Lynn's Raytheon cash ties run deep

Barack Obama's pick for top deputy at the Pentagon is in line for a payout of as much as $1.25 million in the coming weeks - for his work as a lobbyist for one of the nation's top defense contractors.

William Lynn’s nomination as deputy defense secretary already has come under fire from Democrats and Republicans because of his ties to Raytheon, where Lynn worked as a lobbyist -- a seeming violation of Obama’s pledge to keep lobbyist influence out of his administration.


Now Lynn’s financial disclosure statement, filed two weeks ago with the Office of Government Ethics, also reveals that his financial connections to the company are deeper than previously known.

Lynn reported earning $369,615 from Raytheon last year as a senior vice president, He also reported 6,000 shares of restricted company stock worth between $500,000 and $1 million that will vest in February – at a time when he would be on the Pentagon payroll.

Plus, the statement shows that Lynn’s 2008 cash bonus of as much as $250,000 - “pursuant to previously established bonus target formula” – is payable in March.

Additionally, the statement, which pegs most assets only in ranges not precise values, shows Lynn owns "unvested restricted stock" in the company worth between $250,000 and $500,000.

Also, much of Lynn’s retirement is tied up with Raytheon, from a 401k plan worth more than $50,000 to a defined benefit plan that will begin paying him $4,320 a month in 2019.

Lynn has said he will sell his Raytheon stock. Obama also has decided to waive provisions of his new ethics policy specifically for Lynn, including a ban on former lobbyists going to work for agencies they lobbied.

Lynn’s other assets include stock in IBM and Formtek, Inc., a privately held Washington, D.C. software firm, as well as a variety of Goldman Sachs funds.