He said Scheunemann "stopped working for Georgia" March 1 and has taken "no compensation" from Orion since May 15, the day McCain barred registered lobbyists from joining his campaign staff to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
McCain's actions on Georgia are "completely consistent with his record of supporting our allies in a very tough region of the world," Rogers said. "He's been a leader on this issue for a very long time."
McCain first met Saakashvili when he and Scheunemann visited the country in 1997. McCain returned twice, and his experience clearly affects his view of the current conflict.
"This little country was prospering. It's a democracy. It's a freely elected government," McCain said at a fundraiser Thursday in Edwards, Colo. "What we're seeing now is a gross violation of everything we stand for and believe in."
Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama largely agrees with McCain on Georgia. But Obama's campaign, as well as some experts on ethics in government, contend that Scheunemann's high-profile role in the McCain campaign raises doubts about the candidate's promise to end what he calls Washington's "culture of corruption."
"It reeks of conflict of interest," said Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen, a watchdog group based in Washington.
"McCain has wrapped himself up with K Street lobbyists," Holman said. "But this one is really brazen. There's been an exchange of money when he's been advising McCain to take some action."
Ed Davis, director of research at Common Cause, said Scheunemann's move from lobbyist to advisor is common. Foreign governments, companies, labor unions and other organizations spent a record $2.8 billion to lobby for favorable policies in Washington last year, records show.
"Unfortunately, it's the way business is done," Davis said.
But Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, contended that it's unreasonable to ban paid experts from advising candidates. "If you rule out people who lobby, you probably rule out a lot of talent and connections," she said.
Still, McCain's reliance on former lobbyists has become a drag on his campaign.
This month, he was forced on the defensive when it emerged that his campaign manager, Rick Davis, previously worked as a lobbyist for shipping company DHL. The German-owned company plans to close its airport hub in southwest Ohio, putting more than 8,000 people out of work.
