The American Pundit

The Washington Times reports this morning that Barack Obama’s appointee for Undersecretary of Homeland Security – Science and Technology, Dr. Tara O’Toole, failed to mention her past of lobbying for that exact area of work.

Remember when Obama promised not to have lobbyists in his administration that would be working in the same area they lobbied for? Yeah, well, he broke that promise quite some time ago.

President Obama’s nominee at the Department of Homeland Security overseeing bioterrorism defense has served as a key adviser for a lobbying group funded by the pharmaceutical industry that has asked the government to spend more money for anthrax vaccines and biodefense research.

But Dr. Tara O’Toole, whose confirmation as undersecretary of science and technology is pending, never reported her involvement with the lobbying group called the Alliance for Biosecurity in a recent government ethics filing.

The alliance has spent more than $500,000 lobbying Congress and federal agencies — including Homeland Security — since 2005, congressional records show.

Now the Obama Administration says that O’Toole didn’t have to disclose her lobbying ties. Why? Apparently some lobbying horrible and atrocious, while other lobbying is just okey dokey.

However, Homeland Security officials said Dr. O’Toole need not disclose her ties to the group on her government ethics form because the alliance is not incorporated: “There’s no legal existence so she wouldn’t have to disclose it,” said Robert Coyle, an ethics official for the Department of Homeland Security.

Analysts say the lack of disclosure reflects a potential loophole in the policies for the Obama administration, which has boasted about its efforts to make government more transparent. They also question lobbying laws that allow such a group to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars without the public knowing exactly how much money each of the companies that belongs to the group contributes, though such arrangements are permitted under the law.

So working for an unincorporated lobbying firm is just fine with the Obama Administration, but watch out if you’ve worked for a group that required incorporation by law. So…what exactly is Barack Obama’s issue? It seems he has more of a problem with incorporated entities — businesses — than with lobbying groups. I’m sure you’re shocked.

Via Hot Air.