The difference between Weymouth’s salons and the scores of such dinners that happened in Washington each night was that the lobbyists would pay to sponsor these salons, at $25,000 per event. (Sponsorship for the first 11 events was discounted to $250,000.) The unsavory new twist was offering the lobbyists the chance to buy access to Post editors and reporters, who would be seated at the table engaging in the off-the-record discussions. The appearance of impropriety was so glaring that it was hard to believe anyone at the Post would entertain such a notion.
