Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Mega-Donor Kelly Loeffler’s Company Spent “Millions of Dollars to Lobby the Congressional Lawmakers She’ll Soon Join”

Loeffler “Would Not Say Whether She Would Recuse Herself From Certain Votes That Could Influence the Business”

Ethics Watchdog: “Senator Loeffler Will Have a Big Challenge Proving She Represents the Average Georgian Because of the Financial Interests That She and Her Husband Represent”

A new report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reveals how political mega-donor Kelly Loeffler’s financial services firm has spent “millions of dollars to lobby the congressional lawmakers she’ll soon join and the government agencies she’ll soon influence.” After Loeffler promised to spend $20 million to buy herself a U.S. Senate seat, today’s reporting on her firm’s extensive Washington lobbying adds to the scrutiny she’s facing over a “‘minefield’ of potential ethical issues” that continue to plague her “fiasco” of an appointment.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Lobbying by incoming Georgia senator’s firm under scrutiny

By Greg Bluestein

December 23, 2019

Key Points:

• Before Republican Kelly Loeffler emerged as Gov. Brian Kemp’s pick for a U.S. Senate seat, the powerful financial firm where she’s long served as a senior executive spent millions of dollars to lobby the congressional lawmakers she’ll soon join and the government agencies she’ll soon influence.

• An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of financial disclosures showed that Intercontinental Exchange, the Atlanta-based financial platform, has spent more than $17 million lobbying Congress and federal agencies since 2002.

• The records from the Center for Responsive Politics show that Intercontinental Exchange’s lobbying has put it among the 25 top-spending securities and investment firms since 2011. The company has also hired a team of advocates, including a former U.S. House staffer who drew a public rebuke from a powerful lawmaker.

• Her corporate ties have brought scrutiny over whether she’ll serve on powerful committees that oversee the financial industry or cast votes on issues that could influence her husband’s company or its subsidiary, the Bakkt digital currency firm she now runs.

• She would not say whether she would recuse herself from certain votes that could influence the business.

• “There are always perception problems in today’s political world when people seeking influence use their dollars, such as those who lobby for business interests, are appointed to government positions or public office,” said William Perry of Georgia Ethics Watchdog.

• “Senator Loeffler will have a big challenge proving she represents the average Georgian because of the financial interests that she and her husband represent,” he said.

Read the full story here.

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