Pennsylvania Senator Denies Lobbyist Involved in Projects

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter on Thursday denied any connection between special projects he gained for his state and a Washington lobbyist whose wife works in Specter’s office. But his office said it was sending the matter to the Senate ethics committee.

“To satisfy all conceivable concern, we are voluntarily forwarding this case” to the ethics committee, the Republican senator’s chief of staff said in a statement.

USA Today reported Thursday that Specter had helped secure about $50 million in federal funds over four years for groups that had hired the lobbyist husband of one of his aides.

In dismissing any connection, Specter told reporters in a telephone interview, “That would be a blatant conflict of interest -- inappropriate -- and I don’t think that happened.”

Specter said he would speak further to aide Vicki Siegel to learn whether she was aware that some applicants for projects might have been represented by her husband.

Specter’s chief of staff, William Reynolds, said the senator’s office had complied with all ethical rules: “The facts are that Ms. Siegel’s husband never lobbied Sen. Specter’s office, nor did his firm lobby the office.”

He said the institutions that ultimately got the money were represented by people not associated with Siegel’s husband.

USA Today said Specter had succeeded 13 times in the last four years in getting $48.7 million worth of defense projects for six clients represented by a lobbying firm co-founded by Michael Herson, Siegel’s husband.