Capitol Hill bigwigs boot ABC journalist from beer-lobbyist bash

Lobbying firms across Washington are not letting new ethics rules dampen their spirits as they send holiday party invitations to lawmakers and Congressional staffers this month. Omitted from the guest lists: nosy reporters trying to document the elbow-rubbing among the powerful elite within the nation's capital.

ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross was booted from "at least one" holiday party last week, where Members of Congress, their aides and outside lobbyists noshed on finger-foods and Guinness draught, reports Roll Call. The "Taste of the Holidays" party was held Wednesday night in the Rayburn House Office Building cafeteria and was sponsored by the National Beer Wholesalers Association and Brewers Association.

"Ross entered the party with cameras rolling," according to the paper's Heard on the Hill gossip column. "His goal: to show perks lawmakers and staffers receive during the holidays as trade groups and lobby shops throw swanky parties on Capitol Hill. Unsurprisingly, the newsman was treated like an interloper by the party's sponsors."

A witness to the dustup told the column that Ross was booted from the bash as soon as he arrived. Apparently the beer-pushing sponsors didn't appreciate their uninvited guest, and Ross would have violated House rules that ban video cameras in the cafeterias without prior approval. After his expulsion, Ross waited outside the doors to catch partygoers on their way out.

This week's interloping is not Ross's first foray into party-crashing. During the 2004 Republican National Convention, Ross sent some stunningly dressed female producers -- who became known as "Brian's Angles" -- to lobbying-sponsored confabs around New York with hidden cameras. Perhaps a similar strategy would've served him better Wednesday.

"We have a lot of women working here who have both brains and beauty. And they manage to talk their way into these parties," he told the New York Daily News at the time, "while I - lacking both, I guess - am left outside ... I can tell you that a few black dresses have been purchased for the summer."

The party reports are part of ABC's long-running series tracing the connections between money and politics. His latest report will air on ABC's World News Tonight Monday. The sponsors of Wednesday's party insist their bash complied with new ethics laws and said fuss over Ross's appearance was overblown, but his network defends the reporting.

"Reporting on how big money is spent in the halls of government is a worthy and important undertaking," an ABC News spokeswoman told Heard on the Hill. "Our award-winning series, Money Trail, has done that for years and will continue to do so."