Ashcroft friend lobbied Justice Department

WASHINGTON -- A friend of Attorney General John Ashcroft who tried to win government compensation for Oklahoma City victims also lobbied Ashcroft's agency to get an antitrust case started on behalf of one of his clients, officials said Friday.

Attorney Charles Polk met and discussed the matter with at least two Ashcroft staffers in Washington, but the request was referred to a Justice Department career lawyer in Chicago and ultimately rejected last week.

Justice Department spokeswoman Barbara Comstock said all the decisions about Polk's request to help client James Helenthal, an Illinois newspaper publisher, were made by Justice career lawyers, not those appointed by Ashcroft.

"This decision has gone through normal channels. No one in the attorney general's office, including the attorney general himself, was aware of the antitrust matter," she said. She said Ashcroft and Polk have not had contact this year.

But Comstock said Polk did contact two staffers in Ashcroft's Washington offices -- one with longtime ties to the attorney general -- to discuss the antitrust matter.

St. Louis lawyer

Polk, a prominent Republican lawyer in St. Louis, is a family friend who advised Ashcroft during the attorney's general contentious Senate confirmation. The two have known each other since Ashcroft's days as a U.S. senator.

The disclosure of the antitrust lobbying came as a key Democratic congressman on Friday asked the Justice Department's internal watchdog, the inspector general, to investigate Polk's contacts on behalf of Oklahoma City victims.

Rep. John Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, wrote Ashcroft that he was concerned Polk "attempted to use his close relationship with you and your staff to profit from Oklahoma City bombing victims."

Conyers said the revelation that Polk managed to talk to Justice officials about both Oklahoma City and the antitrust smacked of "a breathtaking and appalling display of cronyism."

"Catering to someone who was simultaneously trying to make a fast buck from Oklahoma City bombing victims is stunning," he said.

It was reported Thursday that Polk signed up Oklahoma City bombing survivors as clients with a promise to use his connections to win them government compensation in exchange for 10 percent to 27.5 percent of the proceeds.

About 120 survivors and victims' relatives from the 1995 bombing signed up for the lobbying campaign, which fell apart last month amid lawsuits and an ethics complaint involving Polk. The intent was to win a share of the hundreds of millions set aside for families of Sept. 11 victims.

Justice officials said Ashcroft was unaware of Polk's financial arrangement with the victims, but Polk may have mentioned his interest in the issue with other Justice officials, including Ashcroft adviser David Israelite.