John Ashcroft was a controversial figure while he was U.S. attorney general. He held regular prayer meetings with his staff, ordered a semi-nude statue of Lady Justice at the Justice Department covered, and was a major proponent of the much-disputed Patriot Act.
Although he left the Bush administration nearly three years ago, controversy continues to stalk him as he builds a lobbying and consulting practice.
At issue is a federal contract worth potentially $52 million for the Ashcroft Group, a Washington-based company founded and led by Ashcroft. The contract was approved by Christopher Christie, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, one of Ashcroft’s senior employees at the Justice Department.
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Christie last fall selected Ashcroft’s company, along with a handful of others, to monitor a settlement agreement with Zimmer Holdings, an Indiana medical supply company. Zimmer’s SEC filings show that the company agreed to pay Ashcroft Group $750,000 per month plus consulting fees.
Some saw a conflict of interest, but not Christie, who is considered a possible gubernatorial candidate in the state.
“If he were still my boss or potentially my boss in the future, I guess that would be something to talk about, but you know I just don’t see it as an issue,” Christie told the Associated Press.
Ashcroft was Christie’s boss from 2002 until 2005.
Since leaving office, Ashcroft has parlayed his years of government experience - as governor and senator from Missouri followed by four years as U.S. attorney general - into one of Washington’s most sought-after lobbying firms.
While ex-governors and ex-senators are common on K Street, ex-U.S. attorney generals are fairly rare. Ashcroft has used that experience to differentiate his company in the crowded lobbyist marketplace.
Ashcroft is expecially trading on his government experience after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist strikes. The period witnessed a skyrocketing climb in homeland security-related budgets, over which Ashcroft presided.
Ashcroft Group invokes the terrorist attacks and the greater war on terrorism in its marketing materials.
“Attorney General Ashcroft and his team directed the U.S. Justice Department through an unprecedented period of national crisis after the terrorist attacks of September 11th,” the company website says.
“Their deep experience in fighting the war on terror has given The Ashcroft Group, LLC a strategic advantage in evaluating and navigating the homeland security and law enforcement marketplace,” the site says. “They have a comprehensive understanding of programs, policies, and personnel in marketplace issues throughout the homeland security fields.”
The company specializes in strategic consulting for corporations worldwide in homeland security, corporate governance, litigation strategy and data security.
Its client list features major American companies and professional trade associations, according to disclosure statements on file with the U.S. Senate Office of Public records. That list includes:
- Alanco Technologies (pollution control devices and market restaurant equipment)
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (trade association representing CPAs)
- AT&T (telecommunications provider)
- Choicepoint (electronic data delivery and storage)
- Council on State Taxation (trade association representing multi-state companies)
- DRS Technologies (defense contractor)
- Dulles Research Group (provider of law enforcement-related software)
- eBay Inc. (online auction house and marketplace)
- Exegy Inc. (provider of data processing equipment)
- General Dynamics Corp. (defense contractor)
- Intelsat (satellite services)
- Israel Aircraft Industries (Israel-based military contractor)
- MLU Services (disaster recovery contractor)
- Mittal Steel Co. (Netherlands-based global provider of steel)
- National Association of Broadcasters (represents televisions stations and television networks)
- Nanodetex Corp. (manufacturer of systems to detect gaseous chemicals)
- Oracle Corp. (database management system developer)
- Trafficland Inc. (provider of live traffic video over the Internet and on television)
- Verisign Inc. (e-commerce software manufacturer)
The Ashcroft Group roster of lobbyists includes former colleagues at the Justice Department and finance officials in the Republican party:
- David Ayres, Ashcroft’s former chief of staff
- Tyler Alcorn, a major fundraiser for Ashcroft’s losing reelection bid in 2000
- Lori Sharpe Day, a former Ashcroft adviser
- William Gaynor, a top finance official for President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee. He helped raise $260 million for both causes
- Tracy Henke, formerly assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s office of Grants and Training
- Juleanna Glover Weiss, former spokeswoman for Vice President Dick Cheney and adviser to Ashcroft and former New York Mayor and current presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani
Contact: eric@muckety.com
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