In what looked like a covert lobbying effort, a top Bank of America official brushed past Gov. Rick Perry (R) during a New Hampshire business breakfast on Wednesday, shook his hand and uttered the words, “Bank of America, we will help you out,” before walking away as if nothing had been said.

The brief exchange was caught by a CSPAN camera, but went unnoticed until the blog ZeroHedge pointed it out. ZeroHedge also correctly placed the man’s identity as James Mahoney, Bank of America’s director of public policy.

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Confirming the man’s identity to Politico’s Ben Smith, a company spokesman said the offer of help was for “non-partisan policy expertise,” noting that Mahoney is a Democrat.

It still doesn’t make the footage any less creepy.

This video is from CSPAN, broadcast Wednesday, August 17, 2011.