Subject: [big campaign] Re: McCain, Marcos, Mobuto, Chalabi, Blackwater, Black.
From: David Donnelly <[email-masked]>
To: Eli Pariser <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 16 May 2008 11:35:04 -0400
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

Great work Eli and team.

For those who haven¹t seen it... here¹s our letter to Rick Davis, campaign
manager for McCain, this morning:

http://www.firethelobbyists.com/davis_letter.html

                                                                        May
16, 2008
 
Richard Davis
John McCain 2008 
P.O. Box 16118 
Arlington, VA 22215
 
Dear Mr. Davis,
 
I read with interest the news reports of your campaign¹s decision to vet all
the past associations, work, and conflicts of interest of your staff. As you
may know, Campaign Money Watch has been increasingly concerned about the
number of lobbyists working on and raising money for Sen. John McCain¹s
presidential bid, the conflicts of interest they pose, and his retreat from
supporting comprehensive reform that cuts the direct ties between special
interests and candidates.
 
With 115 lobbyists raising money for or staffing your campaign, we believe
that last weekend¹s revelations that two staff members of the campaign
promoted the military junta in Myanmar are just the tip of the iceberg. As
you may be aware, Campaign Money Watch has called on three additional
members of the McCain team to resign for similar representation of regimes
with human rights abuses and brutal treatment of their citizens.
 
If you are interested in cleaning house at the McCain campaign, we urge you
to start with Charlie Black, Tom Loeffler, and Peter Madigan.
 
As you will soon find out when these three fill out their forms, they have
represented unconscionable foreign interests. Mr. Black and his firm have
lobbied for Philippines¹s President Ferdinand Marcos, strongman Mobuto Sese
Seko of Zaire, Mohamed Siad Barre of Somali, ³rebel terrorist² Jonas Savimbi
of Angola, and several other unsavory foreign clients. Mr. Loeffler and his
firm have made approximately $11 million in their contracts representing the
Saudi Arabian government. Mr. Madigan represented the government of the
United Arab Emirates in a class action suit regarding the enslavement of
children as camel jockeys.
 
You can read more about their past clients and their lobbying work at
http://www.firethelobbyists.com.
 
Clearly these types of lobbying clientele reflect poorly on Sen. McCain and
his campaign.
 
Your vetting process will turn up many more conflicts of interest. For
example, there have been widely reported connections between several
lobbyists who serve as fundraisers and staff for your campaign and Airbus¹s
U.S. affiliate when they secured a $35 billion Air Force contract. Sen.
McCain has received more in campaign donations from executives of this
Airbus affiliate, EADS, than any other candidate. In addition, your own
lobbying and public relations work, and that of your firm, has raised
serious questions about conflicts of interest.
 
We remain concerned about Sen. McCain¹s retreat from his previous support
for public financing legislation at the national level. That he has built a
campaign relying on lobbyists to staff it and raise money for it is a clear
signal to us that reforming business-as-usual politics and the pay-to-play
culture in Washington is a very low priority for the Senator if he is
elected. We hope this will change.
 
We are encouraged that you have begun to correct this appearance with a
thorough review of all those staffing for Sen. McCain¹s campaign. As an
immediate step, you ought to immediately remove Messrs. Black, Loeffler, and
Madigan, and extend your review to those you are depending upon to raise
money for the campaign.
 
Sincerely,

 
David Donnelly
Director

On 5/16/08 11:29 AM, "Eli Pariser" <[email-masked]> wrote:

