Ken Dilanian

Ken Dilanian talked about his Special Report on the front page of the Thursday, January 31, 2008, edition of USA Today titled “Lobbyists Find More Ways to Bond with Lawmakers.” In it he maps out the locations of the growing number of lobbying firms and special interest groups who have bought or leased townhouses and offices near Capitol Hill. He shows how these groups give or rent their locations to members of Congress for fundraisers in ways where a limited amount of information has to be divulged to the Federal Election Commission. These activities are legal and are not covered under the gift ban. Video clips of many of these locations were shown. Also shown was USA Today's interactive web page that gives additional information on the members of Congress who used the facilities. Mr. Dilanian talked about the fundraising system, the public reaction to the story, and his own life and career. close