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Bush Adviser Helped Law Firm Land Job Lobbying for CNOOC
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A scheduled witness at the hearing, China hawk Frank J. Gaffney Jr. of the Center for Security Policy, called Langdon's work on his firm's behalf "an insight into just how extensive China's tentacles are in official Washington."
Energy experts agreed that Langdon could become a lightning rod despite having recused himself from the matter.
"I have a very high regard for Mr. Langdon, but an emotional issue like this is one thing that's very, very difficult to prepare for," said J. Robinson West, chairman of PFC Energy, a District-based energy consulting firm. "Fair or not, he may get dragged into this."
The President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board was established in 1956 to provide the president independent advice on the effectiveness of U.S. intelligence agencies. Past chairmen include retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, Republican former senator Warren B. Rudman, Democratic former House speaker Thomas S. Foley, former defense secretary Les Aspin and top foreign policy adviser Clark H. Clifford.
"They have the ear of the president," said Aftergood, who called the board "disproportionately influential."
Scowcroft, Bush's first PFIAB chairman, led a highly sensitive effort to draft intelligence changes in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that remains top-secret. Under Rudman, the board was tasked to investigate alleged leaks of classified information from the nation's nuclear weapons laboratories.
Langdon's work for the CNOOC contract and his subsequent recusal point to the potential for conflicts inherent in citizen boards such as PFIAB that have access to highly classified information, Rudman said.
But, Rudman said, the PFIAB staff has established strict rules to deal with such problems.
"It's pretty hard to not have a member get into a conflict situation occasionally," he said.