>  
> 
>  
> 
> MoveOn.org 
> Political Action 
> 
>  
> 
> For Immediate Release:        Contact:
> 
> Friday, May 16, 2008             Trevor Fitzgibbon or Doug Gordon (202)
> 822-5200
> 
>  
> 
> *** View Web Ad At: http://pol.moveon.org/charlieblack/video.html***
> MoveOn Attacks McCain's Lobbyist Connections;
> Calls For Chief Adviser To Resign
>  
> Black Should Be The First To Go Under Campaign's
>  New "Conflict Of Interest Policy"
>  
> 
> John McCain's chief adviser, lobbyist Charlie Black, is the subject of a new
> video released today calling on him to resign. The video comes after
> revelations of past lobbying ties and conflicts of interest led to the
> resignation of three McCain staffers and the introduction of a new conflict of
> interest policy by the campaign.
> 
>  
> 
> The video, released by MoveOn.org Political Action and sent to their members
> today, highlights Black's work on behalf of some of the world's worst
> dictators. 
> 
>  
> 
> Charlie Black, one of John McCain's top advisers, was the head of a lobbying
> firm, BKSH & Associates, that represented brutal dictators like Ferdinand
> Marcos in the Philippines and Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire‹along with terrorist
> rebel Jonas Savimbi in Angola. Black also profited off the war in Iraq by
> representing firms such as Blackwater and Iraqi fraudster Ahmed Chalabi.
> Working with Chalabi, BKSH helped promote the lie, later repeated by the Bush
> Administration, that the Hussein regime possessed weapons of mass destruction.
> 
>  
> 
> Earlier this week, two of John McCain's senior campaign staff were forced to
> resign after revelations that their lobbying firm was paid hundreds of
> thousands of dollars to represent Burma's brutal military dictatorship.
> 
> In total, John McCain's campaign is run by over 100 lobbyists representing
> foreign and corporate interests.
> 
> "Charlie Black has helped some of the world's worst dictators get away with
> murder," said Noah T. Winer of MoveOn. "John McCain must do the right thing,
> live up to his campaign's new conflict of interest policy, and demand Black's
> immediate resignation."
> 
>  
>  
>   AD TEXT:   John McCain says we're fighting in Iraq to plant "the seeds of
> democracyŠ"     ... but the firm of his "chief political adviser" Charlie
> BlackŠ      made millions lobbying for the world's worst tyrantsŠ
> ŠFerdinand Marcos, who executed thousands of his own citizens in the
> PhilippinesŠ     
> ŠZaire's Mobuto, who publicly hanged his opponents and looted his country's
> vast mineral wealthŠ                                       Šand rebel leader
> Jonas Savimbi, a mass murderer, who covered Angola with landmines.
> Charlie Black said he didn't do anything wrong.        John McCain should tell
> Black he did.  Call John McCain and tell him to fire Charlie Black.
> DOCUMENTATION:   "Šwe must see this conflict through to the end. That means
> correcting our mistakes, building on our progress, and helping to plant in the
> most dangerous region in the world the seeds of democracy that will influence
> its neighbors." [Op-Ed by Senator John McCain, Arizona Republic, 3/19/06]
> Senator McCain's "chief political adviser," Charles R. Black Jr., served as
> chairman of one of Washington's lobbying powerhouses. [Washington Post,
> 2/22/08]   Two of Sen. John McCain's top advisers and fundraisers' lobbying
> firms have been paid more than $15 million by foreign governments since 2005.
> The firms of McCain senior adviser Charlie Black, who until recently was the
> chairman of Washington-based BKSH & Associates, and campaign co-chairman
> Thomas G. Loeffler, who heads the Loeffler Group in San Antonio, received
> millions of dollars lobbying the White House, Congress and others as agents of
> nearly a dozen foreign clients in recent years. [Washington Times, 4/11/08]
> A politically well-connected U.S. lobbying firm is being paid nearly
> $1-million to help a Philippine client linked with President Ferdinand
> MarcosŠThe firm, Black, Manafort & Stone Public Affairs, began a year-long
> contract with a client called the Chamber of Philippines Manufacturers,
> Exporters and Tourist Associations on Nov. 15, official records show. Under
> the terms of the contract, the suburban Washington-based concern is to be paid
> $950,000 plus expenses to provide 'advice and assistance on matters relating
> to the media, public relations and public affairs interests' as well as
> lobbying services. [Globe and Mail, 12/20/85]   Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly
