IN MOST CONGRESSIONAL OFfices, there is someone like Ann Eppard: the fierce gatekeeper deciding who sees the Congressman and who doesn't, the lieutenant whose years of iron loyalty have been rewarded with his deepest trust, the steward of his fund raising. Rarely are these staff members known outside the lawmaker's narrow orbit. But when Eppard left Capitol Hill the day after the 1994 election to start her own lobbying firm, many of the nation's richest interests were clamoring to sign her up, showering her with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees.
That's because Eppard had served as the closest of...