The House Freedom Caucus is considering hiring Ed Buckham, a controversial former top aide to Tom DeLay and central figure in the Jack Abramoff scandal, according to multiple sources familiar with the hiring process.

Buckham, DeLay’s former chief of staff, interviewed to be the conservative group’s executive director, according to several people involved in the process. Multiple people in the newly powerful caucus said Buckham is a front-runner for the position, though Freedom Caucus officials say they haven't decided who will be chosen.


Darrin Miller, a spokesman for Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), said there are “ongoing interviews, but the Freedom Caucus isn't going to comment on any specifics until a decision has been made.”

There’s concern within the Freedom Caucus about the wisdom of hiring Buckham, according to conversations with several sources in the group. An ordained minister, Buckham worked as a senior aide to DeLay for many years, and turned his access to the former majority leader into a lucrative career.

Their relationship began when DeLay chaired the Republican Study Committee, a conservative group that predated the Freedom Caucus. Buckham eventually rose to become DeLay’s chief of staff and top political adviser, and he was often described as the “gatekeeper” for the powerful Texas Republican.

DeLay offered praise for Buckham on Monday.

“We’re very close” DeLay said. “To be honest with you, it would be the smartest thing the Freedom Caucus could do. He’s saved my career many times.”

Buckham, who is 57 according to public records, could not be reached for comment.

Buckham’s former lobbying firm, Alexander Strategies Group, was described as an unofficial K Street outpost of DeLay’s office, hiring several of his former aides. It employed DeLay’s wife for several years, paying her a six-figure salary, according to media reports.

Buckham’s firm represented powerful corporations and trade associations that wanted access to DeLay and other top House Republicans. Clients included the American Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Microsoft, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

But the Alexander Strategies Group collapsed under the weight of a Justice Department probe into Jack Abramoff, a close confidant of DeLay and Buckham.

"Reports in the press have made it difficult to continue as a lobbying/political entity," Buckham told the Washington Post in early 2006.

Buckham and DeLay were subpoenaed as part of the FBI investigation, although neither faced federal charges. Buckham declined to speak to federal investigators at the time and was never charged.

Tony Rudy – another former DeLay aide who worked with Buckham at the Alexander Strategies Group – pled guilty to accepting payments from Abramoff's clients while working for DeLay.

Abramoff spent more than three-and-a-half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a variety of federal charges, including fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials and tax evasion.

DeLay was forced to step down as majority leader in 2005 following his indictment on unrelated campaign finance violations in Texas. He retired from Congress the following year, rather than run for reelection under the weight of the Abramoff scandal.

While the Justice Department eventually announced he would not be charged in the case, DeLay's reputation was severely damaged.

Buckham had ties to other lawmakers who came under federal investigation, including Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.). Buckham's lobbying firm hired Doolittle's wife, Julie Doolittle, to do consulting work. The FBI raided Doolittle's house as part of the Abramoff investigation.

A Maryland pastor told NPR in 2006 that Buckham used a nonprofit group to accept special-interest donations from groups that wanted to influence DeLay. The Rev. Chris Geeslin of the Redeemer International Family Church — who said he ordained Buckham into the ministry — said he came to regret his ties to Buckham and the U.S. Family Network, Buckham's nonprofit group. The U.S. Family Network which received contributions from many of Abramoff’s clients, paid Buckham more than $1 million over a five-year period, according to a 2006 story in the Washington Post.

“And [Buckham] said, that money came from Russian energy magnates, or oil magnates, who wanted to influence Congressman DeLay so that he would not vote against the IMF funding of the bailout of Russia,” Geeslin told NPR. “And again he said, that's the way Washington works. It runs on money.”

“Nothing came of it, there was nothing to it,” DeLay said of DOJ's criminal probe. “They drug me through the mud for three years and there was nothing to it. It was a typical abuse of power, abuse of the federal government. There’s nothing to this, there’s nothing there. But the consequences of it – like when you’re under that kind of scrutiny by the Justice Department – you’re virtually destroyed.”

In an interview Monday, Abramoff said he and Buckham “were very close,” although the disgraced former powerbroker said he hasn’t spoken to Buckham in years.

“I don’t know what people are doing up there,” Abramoff said.

The Freedom Caucus’ former executive director Steve Chartan left the group to work as the legislative diretor to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Buckham’s son Matt, now the communications director for the Freedom Caucus, did not respond to calls and an email seeking comment.

