K Street Collapse

The Washington Post reports today that a lobbying firm close to Tom DeLay has announced that it is closing today. The lobbying firm has close ties to both DeLay and Abramoff, representing many of the latter's clients including the Choctaw Tribe. It also employed his staffer Tony Rudy, mentioned in Abramoff's plea bargain as "Staffer A". Furthermore, both DeLay's wife Christine and the wife of Rep. Doolittle (R-CA). The folding of this lobbying firm spells trouble for the "K-Street Project", where DeLay tried to recreate K Street as a strictly Republican lobbying empire. I wouldn't be surprised if other lobbying firms decide it is advantageous to reconstruct themselves under other names in order to avoid the negative publicity by the Abramoff scandals.