> was registered as a lobbyist for the Chamber of Philippine Manufacturers,
> Exporters and Tourism Associations. The firm charged a $950,000 annual fee
> from November 1985 to November 1986.  [Department of Justice, Foreign Agents
> Registration Act, Online Records]   The Black, Manafort partners have woven
> such an intricate web of connections that the strands become entangled at
> times. Lobbyist Kelly served as finance chairman of the National Democratic
> Institute, a public-interest organization established by Congress to promote
> democracy in underdeveloped countries. The institute recently sent observers
> to try to ensure a fair election in the Philippines. Yet Kelly's firm, for a
> reported $900,000 fee, represents Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who
> stands accused of having stolen the vote. [Time Magazine, 3/3/86]   In 1992, a
> jury trial ruled that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos  was responsible
> for human rights violations tortures, disappearances and summary executions
> between 1972, when he declared martial law, and 1986, when he was overthrown.
> [Associated Press, 6/16/94]     Marcos ruled the Philippines for 20 years,
> during which tens of thousands of activists were either summarily executed or
> went missing, according to rights groups.  [Agence France Presse, 2/6/05]
> Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly was registered as a lobbyist for the Government
> of Zaire. The firm charged a $1 million annual fee from July 1989to July 1990.
> [Department of Justice, Foreign Agents Registration Act, Online Records]
> ..the outgoing dictator, Mobuto Sese Seko, who plundered the country's wealth,
> jailed protesters, and executed adversariesŠ [Boston Globe, 5/18/97]   "Mr.
> Mobutu almost singlehandedly invented Zaire, even giving the country its name
> in replacement of the colonial name, Congo. But his personal appetite for
> luxury and wealth spawned a system of official corruption so rapacious that he
> leaves behind a country in ruin, where revenue from lucrative mines has been
> squandered or squirreled away in foreign bank accounts." [New York Times,
> 5/17/97]   "Challengers, both imagined and real, often paid with their lives,
> like the four former Cabinet ministers whom Mr. Mobutu had publicly hanged
> before 50,000 spectators six months after he took office." [New York Times,
> 5/17/97]     Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly was registered as a lobbyist for
> UNITA in Angola. The firm charged a $600,000 annual fee from September 1985 to
> September 1986; a $200,000 annual fee from September 1986 to September 1987; a
> $600,000 annual fee from September 1991 to September 1992; and a $15,000
> monthly fee from January 1994 to June 1995.  [Department of Justice, Foreign
> Agents Registration Act, Online Records]   "When Savimbi came to Washington
> last month to seek support for his guerrilla organization, UNITA, in its
> struggle against the Marxist regime in Angola, he hired Black, Manafort. What
> the firm achieved was quickly dubbed 'Savimbi chic.' Doors swung open all over
> town for the guerrilla leader, who was dapperly attired in a Nehru suit and
> ferried about in a stretch limousine. Dole had shown only general interest in
> Savimbi's cause until Black, the Senate majority leader's former aide,
> approached him on his client's behalf. Dole promptly introduced a
> congressional resolution backing UNITA's insurgency and sent a letter to the
> State Department urging that the U.S. supply it with heavy arms. The firm's
> fee for such services was reportedly $600,000." [Time, 3/3/86]   Black called
> Mr. Savimbi, the brutal Angolan leader whom President Ronald Reagan promoted
> as a freedom fighter but many Democrats derided as an ally of apartheid South
> Africa, "a great pleasure to work with." [New York Times, 4/13/08]   "Angola
> has been bled enough. Thousands of children have been crippled by land mines,
> most planted by Unita. Mr. Savimbi is no democrat or 'freedom fighter.' He is
> a warlord, ruling by machete and gun, who is credibly blamed for the massacre
> of civilians." [New York Times Editorial, 4/14/93]       Black said he never
> took on work for foreign figures "without first talking to the State
> Department and the White House and clearing with them that the work would be
> in the interest of U.S. foreign policy." [washingtonpost.com
> <http://washingtonpost.com/> , 5/13/08]
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> 
> From: Douglas Gordon
> Sent: Friday, May 16, 2008 10:17 AM
> To: Jenn Lindenauer; 'Eli Pariser'; [email-masked]'
