BP lobbyists planned at least 53 fundraising parties for  lawmakers and candidates since 2008,  including eleven this calendar year, according to an analysis of Party Time congressional fundraising data and federal lobbying data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Nine out of 11 fundraisers we have on file for this year are those hosted either by Tony Podesta or other lobbyists for his firm, the Podesta Group, who represent the company, now under enormous scrutiny as oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill continues to foul the Louisiana coast and beyond. As the Washington Times reported earlier this week, the well  connected Podesta is the source of “tens of thousands” of dollars for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee–which has been pushing a for a petition to hold BP “accountable” while accusing Republicans of making excuses for “bad environmental actors.”

While most of the Podesta-related events are for Democrats, at least one is for a Republican, Rep. John Thune, R-S.D.

Below are fundraisers hosted by BP lobbyists for this calendar year. We have also attached a spreadsheet that includes the full list of fundraising parties associated with BP lobbyists. One word of caution: we have not called each person on this list to verify their identity, nor do we always know that the fundraiser took place or if a specific lawmaker listed on an invitation actually was present. We offer this list as a guide for reporting on these fundraisers. Also, the Party Time data is collected from anonymous donors and is not a complete list, so there could be many more fundraisers that were held.

• Paul Brathwaite and Cristina Antelo, who both lobby for the Podesta Group, were among numerous hosts for a party benefiting CHC-BOLD PAC, a PAC for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, on May 26.
• Tim Glassco, also a lobbyist for the Podesta Group, was a host of this “young professionals” happy hour for Rep. Glen Nye, D-Va., on May 25.
• Dan Meyer, a lobbyist for the Duberstein Group, was a  host of this event on April 29  for would-be GOP California senator Carly Fiorina California, GOPer.
• Tony Podesta and his wife, Heather, hosted this breakfast on April 28 for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.
• Courtney Johnson, a lobbyist for the Alpine Group, was one of a long list of hosts for this luncheon for Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.
• Tony Podesta and his wife Heather were hosts of this reception for Rep. Paul Hodes, D-N.H., who is running for the Senate, on March 11.
• Paul Braithwaite of the Podesta Group was a host for this reception for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, on February 24 and this one on February 10. It is curious that both events, so close together, list a similar group of hosts.
• Tony Podesta and his wife, Heather, opened their home for this star-studded event–many other Democratic House members are also billed as appearing on the invitation–for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on February 9.
• On February 4, Podesta Group lobbyists Kimberly Fritts (who represented BP in 2009) and Randall Gerard hosted this party for Rep. John Thune, R-S.D.
• Tony and Heather Podesta were among the hosts for this fundraiser on January 12 for failed Massachusetts Senate candidate Martha Coakley.

We’ve found invitations for at least 28 parties this year for members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions, of which several can be linked directly to health care industry lobbyists. (This is part of a series we’ve been running on parties for members of key health care committees.) These include:

• Nine lobbyists from the Podesta Group broke from their boss, Tony Podesta’s Democratic proclivities and invited donors to a breakfast with Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC). Among the companies some of them represent: Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Millenium Pharmaceuticals, Roche Group, and Genzyme Corp. Burr’s gotten more than $2 million in campaign contributions from the health care sector for his campaigns. (The nine lobbyists are: Sharon Cohen, Kimberley Fritts, Randall Gerard, Lauren Maddox, David Marin, Elizabeth Morra, John Scofield, John Shank, and Missi Tessier.)
• A half dozen lobbyists for the firm Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti Inc.–Jamie Brown, Colette Desmarais, Bruce Mehlman, Elise Pickering, Dean Rosen, and Alex Vogel–planned a fundraising breakfast on March 10 for Sen. Johnny Isakson. Their clients include Abbott Laboratories, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. Isakson has collected more than $855,000 in campaign contributions from health care interests for his campaigns.
• Back in February, lobbyists for Fabiani & Co. organized another Isakson fundraiser, this one featuring “special guest” –Sen. Burr. Jim Fabiani and Stephen Conafay represent such clients as Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Braincells Inc., and Acorda Therapeutics.

[Thanks to intern Josh Heath who helped research this post.]