McCain Campaign Manager's Firm Was Paid by Freddie Mac Through Last Month

Posted by Ryan Powers, Think Progress at 3:33 AM on September 24, 2008.

The New York Times reported yesterday that, until last month, Freddie Mac paid $15,000 a month to the lobbying firm owned by Rick Davis, John McCain’s campaign manager:

[Freddie Mac] paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager , according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement. […]


They said they did not recall Mr. Davis doing much substantive work for the company in return for the money, other than speak to a political action committee composed of high-ranking employees in October 2006 on the coming midterm congressional elections. They said Mr. Davis’s firm, Davis & Manafort, was kept on the payroll because of Mr. Davis’s close ties to Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, who was widely expected by 2006 to run again for the White House.

Mr. Davis took a leave from Davis & Manafort for the duration of the campaign, but as a partner and equity-holder continues to share in its profits.

On Sunday, when asked about Davis’s lobbying activities, McCain claimed, “My campaign manager has stopped that, has had nothing to do with it since and I’ll be glad to have his record examined by anybody who wants to look at it.”

Tagged as: lobbyists, mccain, rick davis, freddie mac