April, 14, 2010

Representative Barney Frank publicly rebuked a former aide this month for taking a job with a big Wall Street firm right after drafting a regulation that could affect the way the firm did business. Mr. Frank described it as an unusual transgression, one that embarrassed others working on the legislation and created at least the appearance of a conflict of interest.

But while the speed of the aide’s movement from government to Wall Street was extraordinary, it reflected reality as Congress has taken on an overhaul of the nation’s system of regulating financial giants, The New York Times’s Eric Lichtblau reports from Washington. Wall Street, perhaps more than any other industry, is ramping up its lobbying forces and turning more and more to former lawmakers and Congressional staff members to lead the fight against stiff rules.

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