> Subject: New Final Release.... Good to go with this?
> 
> MoveOn.org 
> Political Action 
> 
>  
> 
> For Immediate Release:       Contact:
> 
> Friday, May 16, 2008             Trevor Fitzgibbon or Doug Gordon (202)
> 822-5200
> 
>  
> 
> *** View Web Ad At: http://pol.moveon.org/charlieblack/video.html***
> MoveOn Attacks McCain's Lobbyist Connections;
> Calls For Chief Adviser To Resign
>  
> Black Should Be The First To Go Under Campaign's
>  New "Conflict Of Interest Policy"
>  
> 
> John McCain's chief adviser, lobbyist Charlie Black, is the subject of a new
> video released today calling on him to resign. The video comes after
> revelations of past lobbying ties and conflicts of interest lead to the
> resignation of three McCain staffers and the introduction of a new conflict of
> interest policy by the campaign.
> 
>  
> 
> The video, released by MoveOn.org Political Action and sent to their members
> today, highlights Black's work on behalf of some of the world's worst
> dictators. 
> 
>  
> 
> Charlie Black, one of John McCain's top advisers, was the head of a lobbying
> firm, BKSH & Associates, that represented brutal dictators like Ferdinand
> Marcos in the Philippines and Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire‹along with terrorist
> rebel Jonas Savimbi in Angola. Black also profited off the war in Iraq by
> representing firms such as Blackwater and Iraqi fraudster Ahmed Chalabi.
> Working with Chalabi, BKSH helped promote the lie, later repeated by the Bush
> Administration, that the Hussein regime possessed weapons of mass destruction.
> 
>  
> 
> Earlier this week, two of John McCain's senior campaign staff were forced to
> resign after revelations that their lobbying firm was paid hundreds of
> thousands of dollars to represent Burma's brutal military dictatorship.
> 
> In total, John McCain's campaign is run by over 100 lobbyists representing
> foreign and corporate interests.
> 
> "Charlie Black has helped some of the world's worst dictators get away with
> murder," said Noah T. Winer of MoveOn. "John McCain must do the right thing,
> live up to his campaign's new conflict of interest policy, and demand Black's
> immediate resignation."
> 
>  
> 
>  
>   AD TEXT:   John McCain says we're fighting in Iraq to plant "the seeds of
> democracyŠ"     ... but the firm of his "chief political adviser" Charlie
> BlackŠ      made millions lobbying for the world's worst tyrantsŠ
> ŠFerdinand Marcos, who executed thousands of his own citizens in the
> PhilippinesŠ     
> ŠZaire's Mobuto, who publicly hanged his opponents and looted his country's
> vast mineral wealthŠ                                       Šand rebel leader
> Jonas Savimbi, a mass murderer, who covered Angola with landmines.
> Charlie Black said he didn't do anything wrong.        John McCain should tell
> Black he did.  Call John McCain and tell him to fire Charlie Black.
> DOCUMENTATION:   "Šwe must see this conflict through to the end. That means
> correcting our mistakes, building on our progress, and helping to plant in the
> most dangerous region in the world the seeds of democracy that will influence
> its neighbors." [Op-Ed by Senator John McCain, Arizona Republic, 3/19/06]
> Senator McCain's "chief political adviser," Charles R. Black Jr., served as
> chairman of one of Washington's lobbying powerhouses. [Washington Post,
> 2/22/08]   Two of Sen. John McCain's top advisers and fundraisers' lobbying
> firms have been paid more than $15 million by foreign governments since 2005.
> The firms of McCain senior adviser Charlie Black, who until recently was the
> chairman of Washington-based BKSH & Associates, and campaign co-chairman
> Thomas G. Loeffler, who heads the Loeffler Group in San Antonio, received
> millions of dollars lobbying the White House, Congress and others as agents of
> nearly a dozen foreign clients in recent years. [Washington Times, 4/11/08]
> A politically well-connected U.S. lobbying firm is being paid nearly
> $1-million to help a Philippine client linked with President Ferdinand
> MarcosŠThe firm, Black, Manafort & Stone Public Affairs, began a year-long
> contract with a client called the Chamber of Philippines Manufacturers,
> Exporters and Tourist Associations on Nov. 15, official records show. Under
> the terms of the contract, the suburban Washington-based concern is to be paid
> $950,000 plus expenses to provide 'advice and assistance on matters relating
> to the media, public relations and public affairs interests' as well as
> lobbying services. [Globe and Mail, 12/20/85]   Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly
