(cleaning House to Republicans seems to be voting
in the lesser of a lot of evils)
http://mediamatters.org/items/200601120001Thu, Jan 12, 2006 12:00pm EST
Wash. Post falsely claimed Blunt's wife does not lobby Congress
Summary: The Washington Post falsely reported that the wife of acting House Majority Leader Roy Blunt "does not lobby Congress." In fact, Abigail Blunt is a registered lobbyist for Philip Morris, as she was in 2002, when Blunt tried to modify Homeland Security legislation in a way that would have benefited Philip Morris.
In an article in the January 11 edition of The Washington Post, staff writer Jonathan Weisman falsely reported that Abigail Blunt, the wife of acting House Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-MO), is not a congressional lobbyist. In reporting on a move in 2002 by Blunt to modify Homeland Security legislation in a way that would have benefited tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris, Weisman noted that Abigail Blunt -- then Abigail Perlman -- was a lobbyist, but he then wrote that "
he does not lobby Congress." In fact, not only is Abigail Blunt currently registered as a congressional lobbyist, she lobbied Congress for Philip Morris at the time. Though she and Blunt were not married, they reportedly had a "personal relationship."
The weblog Fired Up! America was apparently the first media outlet to note the Post's error in reporting that Abigail Blunt "does not lobby Congress."
Rep. Blunt first took heat for the move in summer 2003 after a Washington Post report in June 2003 disclosed his involvement with Philip Morris. Democrats criticized the 2002 attempt to add a measure to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 intended to reduce cigarette smuggling, a provision many claimed was designed to benefit Philip Morris. At the time he was attempting to modify the Homeland Security Act, Blunt reportedly had a "personal relationship" with Perlman, a lobbyist for the tobacco giant. They married in 2003.
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