In early 2005, Tom Daschle, the former Democratic Senate leader, teamed up with his close friend Leo Hindery. Daschle agreed to become the founding chairman of "a world-class executive advisory board" of "industry and regulatory experts" for a new investment firm run by Hindery, according to a news release announcing its inception and seeking investors. The partnership has now come back to haunt Daschle, with the disclosure that he had failed to pay $128,000 in taxes on the car and driver Hindery's firm provided him, threatening to derail his confirmation as secretary of health and human services.