The District is having trouble telling the difference between lawyers and lobbyists these days, as D.C. officials have been using registered lobbyists to represent them in legal matters.

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The Post's Mike DeBonis points to two lobbyists — David Wilmot and Frederick Cooke Jr. — who have hired local politicians. Wilmot, who represented Councilwoman Yvette Alexander in a probe of her constituent services fund, has lobbied for Comcast and Walmart, among others. (Alexander calls Wilmot a "family friend.") Cooke has represented Kwame Brown, Harry Thomas Jr., and Mayor Vince Gray. 

The lobbyists say that there's no quid-pro-quo here, and the politicians say it's hard to find a lawyer you're not somehow connected to. That may be true, but as DeBonis writes, "[Y]ou don’t have to be an ethics maven to see the potential for at least the appearance of malfeasance in allowing lobbyists to render services to the politicians they lobby."

[via WaPo]