McCain issues new ethics policy for staff

By Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff

John McCain's presidential campaign has issued a new ethics policy for staff, volunteers, and vendors after a campaign figure stepped down because of an apparent conflict of interest by working with an independent advocacy group that has opposed Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Two other McCain campaign officials resigned in the past week because of their employment at a public relations and lobbying firm that represented the repressive ruling junta in Burma in the past.

The McCain campaign has been plagued by news reports about the role of Washington lobbyists in the campaign, and campaign manager Rick Davis, who is on leave from his lobbying and consulting business, issued the new policy.

It prohibits staff from being registered lobbyists or foreign agents, requires volunteers to disclose any lobbying work, and bars contractors and any "person with a McCain campaign title or position" from working with any independent advocacy group "that makes public communications that support or oppose any presidential candidate."

Campaign personnel are required to complete a disclosure questionnaire, in part, "to identify issues and clients that could be embarrassing for the Senator and the Campaign," the policy states.

The latest casualty was Craig Shirley, whose firm had done consulting work for the campaign and who stepped down as a member of McCain's Virginia leadership team, according to the Politico website, whose inquiries precipitated his departure. Shirley's company had also done public relations work for an independent advocacy group, Stop Her Now, that opposed Clinton and now opposes Obama, Politico reported.

Less than a week ago, Doug Goodyear, McCain's choice to manage the party's nominating convention in St. Paul, Minn., resigned after Newsweek reported that his firm, the DCI Group, had done public relations work for the Burmese government, and Doug Davenport, who ran DCI's lobbying arm, stepped down as one of McCain's regional campaign managers.

UPDATE: The new policy did not satisfy a watchdog group, Campaign Money Watch, which yesterday sent a letter to Davis and launched an online petition urging the firing of Charles Black, Tom Loeffler, and Peter Madigan over their lobbying links to foreign governments.