On the campaign trail, Rick Santorum says his career since the Senate has been a paid commentary role at Fox News and as a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. But a mandatory disclosure requirement for presidential candidates reveals something new: Santorum has maintained his lifestyle through a well-paid consulting gig with Consol Energy Inc and a lobbying firm called American Continental Group.
The disclosure, revealed earlier this week, comes as a surprise because Santorum has never mentioned the fact that he works for a lobbying firm, nor do any state and federal lobbying disclosures have him listed as a lobbyist or contractor to such a company.
Consol Energy is one of the country’s largest coal mining companies that also has substantial involvement in hydraulic fracking in Pennslyvania. According to the company’s website, it is “the leading eastern U.S. gas producer and our future growth is centered in the Marcellus Shale.” ThinkProgress has attended multiple Santorum campaign stops, and the former senator almost always spends a few minutes extolling the virtues of fracking in the Marcellus Shale region:
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