The event 'hosts' included a lobbyist that represented bank associations and accounting firms on the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a program to which Pawlenty has expressed opposition. Pawlenty lunches with lobbyists

Minnesota GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty made a stop for cash in Washington on Monday, holding a fundraiser at a downtown law firm with a handful of insiders and lobbyists.

Tickets for the lunch started at $500 with those identified as “co-hosts” of the event having to give or raise $2,500 for Pawlenty’s political action committee, Freedom First PAC, according to an invitation obtained by POLITICO.


Representatives of other PACs invited to the event were encouraged to donate $1,000.

Among the 10 named “hosts” of the event was Sam Geduldig, a lobbyist for Clark Lytle & Geduldig who lobbied on the Troubled Asset Relief Program on behalf of banking associations and several accounting firms, though did not help firms acquire funds. Pawlenty has expressed opposition to the program.

Six of the other “hosts” are also registered lobbyists, according to the Senate database, working for industries ranging from biodiesel to subprime mortgages.

Brian Brooks, another one of the fundraisers’ “hosts,” is not a registered lobbyist, but boasts of having “four of the largest subprime mortgage lenders and servicers in state attorney general investigations and litigation, and in nationwide class actions” on the website of O’Melveny & Myers, a law firm with offices around the world.

A spokesman for the Minnesota governor, a likely contender for the GOP presidential nomination, declined to comment on the event, noting its private nature — the fundraiser was not announced by Pawlenty's PAC. The spokesman also declined to provide details on who else attended the fundraiser or how much Pawlenty was able to haul from the event.

Prior to the fundraising lunch, Pawlenty sat down with members of the Washington press corps for a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

In his remarks, Pawlenty said he hopes GOP wins this fall could create a new generation of talent that refutes the idea that Republicans are “a bunch of country-club elitists.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized the Sam Geduldig’s work with respect to the Troubled Asset Relief Program. He lobbied on the TARP bill for banking associations and accounting firms but did help firms acquire funds.

