We've seen how Washington insiders write the rules of politics and the economy to protect powerful special interests but now, as we enter the holiday season, and a month or so after the election, we're getting a refresher course in just how that inside game is played, gifts and all.

WASHINGTON -- Jill Kelley, a central figure in the sex scandal involving former CIA Director David Petraeus, tried to parlay her friendship with the g...

What reformers need is a Congress without conflict: Members who could not benefit from the bonus of being a lobbyist, and thus who could vote honestly and fairly about any proposals for reform. Enter the No Lobbying Pledge.

By Paul AbowdiWatch NewsThe American Legislative Exchange Council, which backs free-market legislation in the states, has been controversial in part...

The influence business is no longer about votes up or down on particular measures that may emerge in Congress or policies made in the White House. This is about setting agendas, deciding what should, and should not, be brought up for hearings and legislation.

WASHINGTON -- He was once the most reviled man in Washington, the latest embodiment of Washington corruption. Now, ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff is trying...

WASHINGTON -- The super PAC that hopes to spend $55 million on Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry's behalf is run by Mike Toomey, a long-tim...

The Supreme Court continues to insist that corporations are people and that money is speech. I just don't agree. I don't think the Tea Party movement agrees. And I definitely don't think the Occupy Wall Street movement agrees that Exxon is a person.

If you live in a state that has common-sense laws for the issuance of a carry permit, consider that only 35 states require some type of training, certification or time at the firing range to carry a loaded, concealed weapon.

WASHINGTON -- In his 2010 book "Fed Up!" Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry explained his displeasure with what he called the spending culture in Washin...

WASHINGTON -- With congressional leaders having finalized their selection of the 12-member, bicameral panel designed to pinpoint $1.5 trillion in defi...

When did a politician's campaign cash reserves start to be called a "war chest?" It gives you a sense of what kind of attitude goes into how that money is being used.

Wonder why we haven't seen any oversight over offshore drilling, the "public option" choice in health care coverage or financial services reform? The business lobby's ownership of Congress.

The concept of taxes, of course, is pretty easy to explain. Except when you look at it too closely.

This story has been updated NEW YORK -- One of Washington's best-known lobbying and public relations firms has been upended in the wake of the turm...

LAS VEGAS — Attorneys for the Senate Ethics Committee were in Las Vegas questioning executives from Nevada companies and others about U.S. Sen. ...

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been released from prison to a halfway house in the mid-Atlantic region, the F...

When the House worked on financial regulatory reform legislation last year, 16 of the Financial Services Committee staffers -- 12 of them Democrats --...

It's more fun to watch Massa's implosion on nationwide television, but we shouldn't allow this to distract us from what could shape up this year as a contest between Democrats and Republicans over who can denounce earmarks the loudest.

WASHINGTON — E-mails turned over to the FBI and Senate ethics investigators provide new evidence about Sen. John Ensign's efforts to find lobbyi...

Bill Halter, the lieutenant governor campaigning against Sen. Blanche Lincoln in the Arkansas Democratic primary, announced Tuesday that he has never ...

WASHINGTON — The head of the influential trade association for drug manufacturers announced Thursday night that he is leaving his job. The deve...