Jim Talent Helps Romney Push Coal, Lobbying Firm Gets Money from Peabody

The Boston Globe made the link between Jim Talent advising Mitt Romney to push for more coal mining and his lobbying firm’s work for Peabody Coal.

What the former Missouri senator’s essay does not mention is that the Washington lobbying and communications firm he leads as co-chairman, Mercury Public Affairs, counts among its clients Peabody Energy, a St. Louis-based company that is one the largest coal producers in the world.

Peabody Energy has paid Talent’s firm an average of $125,000 every year for the past five years to help represent its interests in Washington. The energy company also retains other firms, spending an average of $2 million each year on lobbying, records show.

What’s more is no one attempted to explain or defend the connection. Calls to at least two organizations Jim Talent is associated with and the Romney campaign yielded no response. Peabody Coal gave a response of no comment.