‼️Targets of U.S. Sanctions (& Tariffs) Hire Lobbyists With Trump Ties to Seek Relief
As Trump’s adm has increasingly turned to sanctions, travel restrictions & tariffs to punish foreign gov’ts as well as people & companies from abroad.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
As Trump’s adm has increasingly turned to sanctions, travel restrictions & tariffs to punish foreign gov’ts as well as people & companies from abroad.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
This is an older article, which perhaps didn’t raise an eyebrow when it was first published, but it does now in light of what we know about the unusual way in which TeamTrump has conducted our foreign policy allowing those with close Trump ties to reap massive financial benefits. 
Targets of sanctions/tariffs have turned to DC’s K Street law, lobbying & PR firms, especially those people/firms with close ties to TeamTrump.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
This aligns w/ the pay-to-play schemes/mind-set that defines politics in many parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East & the former Soviet states.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Economic sanctions are Trump adm’s foreign-policy weapon of choice.
From China to Iran to Venezuela, sanctions and other coercive economic tools are central to Trump’s maximum pressure campaigns U.S. adversaries.
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
From China to Iran to Venezuela, sanctions and other coercive economic tools are central to Trump’s maximum pressure campaigns U.S. adversaries.
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
Trump is rolling out sanctions more aggressively than his predecessors:
He is also using them in new ways.
Three broad trends raise important questions about the future of U.S. coercive economic statecraft
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
He is also using them in new ways.
Three broad trends raise important questions about the future of U.S. coercive economic statecraft
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
We know Trump loves the corrupt dictators of the world, our law abiding allies, not so much.
Could the levying of sanctions/tariffs serve other darker & of course more lucrative purposes?
Think ‘money flows’, kick backs, ‘leverage’ & market manipulations.
Could the levying of sanctions/tariffs serve other darker & of course more lucrative purposes?
Think ‘money flows’, kick backs, ‘leverage’ & market manipulations.
Trump loves sanctions.
Data compiled by the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher shows that in 2018 the United States added nearly 1,500 people, companies, and entities to Treasury Department-managed sanctions,
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
Data compiled by the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher shows that in 2018 the United States added nearly 1,500 people, companies, and entities to Treasury Department-managed sanctions,
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
Nearly 50 percent more than in the second-highest year on record—2017, also under Trump.
But the Trump administration is aggressively pursuing sanctions programs against three countries as first-tier policy priorities—Iran, Venezuela, and North Korea—
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
But the Trump administration is aggressively pursuing sanctions programs against three countries as first-tier policy priorities—Iran, Venezuela, and North Korea—
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
The second trend is Trump’s increased focus on political and diplomatic signaling surrounding U.S. sanctions.
The United States, of course, has long articulated policy rationale when imposing new sanctions on foreign countries.
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
The United States, of course, has long articulated policy rationale when imposing new sanctions on foreign countries.
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
When the Obama administration placed sanctions on Russia in 2014, we publicly and privately communicated to Moscow that sanctions could be lifted if it implemented the so-called Minsk peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
Sanctioned companies & individuals have always had the ability to quietly petition U.S. regulators to have themselves removed from sanctions lists if they CEASE THEIR MALIGN ACTIVITIES, & they can get their assets unfrozen & resume business with the US.
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/tru…
However under the Trump adm, one is encouraged to hire a law, lobbying, &/or PR firm w/ close ties to TeamTrump & of course pay them millions to ease/remove the imposed sanctions/Tarrifs.
Just call Giuliani, Dershowitz, &/or Freeh & others to set up the ‘right’ contacts.
Just call Giuliani, Dershowitz, &/or Freeh & others to set up the ‘right’ contacts.
🔑As politicians and executives from those regions have increasingly been targeted by sanctions, they have sought to apply that approach — backed by huge sums of cash — to navigate DC, law/PR/lobbying firms say former government officials.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
This has been encouraged, & the willingness projected by TeamTrump to ‘make deals’ around sanctions & tariffs exemptions.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Previous adms had worked to wall off politics from those processes, which are supposed to be overseen primarily by career officials and governed by strict legal analyses—not so much with the Trump Adm.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Among the other Trump-linked lobbyists who have received big contracts from targets of sanctions and tariffs is Brian Ballard, a top fund-raiser for Mr. Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Brian Ballard “The Most Powerful Lobbyist in Trump’s Washington”
Fun fact: Ballard & Trump have known each other for over thirty years.
politico.com/magazine/story…
Fun fact: Ballard & Trump have known each other for over thirty years.
politico.com/magazine/story…
Brian Ballard FARAs
Zimbabwe, Azerbaijan, Maldives, Mali, Qatar, Kosovo, Turkey, Halkbank, DRC, Nigeria, Dominican Republic, Albania & more (108 records).
opensecrets.org/fara/results?e…
Zimbabwe, Azerbaijan, Maldives, Mali, Qatar, Kosovo, Turkey, Halkbank, DRC, Nigeria, Dominican Republic, Albania & more (108 records).
opensecrets.org/fara/results?e…
Ballard’s firm signed a $125,000-a-month contract in August 2017 to represent the Turkish-state-owned bank Halkbank, which had been working to avoid punishment for its role in a billion-dollar scheme to evade sanctions on Iran.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Despite Ballard’s effort Halkbank was Indicted.
