Former Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler, a Texan who is among the McCain campaign’s most important advisers and fundraisers, has resigned as a national co-chair over lobbying entanglements,
a Republican source told Politico on Sunday.
It’s at least the fifth lobbying-related departure from the campaign in a week.
The officials who have left include:
Doug Goodyear, who was McCain’s top liaison to the Republican National Convention;
Doug Davenport, regional campaign manager for mid-Atlantic states;
Eric Burgeson, an energy policy adviser;
Craig Shirley, a prominent Republican consultant who was a member of McCain’s Virginia Leadership Team.
Loeffler’s departure followed a report this weekend by Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff that Loeffler’s “lobbying firm has collected nearly $15 million from Saudi Arabia since 2002..."
Doug Goodyear resigned his post on Saturday after a magazine reported that his firm had lobbied for the military junta that runs
Myanmar.
The United States has denounced the Burmese government as one of the world’s most repressive, and Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona, has long been critical of the government as well. During the campaign, he has called for Myanmar’s leaders to halt human rights abuses.
The appointment of Mr. Goodyear was sensitive for Mr. McCain. It came after the senator had been criticized by some Republican primary opponents for employing several lobbyists and former lobbyists to run his campaign