ARMPIT of Republican Corruption Scandal:
I know this is confusing, the whole thing is confusing, I de-constructed most of this from the NYT article, but they seem to have done the same to the Post. Here are some new snipits emerging:
Armpac, Americans for a Republican Majority, the leadership committee that raised money for Mr. DeLay, operated out of the offices of Alexander Strategy, the second firm under investigation- founded by Edwin A. Buckham, a close friend of Mr. DeLay's and his former chief of staff, and "a lucrative landing spot for several former members of the DeLay staff, people who are directly involved in the case have said." [NYT]
Mr. Buckham also ran the U.S. Family Network, pseudo-grassroots organization tied to Mr. DeLay that, according to The Washington Post, was financed almost entirely by clients and associates of Mr. Abramoff. People involved in the case said they expected investigators to examine whether Mr. DeLay cast a vote in Congress in exchange for donations to the networkalso connected with Dirty Dukie Cunningham: Cunningham resigned after pleading guilty to accepting bribes from a defense contractor that did business with Alexander Strategy.
Clients included included Microsoft, United Parcel Service, Time Warner, Freddie Mac and Eli Lilly & Company
"DeLay Inc.," designated his extensive network of allies and former aides scattered throughout the lobbying firms in Washington; but word on the street [former aides of his said]is that DeLay responded more quickly to calls from Alexander Strategy than he did for any other firm,
Alexander Strategy's name has also surfaced in the course of a corruption investigation that implicates the defense lobbyist Brent Wilkes, who is an unnamed co-conspirator in the criminal case against former Representative Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham pleaded guilty in December to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from Mr. Wilkes and others. Mr. Wilkes's firm, Group W, also hired Alexander Strategy to do lobbying work, and Mr. DeLay used a plane partly owned by Mr. Wilkes.

The scandals swirling around the Alexander franchise, composed of roughly two dozen lobbyists at its offices on the waterfront in Georgetown, have delighted its former rivals while triggering concerns in the lobbying community that the entire business may be tarred.



Officials Focus on a 2nd Firm Tied to DeLay - New York Times: "For years, Alexander Strategy was one of the crown jewels of the so-called K Street project, an effort Republicans began after taking control of Congress in 1994 to dominate the lobbying industry. The hope, exemplified by Mr. Buckham's company, was for Republican lobbyists to harness the power of their corporate clients to help keep the party in power for years to come.
The successful history of Alexander Strategy since its founding in the late 1990's offers a window into the nexus of Mr. Abramoff, Mr. DeLay and the lobbying world over the last decade or so of Republican control of Congress.
As Mr. DeLay grew more powerful in Congress, the lobbying firm rose in prominence on K Street, building an impressive roster of clients for such a young company and earning, according to records, about $8.8 million lobbying in 2004. That ranked it in the middle of the pack among Washington's largest lobbying firms, but its client list - including Microsoft, United Parcel Service, Time Warner, Freddie Mac and Eli Lilly & Company - suggests what was, at least at one time, a powerful and well-connected operation."