In 2003, Rep. Roy Blunt divorced his wife of 30+ years and married Phillip Morris lobbyist Abigail Perlman.In 2003, Rep. Roy Blunt divorced his wife of 30+ years and married Phillip Morris lobbyist Abigail Perlman.
Click here to see a pdf copy of Ms. Perlman's latest lobbying disclosure report.
Ms. Perlman, the NRCC, and the $500,000 contribution to the U.S. Family Network
According to a February 11, 1999 Roll Call story, during the 2000 election cycle, Perlman was the finance director at the National Republican Congressional Committee.
NRCC Staffs Up. The National Republican Congressional Committee continues to staff up for the 2000 cycle, bringing several campaign veterans into new positions.
Former national field director Terry Nelson takes over as political director, while Mike McElwain,the NRCC's southern regional field director in 1998, moves into Nelson's old post.
Jill Schroeder moves from Century Strategies, the Atlanta-based political consulting firm founded by Ralph Reed, to become the NRCC's new press secretary, while Abigail Perlman takes over as finance director. Perlman had been with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, serving as corporate development director.
On October 20, 1999, during Perlman's tenure as Finance Director at the NRCC, it made a controversial $500,000 contribution to the U.S. Family Network, a front group used by Rep. Tom DeLay and his allies for various political activities. In 2004, the NRCC was fined $280,000 by the FEC for its contribution to the U.S. Family Network.
Mr. Blunt's Efforts On Behalf Of Phillip Morris
In June of 2003, the Washington Post reported that one of Rep. Blunt's first acts as Majority Whip was to attempt to secretly insert a provision into the Homeland Security Bill, that would have benefitted Ms. Perlman's company, Phillip Morris. Mr. Blunt's actions were so outrageous, not even Majority Leader Tom DeLay could stomach them.
Only hours after Rep. Roy Blunt was named to the House's third-highest leadership job in November, he surprised his fellow top Republicans by trying to quietly insert a provision benefiting Philip Morris USA into the 475-page bill creating a Department of Homeland Security, according to several people familiar with the effort.
The new majority whip, who has close personal and political ties to the company, instructed congressional aides to add the tobacco provision to the bill -- then within hours of a final House vote -- even though no one else in leadership supported it or knew he was trying to squeeze it in.
Once alerted to the provision, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, quickly had it pulled out, said a senior GOP leader who requested anonymity. Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) also opposed what Blunt (Mo.) was trying to do, the member said, and "worked against it" when he learned of it.
This is how the Washington Post characterized Blunt's ties to Perlman at the time.
Several Republicans who learned of the November effort have privately expressed concern that Blunt pushed the provision partly because of his personal relationship with Philip Morris lobbyist Abigail Perlman. Blunt, who several Republicans said spends considerable time with Perlman, would not discuss their relationship or whether the two had talked about the provision.
Phillip Morris' Efforts On Behalf Of Mr. Blunt
According to a May 17, 2005 Washington Post story, Altria, the parent company of Phillip Morris, and the company that employs Ms. Perlman, is Mr. Blunt's largest contributor. In recent years, Altria has given Mr. Blunt more than $270,000.
Mr. Blunt's son, Andy, a lobbyist in Missouri, also represents Altria.
Phillip Morris, The American Turkish Council, and Blunt Staffer's Junkets To Turkey
Phillip Morris, the company that employs Ms. Perlman, has a seat on the board of a group called the American Turkish Council (ATC). Mr. Blunt has taken significant official actions that have benefitted the interests of the ATC.
But the ATC has also been very good to Mr. Blunt's staff. At least three staffers of Mr. Blunt have made junkets to Turkey, courtesy of the ATC. On some occasions, aside from its role on the board of the ATC, Phillip Morris additionally directly sponsored the trips.
Mr. Gregg Hartley--Mr. Blunt's then Chief of Staff, Ms. Amy Field--Mr. Blunt's current Chief of Staff, and Mr. Jared Craighead--a then-Blunt staffer who is now Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party all took such trips. Here is a link to the travel disclosure forms, signed by Mr. Blunt.
Mr. Hartley is now a lobbyist with Cassidy and Associates. Mr. Hartley hired Jack Abramoff at Cassidy, after a February 2004 Washington Post story about Mr. Abramoff's bilking of Indian gaming clients forced his departure from Greenberg Traurig.
The Campaign for a Cleaner Congress outlined the details of the Blunt-ATC ties in a press release in August of this year.
The Wedding
According to a June 17, 2004 St. Louis Post-Dispatch story, Blunt sought and received two separate waivers from the Ethics Committee, the first asking that the gift ban be waived for his wedding gifts, and the second that that all disclosure requirements be waived as well.
Here are the pdf's of Blunt's letters requesting the waivers, and the Ethics Committee's response.
There is no word on what gift, if any, lobbyist Jack Abramoff gave the happy couple.