshire. Here's how he can do it again in a 2020 run for pres...

NJ.com — U.S. Sen. Cory Booker isn't on the ballot Nov. 6, but he's campaigning as hard as anyone who is. Booker, D-N.J., was in first presidential primary state New Hampshire on Sunday, lending his support and his celebrity to Democrats running for governor and Congress.
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