The Obama Administration continues to give off the appearance of sloppy vetting.  The latest incident involves David Axelrod, a senior advisor to President Obama, and his former firm, AKP&D.

Axelrod founded AKP&D, formerly known as Axelrod and Associates, a Chicago-based political consulting firm.  Not only David Axelrod, but also his son, Michael and Obama campaign strategist David Plouffe have all worked at AKP&D.  After opting to work for the administration, Axelrod sold the company, collecting $2 million over a period of years.

Now AKP&D is handling the public relations campaign for a coalition of groups that support health insurance reform.  Part of this coalition is PhRMA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; basically, the lobby group for the pharmaceutical companies. Ken Johnson, a senior vice-president at PhRMA, told NewMajority that “we hired a professional campaign team that actually hired these consultants (AKP&D).  What they do is make sure the messages are consistent with our beliefs and philosophies.”

The money paid by PhRMA helps to pay the salary of David Axelrod’s son, who remains at the firm. That money also supports Axelrod’s own payout from the firm. A conflict of interest? In strict legal terms, maybe not. However, as with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s tax derelictions, this relationship leaves a bad taste behind. When Ken Johnson was asked by NewMajority why AKP&D was chosen as the public relations firm, he responded by admitting “perhaps we should have done our due diligence.”

http://www.newmajority.com/david-axelrods-phrma-payout