McCain Denies Inappropriate Relationship with Telecommunications Lobbyist

Front-Page Story in The New York Times Examines Republican Presidential Front-Runner with Vicki Iseman

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/21/2008 10:58:00 AM

In a press conference early Thursday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) denied that he had an inappropriate relationship with a female telecommunications lobbyist.

McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, called the press conference to respond to a front-page story published Thursday in The New York Times examining his relationship with Vicki Iseman, a lobbyist who reportedly represented media clients including EchoStar Communications, Tribune and Paxson Communications while McCain was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Saying he was “disappointed” in the Times, McCain acknowledged having a friendship with Iseman, saying he’d seen her at various functions. But he strongly denied implications that she influenced his legislative conduct or that their relationship was romantic. He also said he was unaware of any conversations his staffers may have had with Iseman, asking her to keep her distance, as The Times reported.

McCain conceded that he sent letters to the Federal Communications Commission on behalf of Paxson concerning an issue the company had before the agency, and that he also rode on a Paxson plane. But he stressed that the letters only urged the FCC to make a decision and did not advocate a position, noting that the plane ride was permissible under Senate ethics rules at the time.

The story surfaced months ago when the Drudge Report posted an item saying that the McCain campaign was trying to spike an imminent New York Times story on the relationship. Given McCain’s emphasis on ethics and campaign-finance reform, the implication that he traded favors is likely more damning than the suggestion of an extramarital affair.