In 2001, Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky (now on trial for fraud and tax evasion) hired APCO Worldwide, "to restore investors' trust in the company," reported O'Dwyer's at the time. Lucy Komisar writes that, at APCO's suggestion, Khodorkovsky's Yukos Oil Corporation "created the Open Russia Foundation ... to build cooperation between Russia and the West." Yet, the foundation's activities "seemed aimed more at cultivating powerful friends." Last year, Yukos retained the Burson-Marsteller firm BKSH, "to keep Washington abreast of political, legal and business developments." In March 2005, APCO "launched a series of advertisements" on the New York Times website, "designed to look like a newsletter named 'Russia in Focus.'" One issue "included an attack on the Khodorkovsky prosecution co-authored by Stuart Eizenstat (incidentally a member of APCO's international advisory board) and Jonathan Winer - both former Clinton State Department officials."

The Washington Post reports on how House Majority Whip Roy Blunt "has converted what had been an informal and ad hoc relationship between congressional leaders and the Washington corporate and trade community into a formal, institutionalized alliance." Blunt's "organization of whips and lobbyist vote counters ... has delivered more than 50 consecutive victories for the GOP leadership on tough fights over issues including tax and trade bills, District of Columbia school choice and tort reform." The "de facto 'executive committee'" of "the Republican leadership's K Street lobbying arm" includes Ed Gillespie of Quinn Gillespie & Associates; Mark Isakowitz and Samantha Poole of Fierce, Isakowitz and Blalock; Tony Rudy of Alexander Strategy Group and Greenberg Traurig; Lyle Beckwitch of the National Association of Convenience Stores; and Ralph Hellmann of the Information Technology Industry Council.

"The National Academy of Sciences would investigate the effectiveness of dredging PCB-contaminated sediment under a directive written largely by General Electric Co. and attached to a House of Representatives spending bill last week," reported the Poughkeepsie Journal. A GE spokesperson said, "We think the public and regulators will benefit from knowing more about these issues." But environmentalists and Senator Charles Schumer say the study would needlessly delay the cleanup of New York's Hudson River, which was contaminated by PCBs from GE plants in the 1970s. An Environmental Protection Agency spokesperson said, "We have the data to prove [dredging] is the best thing for this river, for the environment, and for the communities here." GE's efforts to delay the Hudson River cleanup contrast with its recently launched $90 million pro-environmental PR and ad campaign, called "Ecomagination."

According to former member of Congress Billy Tauzin, now the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's head lobbyist, "drug companies [are] trying to develop a voluntary code of conduct for the advertising of prescription medicines on television and in print." Tauzin said "a good strong code" would likely be issued this June or July. However, "one purpose" for the code "is to fend off more stringent federal regulation," according to the New York Times. "Better to self-regulate than to have someone else tell you how to conduct your business," one pharmaceutical marketing chief told Advertising Age. PhRMA's announcement comes as mounting evidence suggests "drug sales don't necessarily rise or fall as TV ads are boosted or reduced," because, unlike other products, "a consumer can't buy a prescription drug without a doctor's signature," reported the Wall Street Journal. Drug ads have come under increasing scrutiny following "the safety controversy over highly advertised painkillers Vioxx from Merck & Co. and Celebrex from Pfizer."