Tim Berry

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Timothy "Tim" Berry became Chief of Staff to former House Majority Leader Thomas D. DeLay in August 2002. It was announced in September 2005 that Berry was to become a lobbyist at Time Warner. Berry left DeLay's office in October 2005. [1][2][[3]

In a November 10, 2002, Washington Post article, Jim VandeHei and Dan Balz described DeLay aides Dan Flynn and Tim Berry as "top political hands" and "little-known but influential figures." [4]


Time Warner

"Berry will become vice president of global public policy in Time Warner’s Washington office. He will report to Carol Melton, a former Federal Communications Commission official and Viacom executive," John Bresnahan reported in the September 12, 2005, Roll Call.

"Berry will lobby Congress and the Bush administration, as well as help the company interact with federal regulators on a number of policy issues. Chief among those will be the the debate over a new telecommunications bill," Bresnahan wrote.

DeLay & Abramoff Scandals

"Tim Berry, who left DeLay's staff in October [2005], went to the 2001 Super Bowl in Tampa and spent an evening aboard a gambling cruise ship there, all courtesy of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose dealings with DeLay are under investigation," Samantha Levine reported in the November 17, 2005, Houston Chronicle.

"Berry did not report the trip on disclosure forms, an error DeLay's office called an honest mistake, saying Berry thought the trip was a GOP fundraiser allowed by House rules," Levine wrote.

Background

"Berry first came to Capitol Hill in 1993, joining the staff of then-Rep. Jack Quinn (R-N.Y.) as a legislative assistant. He went to work for DeLay in 1995 as a legislative assistant in the Texas Republican’s personal office," Bresnahan wote.

"From 1996 to 1998, Berry served as a floor assistant in DeLay’s vaunted Whip operation, and he was appointed chief floor assistant in 1999. Berry had extensive contacts with Members during that period, and earned kudos from both sides of the aisle for his legislative acumen.

"In August 2002, Berry moved up to chief of staff for the then-Majority Whip, and has been a part of the inner circle of House GOP leadership aides that includes such power players as [Brett] Loper; Dan Flynn, another senior DeLay aide; Scott Palmer, chief of staff for Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.); Mike Stokke, Hastert’s political director; and Brian Gaston, chief of staff to Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).

"Berry is married to Lisa Barcley, a Washington lawyer with the firm Zuckerman Spaeder. ... Berry, a native of Silver Spring, Md., graduated from Middlebury College in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in history."

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