New Obama campaign adviser lobbied for Keystone pipeline

President Obama’s new senior campaign adviser lobbied the administration last year to approve the controversial Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, a relationship that’s feeding environmentalists’ claims that the White House is too close to pipeline developer TransCanada Corp.

Lobbying disclosure records show that Broderick Johnson lobbied in favor of the pipeline – which remains under administration review – during the fourth quarter of 2010 while he was with the firm Bryan Cave.

Johnson, a former partner with the firm, left Bryan Cave in April. He's a veteran of the Clinton White House and Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) 2004 presidential campaign.

Johnson was part of a well-connected team at at Bryan Cave that lobbied Congress, the executive office of the president, the State Department, the Commerce Department and other agencies on TransCanada's behalf, records show.

The team included Jeff Berman, the former delegate counter for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, and David Russell, a former chief of staff to the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), according to records.

Bryan Cave, in a statement Monday afternoon, said Johnson’s work on TransCanada’s pipeline effort was “supervisory in nature and he was not focused on direct lobbying.”

The hiring by Obama’s reelection campaign comes as environmentalists are already alleging the ongoing State Department review of Keystone XL is tilted in favor of TransCanada, which is seeking federal approval for a $7 billion, 1,700-mile pipeline to bring crude from Alberta’s oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries.

Green groups have highlighted friendly emails between TransCanada lobbyist Paul Elliot — a former 2008 campaign aide to now-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — and the State Department.

Bill McKibben, the climate activist helping to orchestrate anti-Keystone protests at the White House, slammed the announcement that Johnson is advising Obama’s reelection campaign.

“It stinks. I don't think you could conceive a more elaborate way to disrespect not just the environmental community but also Occupy Wall Street, because this is simply a reminder of the way that corporate lobbyists dominate our politics. Forget ‘Hope and Change’ — it's like they want their new slogan to be 'Business as Usual,’ ” McKibben, founder of the group 350.org, said in a statement.

Green groups and some lawmakers are also questioning the use of the firm Cardno ENTRIX to perform State’s environmental impact study of the proposed pipeline — which gave it a largely favorable review — despite the firm’s financial ties TransCanada.

McKibben and other environmentalists are pushing Obama to reject TransCanada’s proposal and are planning a Nov. 6 demonstration at the White House.

More than 1,200 people were arrested in peaceful protests against the project near the White House over the summer. The State Department plans to make a final decision on the project around the end of the year.



Environmentalists oppose the pipeline due to greenhouse gas emissions from the oil sands and concerns about potential spills that could harm vital groundwater supplies along the pipeline route.

“Maybe, just maybe, Barack Obama himself still hasn't made up his mind about the pipeline. That's why we're going to surround the White House on November 6, carrying signs and banners with words from his 2008 campaign about the need to end 'the tyranny of oil'. We want to see if we can somehow jog his memory,” McKibben said.

Advocates of the project, including major business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, call it a way to bolster U.S. energy security and create jobs, and TransCanada officials vow to adhere to tough safety standards.

The Hill's Kevin Bogardus has much more on Johnson's hiring here.

From his story:

An aide to the Obama campaign emphasized that Johnson is no longer a lobbyist and said he will not discuss matters related to his former clients with the campaign.

The campaign aide also said that, unlike the Republican presidential candidates, Obama is not accepting campaign contributions and fundraising help from K Street. 

—This post was updated at 3:10 p.m. and 7:35 p.m.