A nonprofit established by the government of Morocco went on a lobbying frenzy earlier this year, coinciding with the time when pro-democracy demonstrations in the country took an ugly turn. The Moroccan-American Policy Council, which is the registered agent of the Moroccan government met with 130 congressional offices on February 23, 24 and 25 just days after the riots broke out, FARA records show.
Protests in the country started on February 1, when a protestor lit himself on fire, immitating the incident that sparked the Tunisian revolt and in a few weeks turned violent with riots on February 21. A ...
Continue readingForeign Lobbying Discussion on CSPAN’s Washington Journal
Today’s Washington Journal focused on foreign lobbying and the role that former government officials and K Street firms play in... View Article
Continue readingMexican government hires lobbyists, lawyer to help nationals facing capital punishment
The Mexican consulate in Tuscon hired Arizona-based lawyer Gregory Kuykendall for legal service and advice for Mexican nationals charged with crimes that could lead to a death sentence and for those already sentenced, recently filed disclosures under the Foreign Agents Registration Act filing show.
Kuykendall is the director of the Mexican Capital Legal Assistance program, established by the Mexican government in September 1999 to provide guidance and assistance for the legal defense of their nationals in capital cases. The Mexican government has paid $3.5 million for this program for a period between June 2010 and May 2011.
According to ...
Monitor Group Admits Violating FARA Law
The Monitor Group, a business consulting firm run by Harvard professors, has admitted that they broke the Foreign Agents Registration... View Article
Continue readingPrincess and the policy
There is a special role for princesses in international diplomacy and some like Princess Diana and Queen Noor of Jordan captivated the imagination of the world with their charm and humanitarian work, but others play a more formal diplomatic and public relations role and appear in foreign lobbying records.
Princess of Qatar, Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, hired Fenton Communications in September of 2009 to assist her with a website and media outreach promoting her public education campaign, Foreign Agents Registration Act filings show. The contract with Fenton was terminated but the website is still up and running, describing her ...
Continue readingUnofficial Libyan ambassador registers with FARA
In a sign of the ambiguity of international policy toward Libya, Ali Suleiman Aujali, the diplomat who made headlines when he defected from the Gadafi Government in February, has registered as a foreign agent with the U.S. Justice Department to represent the Transitional National Council of Libya, the umbrella group representing the forces opposed to the rule of Muammar Gaddafi.
The State Department has not officially recognized the opposition rebels as the legitimate government of Libya. If it had, as the Foreign Agent Registration Unit notes on its website, no filing would be necessary. "Diplomats and officials of foreign ...
Continue readingLobbying Tracker now follows foreign influence
Sunlight's Lobbying Tracker, which shows the latest hirings of K-Street professionals by special interests and when former congressional members and staff can legally lobby their old colleagues, now lets users track foreign influence as well. The Lobbying Tracker pulls in the latest filings made under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, allowing users to follow the latest foreign clients, see the most recent semi-annual disclosure reports and even see who the most recent individuals are to disclose their activities under the Foreign Agent Registration Act.
The Foreign Lobbying Filing component of the Lobbying Tracker pulls in filings as they are ...
Continue readingBahrain’s PR Team
As winter has turned to a democratic spring in the Arab world, the Kingdom of Bahrain has found itself swept... View Article
Continue readingThe Monitor Group, Libya, And Positive Media Mentions
The Monitor Group/Libya controversy continues today with an article in the Boston Globe. The article quotes Libya scholar Dick Vandewalle... View Article
Continue readingUS Consulting Group Working For Libya Did Not Register As Foreign Agent
“Monitor is not a lobbying group.” That was the assertion in one of a series of memos between The Monitor... View Article
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