It's about using his position on Senate committees to exert direct pressure on government entities for the benefit of his campaign contributors, represented by lobbyists such as Ms. Iseman, cozying up to McCain on their behalf.
Isn't it interesting that Ms. Iseman is, among other things, a
telecommunications lobbyist who represented her clients before Senate and House committees.And, in 1995, John McCain was repeatedly pressuring the FCC about Paxson Communications, a major campaign contributor, to rule on Paxson's desire to purchase a Pittsburgh TV station.
Was Ms. Iseman involved in this Paxson Communications lobbying effort? There's a very good chance of it.And with the outcry occurring now over unchecked media consolidation that has occurred since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, some intrepid investigative journalists should uncover additional ties between Ms. Iseman and Mr. McCain and others.
Vicki Iseman
Vicki Iseman, Partner, represents corporate and public clients on issues as diverse as government contracting and regulatory reform. Her experience includes representation of clients before Congress, Federal government agencies and local opinion leaders.
She has extensive experience in
telecommunications, representing corporations before the House and Senate Commerce Committees. Her work on the landmark 1992 and 1996 communications bills helped secure cable access for broadcast television stations. Her experience in the communications field includes digital television conversion, satellite regulations and telecommunications ownership provisions.She has been active in grassroots communications campaigns for clients, building community based support for legislative initiatives. Among others, she participated in the "Keep America Moving" campaign that educated community leaders on the allocation of Federal highway trust funds.
In addition, she has consulted for clients who are interested in government contracting opportunities. She has assisted corporations through the authorization and appropriation process. An active fundraiser, she has organized and participated in many political fundraising events.
A native of Pennsylvania, she holds a B.A. degree in Education from Indiana University in Pennsylvania.
John McCain: Straight Shooter?By Mollie Dickenson
January 29, 2000
In a classic 1995 example in Claremont, N.H., President Clinton shook House Speaker Newt Gingrich's hand in a mutual pledge to reduce the influence of big money in politics. The problem only got worse.
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Responding to questions at that Dec. 16 event, McCain came across at his straight-talking best.
The 63-year-old senator admitted that "there have been times when I have probably been influenced" by campaign (donations). Many listeners found the frankness refreshing and assumed he was talking about the cause celebre of the 1980s when McCain was one of the notorious Keating Five, named after convicted savings-and-loan executive Charles Keating.
In the presidential campaign, McCain had confided that his intervention with bank regulators on Keating's behalf was the worst mistake of his adult life, one that caused him as much anguish as spending five years in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp. The Arizona Republican said the incident taught him that "the appearance of impropriety" can be as damaging as actual wrongdoing.
But little did his listeners in Claremont know that McCain had just written letters to the Federal Communications Commission on behalf of Paxson Communications, a major campaign contributor. Literally on the eve of the Claremont appearance, McCain was pressing the FCC to rule on Paxson's proposed purchase of a Pittsburgh TV station.
When The Boston Globe disclosed the Paxson intervention a few weeks after the Claremont summit, McCain handled the disclosure with aplomb, even chutzpah. The chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee argued that he had done nothing wrong and that the suspicion falling on him only reinforced his argument for campaign finance reform.
"We're all tainted," McCain said. "We're all under suspicion as long as Washington is awash in special interest money."
He soon released documents showing that he had intervened for many others, including other large campaign contributors. In the Paxson case, McCain insisted that he was simply "telling a bureaucracy to act," not instructing them how to act. McCain also reminded NBC's Tim Russert that "members of your network contact me too on telecommunications matters."
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However, as McCain's intervention for Paxson revealed anew, the business of politics might not have changed all that much, even for a Keating Five survivor.
Careful to include language denying any intent to pressure regulators, McCain made clear in his letters that he was displeased with the FCC's handling of the Paxson application.
On Nov. 17, 1999, McCain wrote to FCC chairman William Kennard and asked that the FCC vote promptly on the three-way transfer of a Pittsburgh TV station to Paxson. The application had been pending since May 30, 1997, more than two years. McCain claimed that most decisions take about 418 days.
In a second letter on Dec. 10, 1999, McCain asked Kennard "that each member of the commission advise me, in writing" before their next open meeting on Dec. 15 "whether you have already acted upon these applications" and, if not, why not. McCain added that his "purpose is not to suggest in any way how you should vote -- merely that you vote."
FCC chairman Kennard bristled. "I must respectfully note that it is highly unusual for the commissioners to be asked to publicly announce their voting status" on a pending matter, he wrote back. After the exchange, the FCC did approve Paxson's application, but it was unclear what, if any, influence McCain's letter had on the FCC's ruling.
Though less dramatic than five senators sitting down with banking officials, the Paxson intervention did have parallels to the Keating case.
Company chairman Lowell Paxson and McCain had become personal friends, with Paxson and his executives lavishing more than $20,000 in campaign donations on McCain. McCain also enjoyed the convenience of flying around on Paxson's corporate jet, including one flight on Dec. 9, a week before the Claremont summit. A planned Paxson fund-raiser for McCain was canceled when the story broke in January.
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As with Paxson, McCain became Keating's personal friend, traveling on Keating's jet and enjoying vacations at Keating's Bahama island retreat. As part of the Keating Five settlement, McCain was required to pay back $13,434 for those personal costs. ..... But the Paxson case is a reminder that it's just possible McCain might have learned less of a lesson than many had thought. He certainly hasn't forgotten a cardinal rule of politics -- that a candidate needs money from somewhere to compete.
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Revisited: John McCain, one of The Keating Five corruption scandal of 1989, January 31, 2008
Mr. Straight Talk Express, indeed.