In 2005, another example of questionable ties between lobbyists and government positions drifted into the fore, raising the eyebrows of some political pundits and government watchdogs: James C. Langdon Jr., Chairman of George W. Bush’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, lobbied William Wicker, a high-ranking executive at Goldman Sachs Asia, in order to secure a major lobbying contract with China National Offshore Oil Company [CNOOC] for his law firm:
Langdon met with CNOOC’s investment banking partner, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., in February, marshalling a long friendship with Beijing-based Goldman executive William Wicker to help win his law firm’s lobbying contract, Akin Gump officials confirmed. They say he recused himself in late March from further involvement in the matter, either for Akin Gump or the PFIAB. (Washington Post, 2005).
