Head of congressional ethics panel jumps to law and lobby firm

Dickstein Shapiro has plucked the leader of a congressional watchdog for its lobby shop.

Porter Goss, an ex-CIA director and former Republican congressman, stepped down from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), an independent board that reviews ethics complaints against lawmakers.

Goss has resurfaced as a senior adviser at Dickstein in its public policy and political law practice, which is stocked with high-level former officials, including former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and former Federal Election Commission Chairman Scott Thomas.

{mosads}“Porter has a superior set of credentials earned from his many years of work with the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, NATO, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department of Defense,” Hastert said in a statement. “He is a highly respected statesman with a truly impressive depth of experience on complex international security issues, and he is a welcome addition to our growing team.”

The firm is rebuilding its client roster after losing a significant number of lobbyists and lawyers in the last two years.

It recently signed what is now its largest lobbying client: Fuels America, a trade group. The association paid the firm $20,000 per month, according to recently filed earnings reports.

Dickstein only earned $130,000 from its lobbying activities in the first three months of this year. In all of 2014, it took in $3.7 million.

In addition to legal work, Dickstein has a congressional investigations practice that offers corporate and individual clients help with investigations conducted by Congress or inspectors general.

“Dickstein Shapiro is well known for its leading public policy practice, and I look forward to advising clients on the challenging issues they face at home and abroad,” Goss said.

Goss had been the leader of the independent ethics board since its inception in 2008. Democrats in the House pushed for its creation to “drain the swamp” of corruption in Washington after they gained the majority. The OCE reviews ethics concerns and, if warranted, passes them along to the Ethics Committee.

Members of both parties have accused the OCE of unfair treatment and alleged that the investigative process is often exploited for partisan ends. Some lawmakers have threatened to cut the office’s funding or even close it down. The OCE says its confidential investigation process is independent and fair.

OCE’s co-chairman, David Skaggs, remains at the helm of the board. He is also a senior strategic adviser and independent consultant with McKenna, Long & Aldridge.

Goss twice worked at the CIA, first in the 1960s and then as the director of Central Intelligence, from 2004 to 2005, followed by a year as the first director of the Central Intelligence Agency under the newly signed Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act.

He spent 16 years as a Florida congressman, from 1989 to 2004, including including seven years at the helm of the House Intelligence Committee.

—Updated at 12:51 p.m.