More on Daschle-Hindery Link

Tom Daschle, the former Democratic Senate leader, had been voted out of office. His close friend Leo Hindery, a Democratic donor and media mogul, was out of a job too, having just sold his latest company, Yes Networks. So in early 2005 the two men decided to team up. Daschle agreed to become the founding chairman of "a world-class executive advisory board" of "industry and regulatory experts" for a new investment firm run by Hindery. The Daschle-led board would help provide a "collective depth of industry knowledge and expertise that will allow us to pursue unique and high-value opportunities." In addition to lending the prestige of his name, Daschle traveled to help raise money from investors for Hindery's new venture. And in exchange, over the next four years the firm compensated Daschle with over $2 million, and Hindery lent Daschle the use of a chauffeured limousine in Washington. What expertise Daschle contributed to Hindery's firm is hard to determine. The firm, Intermedia, has hired no federal lobbyists and it mainly invests in media businesses — the television program "Soul Train," for example; cable networks devoted to gospel music or hunting and fishing; and the Christian publisher Thomas Nelson — with few interests before the government. Beyond the ramifications for Mr. Daschle's ascent to the cabinet, the disclosures about Mr. Hindery and the many clients Mr. Daschle advised on public policy offers a new window into how Washington works. It shows how in just four years an influential former senator was able to make $5 million and live a lavish lifestyle by dint of his name, connections and knowledge of the town's inner workings.