> was registered as a lobbyist for the Chamber of Philippine Manufacturers,
> Exporters and Tourism Associations. The firm charged a $950,000 annual fee
> from November 1985 to November 1986.  [Department of Justice, Foreign Agents
> Registration Act, Online Records]   The Black, Manafort partners have woven
> such an intricate web of connections that the strands become entangled at
> times. Lobbyist Kelly served as finance chairman of the National Democratic
> Institute, a public-interest organization established by Congress to promote
> democracy in underdeveloped countries. The institute recently sent observers
> to try to ensure a fair election in the Philippines. Yet Kelly's firm, for a
> reported $900,000 fee, represents Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who
> stands accused of having stolen the vote. [Time Magazine, 3/3/86]   In 1992, a
> jury trial ruled that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos  was responsible
> for human rights violations tortures, disappearances and summary executions
> between 1972, when he declared martial law, and 1986, when he was overthrown.
> [Associated Press, 6/16/94]     Marcos ruled the Philippines for 20 years,
> during which tens of thousands of activists were either summarily executed or
> went missing, according to rights groups.  [Agence France Presse, 2/6/05]
> Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly was registered as a lobbyist for the Government
> of Zaire. The firm charged a $1 million annual fee from July 1989to July 1990.
> [Department of Justice, Foreign Agents Registration Act, Online Records]
> ..the outgoing dictator, Mobuto Sese Seko, who plundered the country's wealth,
> jailed protesters, and executed adversariesŠ [Boston Globe, 5/18/97]   "Mr.
> Mobutu almost singlehandedly invented Zaire, even giving the country its name
> in replacement of the colonial name, Congo. But his personal appetite for
> luxury and wealth spawned a system of official corruption so rapacious that he
> leaves behind a country in ruin, where revenue from lucrative mines has been
> squandered or squirreled away in foreign bank accounts." [New York Times,
> 5/17/97]   "Challengers, both imagined and real, often paid with their lives,
> like the four former Cabinet ministers whom Mr. Mobutu had publicly hanged
> before 50,000 spectators six months after he took office." [New York Times,
> 5/17/97]     Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly was registered as a lobbyist for
> UNITA in Angola. The firm charged a $600,000 annual fee from September 1985 to
> September 1986; a $200,000 annual fee from September 1986 to September 1987; a
> $600,000 annual fee from September 1991 to September 1992; and a $15,000
> monthly fee from January 1994 to June 1995.  [Department of Justice, Foreign
> Agents Registration Act, Online Records]   "When Savimbi came to Washington
> last month to seek support for his guerrilla organization, UNITA, in its
> struggle against the Marxist regime in Angola, he hired Black, Manafort. What
> the firm achieved was quickly dubbed 'Savimbi chic.' Doors swung open all over
> town for the guerrilla leader, who was dapperly attired in a Nehru suit and
> ferried about in a stretch limousine. Dole had shown only general interest in
> Savimbi's cause until Black, the Senate majority leader's former aide,
> approached him on his client's behalf. Dole promptly introduced a
> congressional resolution backing UNITA's insurgency and sent a letter to the
> State Department urging that the U.S. supply it with heavy arms. The firm's
> fee for such services was reportedly $600,000." [Time, 3/3/86]   Black called
> Mr. Savimbi, the brutal Angolan leader whom President Ronald Reagan promoted
> as a freedom fighter but many Democrats derided as an ally of apartheid South
> Africa, "a great pleasure to work with." [New York Times, 4/13/08]   "Angola
> has been bled enough. Thousands of children have been crippled by land mines,
> most planted by Unita. Mr. Savimbi is no democrat or 'freedom fighter.' He is
> a warlord, ruling by machete and gun, who is credibly blamed for the massacre
> of civilians." [New York Times Editorial, 4/14/93]       Black said he never
> took on work for foreign figures "without first talking to the State
> Department and the White House and clearing with them that the work would be
> in the interest of U.S. foreign policy." [washingtonpost.com
> <http://washingtonpost.com/> , 5/13/08]
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
>  
>  
> 
> > 
> 

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