I’m going to highlight some of the revelatory details unearthed by @thamburger @bethreinhard @justinwmmoyer in their deep exploration of the Saudi influence machine:
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Saudi spending on U.S. lobbying and consulting, which had dropped from $14.3 million in 2015 to $7.7 million in 2016, surged to $27.3 million last year, according to public records.
Money is no object. The firm of one former Trump campaign adviser was paid $5.4 million -- for an engagement that ended after one month.
In an effort to defeat bill pushed by Sept. 11 families, military veterans were recruited by Saudi consultants to lobby the Hill. Some did not know the kingdom was behind the effort. “We realized we were pawns,” one vet said.
Saudi money — and funds from its close ally, the United Arab Emirates — have also flowed into think tanks throughout Washington, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Brookings Institution and the Middle East Institute.
.@ChrisMurphyCT said that "everybody who is smart and knows about foreign policy" tells him that "the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have a special, unbreakable relationship....But as it turns out, a lot of those people are getting gulf money.”
But the kingdom’s power goes beyond lobbying muscle and think tanks.
The Saudis have found a receptive audience in Trump, who has done business with its wealthy citizens, and in Kushner, who developed a close bond with MBS as he crafted the administration’s Middle East policy.
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Saudi ambassador has hosted intimate dinners in Washington and even occasional galas, such as a lavish event at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium honoring this year’s visit of the crown prince.
Earlier this year, Saudi officials offered Super Bowl tickets and chartered flights to media stars such as CNN’s @jaketapper and Fox News’s @BretBaier (they both turned them down).
The kingdom is savvy about harnessing social media. When MBS was in DC in 2017, the embassy’s @ArabiaNow Twitter feed — run by Qorvis MSLGROUP, according to lobbying records — offered a sunny view of the oil-rich kingdom and its role in Yemen.
Powerful government figures — including deputy intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, who was fired for Khashoggi’s killing — have visited Washington to court reporters and think tank analysts.
A 2017 op-ed by Assisi published on FoxNews.com was entered into the congressional record by Rep. Edward R. Royce (Calif.), the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who praised his “support for intelligence sharing.”
foxnews.com/opinion/saudi-…
foxnews.com/opinion/saudi-…
Earlier this year, during the seven weeks leading up to the crown prince’s visit and a vote to end US involvement in Yemen, lobbyists reported 759 contacts with members of Congress, staffers, academics and reporters on behalf of the Saudi government.
One Human Rights Watch official recalled talking with a key congressional aide about civilian casualties in Yemen and realizing that the aide was simultaneously receiving texts from Otaiba, the UAE ambassador who is a key advocate for the Saudis.
