Kent Cooper
Kent Cooper
Kent Cooperserved with the Associated Press for 41 years, including positions as general manager from 1925 to 1943 and concluding his career as executive director. Cooper is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, New York...
candidates huge leadership
That's a huge expense. Most of these pre-presidential-type candidates will do this and use their leadership PACs as much as possible.
admitting avenues exactly explaining motivation
Now you've got someone admitting exactly what the motivation was and explaining all the avenues they used.
reported tribe
One tribe has been reported with over 75 different names.
early energy indicator investing time
It's probably an indicator of someone who's organized, someone who's dedicated, who's investing the time and energy early on.
issue
There's always some hot-button issue where it's a slugfest by industry.
campaign candidates compare file finance possible received reported tribes
Because tribes do not file campaign finance reports, it is not possible to compare or double-check the amounts received by candidates and reported on the candidates' campaign finance reports.
agreement head involved key operating operator procedure public signing standard suddenly talking turned washington
You're talking about standard operating procedure here in Washington suddenly being turned on its head and a key operator signing a plea agreement that he may have been involved in some kind of public corruption.
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This is one of the largest examples we've had to date where congressional action was predicated on money being given for the action.
indirect line people wonder
Because we can't see a lot of their activities, people wonder how big they are and how active. There is a hazy line between indirect and direct involvement in elections.
calls clients common fairly instantly lobby matter move officials party senior skill speed various
It's fairly common over the years no matter what party one comes from, that senior administration officials often move to lobby firms or lobby for various clients because they know who to contact, at what time, and can instantly get their calls returned. Their speed and skill lobbying is what makes them valuable.
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There's a lot of groundwork that these leadership PACs can do that can be instantly translated into presidential support. You're making contacts throughout the country. When you announce a candidacy, those people already know about you.
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When you look at a corporate leader or a union leader, or a lobbyist, saying, why would they give $10,000, is it part of their lobbying plan for some type of access buying. It opens the whole arena up to questions in the public's mind.
question return
The question is, what did they get in return for that?
lobbyist trip
You don't know where the trip went. You don't know who went on it. You don't know if a lobbyist was on it.