Investigations lead to work for attorneys

The number of investigations initiated by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and other Democrats has led to busy times for Washington lawyers and lobbyists in the business of guiding clients through the oversight thicket on Capitol Hill.
Waxman, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and other powerful panel leaders have targeted not only the Bush administration but corporations — from defense companies to drug makers — as well.

Along with Waxman, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, have served as the main source of congressional subpoenas and hearings, according to those handling congressional investigations.

{mosads}“It has been a very busy year,” said Ray Shepherd, a partner at Venable who heads the firm’s congressional investigations practice. Shepherd, a former Republican staff director for the Senate investigations subcommittee, left Capitol Hill after the midterm elections to start the practice.

A year later, Shepherd and his staff are working on a dozen congressional investigations. But it could be worse — or better, depending on your perspective. Shepherd, who is an attorney, said that while the workload has risen throughout the year, he has not seen the explosion of investigations that he anticipated. There is only so much a committee can do, Shepherd said.

“They needed to staff up, and that takes time,” he said.

Mark Heilbrun, a partner at Jenner & Block, worked on the Iran-Contra probe and also handled congressional investigations at the Senate Judiciary Committee as the staff director for Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). He estimates that he is working on 10 investigations now, up from two or three at the beginning of 2007. Although his clients are being asked tough questions, Heilbrun doesn’t see a new majority out of control.

“I think they are doing it in a responsible way,” said Heilbrun. “They get things on the record. They don’t leak things to the press.”

Committee investigations have touched on a variety of topics and industries. Waxman, for instance, has taken a hard look at allegations of fraud and waste with wartime contracts stemming from Iraq’s reconstruction. Levin and his panel’s ranking member, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), have looked into charges that thousands of physicians and healthcare service providers that receive Medicaid funds owe back taxes of more than $1 billion.

Lobbyists at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis registered in August 2007 to represent the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) “relative to congressional investigation of use of performance enhancing substances in professional wrestling,” according to disclosure documents filed with the Senate. Days earlier, Waxman and ranking member Tom Davis (R-Va.) wrote to the WWE asking about its drug-testing policies. {mospagebreak}

With clients under investigation, the attorneys said their work consists of answering letters, releasing company documents asked for by committees and preparing witnesses for testimony on Capitol Hill.

Though the instinct may be to lobby against an investigation, lobbyists and attorneys interviewed by The Hill said it is much better to cooperate.

{mosads}“Straight lobbying is often counterproductive. If you tried to lobby Sen. Levin on an investigation, you would not get in the door,” said Shepherd.

“You can answer it now, or you can answer it later. You want to make sure you answer it in the least painful way possible,” said Mark Harkins, a senior government relations adviser at Womble Caryle Sandridge & Rice.

Harkins, former chief of staff for Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), has been lobbying for Blackwater Worldwide along with several others at his firm since the start of the year.

“After the hearings, Blackwater felt it needed to do a better job of reaching out to members to tell their story,” said Harkins.

Blackwater came under the spotlight this fall from Waxman and his oversight panel after the company’s security guards, who were protecting State Department officials, allegedly shot several Iraqi civilians.

Lobbyists and attorneys typically split the work, with the latter handling the legal details and the lobbyists trying to smooth any potential fallout on Capitol Hill.

“Sometimes, information gets lost in the process of the committee question and answer,” said Harkins. “Organizations get assistance from folks like me to fill in the gaps.”