Once again we see a government official leaving a powerful post in the government in order to enter into a lucrative lobbying job using his high profile connections. Robert S. Nichols, a former spokesman for the Department of Treasury has signed on to two major lobbying groups.

The first being the Financial Services Forum President, a powerful lobbying group comprising 20 of the nations key financial services groups including Citigroup and Morgan Stanley. The second being a group called Engage China which is trying to open China's massive market to financial products like auto insurance. From these new posts, Nichols continues to promote the Treasury agenda leaving many to wonder, "is Nichols still working for the Treasury Department?"

Recent comments by a Treasury Spokeswoman seem to indicate Nichols'continued interest in Treasury affairs and his success in getting treasury officials to pressure China into lifting the moratorium on foreign investment in Chinese Security Firms. This, of course, benefits Nichols tremendously by helping the forum. To be sure, we will probably see more of these cases in the future.