The representation brought Mr. Ballard into discussions with Mr. Giuliani, who represented a gold trader charged in the scheme.
Then we have Alan Dershowitz. His criticism of the special counsel’s investigation of Trump has endeared him to the president.
But Mr. Dershowitz also has a long history of representing clients in transnational legal matters, including sanctions.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
But Mr. Dershowitz also has a long history of representing clients in transnational legal matters, including sanctions.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Dersh is advising Dan Gertler, an Israeli billionaire who was the target of sanctions by DC last year for using his connections to Kabila, the Congolese president, to facilitate what the Treasury Dep’t called “opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals.”
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Funny how TeamTrump players always seem to represent some of the most corrupt people & entities, while they rail against anti corruption efforts around world.
If S, P & V are the ‘Three Amigos’ then perhaps Giuliani, Freeh & Dershowitz should be known as the ‘Three Musketeers’
If S, P & V are the ‘Three Amigos’ then perhaps Giuliani, Freeh & Dershowitz should be known as the ‘Three Musketeers’
“Mr. Dershowitz called Mr. Gertler “a very good person” who is “being targeted primarily because of the actions of other people.” #SureJan
Yeah, yeah, yeah, those mean anti-corruption folks are persecuting one of my pals again.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Yeah, yeah, yeah, those mean anti-corruption folks are persecuting one of my pals again.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
11/5/19 Dershowitz & Freeh have registered to lobby the US gov’t on behalf of Dan Gertler
Mer paid $500,000 in April 2017 to Alston & Bird, the firm of former Senator Bob Dole.
Mr. Dole’s team indicated that it could secure a meeting between Mr. Kabila and Trump, but later Mer ended the subcontract in frustration.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Mr. Dole’s team indicated that it could secure a meeting between Mr. Kabila and Trump, but later Mer ended the subcontract in frustration.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
🔑Mer proceeded to invest millions more in lobbying and public relations firms with lower profiles but closer ties to the Trump team. (Dershowitz & Giuliani’s longtime pal Freeh)
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Also, Lobbying filings show $360,000 paid by Mer to Adnan Jalil, a former congressional liaison for Trump’s campaign; $250,000 to the firm of Nancye Miller, the wife of the Trump campaign adviser and former C.I.A. chief R. James Woolsey Jr.;
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Alston & Bird FARAs
Russia, Taiwan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, UAE, Cyprus, Montenegro, Kosovo, MER,
opensecrets.org/fara/results?e…
Russia, Taiwan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, UAE, Cyprus, Montenegro, Kosovo, MER,
opensecrets.org/fara/results?e…
They also paid $680,000 to the firm of former Representative Robert L. Livingston, an early Trump endorser; and $598,000 to the firm of Brian Glicklich, who has represented Trump allies such as Breitbart News and Rush Limbaugh.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Robert Livingston FARAs 486 records
Azerbaijan, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, DRC, Cayman Islands, Turkey, UKRMETALURGPROM (UKR), and much more. Including. Liz Cheney
opensecrets.org/fara/results?e…
Azerbaijan, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, DRC, Cayman Islands, Turkey, UKRMETALURGPROM (UKR), and much more. Including. Liz Cheney
opensecrets.org/fara/results?e…
Mer also agreed to pay $1.25 million to the firm of Robert Stryk, who had worked with Trump campaign officials, to organize the Hay-Adams event and meetings around it for Mr. Kabila’s (DRC) special envoy to the United States.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
(Mr. Stryk’s firm, Sonoran Policy Group, also signed a $100,000-a-month contract in August to represent Somalia in its bid for increased military aid from the Trump administration and removal from its travel ban list.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
SomaliaAndTeamTrump
And Sonoran registered as a subcontractor for a law firm to lobby for a notorious Serbian arms dealer who was hit with sanctions for selling weapons to Liberia).
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Serbian Arms Dealer Lobbies for Removal from US Blacklist
Serbian arms dealer Slobodan Tesic, who was blacklisted by the US, has hired a Washington-based lobbying company to help him get his name removed from the list.
balkaninsight.com/2018/03/05/ser…
Serbian arms dealer Slobodan Tesic, who was blacklisted by the US, has hired a Washington-based lobbying company to help him get his name removed from the list.
balkaninsight.com/2018/03/05/ser…
Francois Balumuene, the Congolese ambassador to the US, suggested in an interview in Sept that his country was working with Giuliani to figure out the adm’s position on an upcoming presidential election called by Kabila to avoid threatened sanctions.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
“What I know is that it is possible that Giuliani will let us know how to go ahead,” Mr. Balumuene said. He referred additional questions about Mr. Giuliani’s role to the country’s special envoy to Washington,
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Mr. Giuliani said he was not serving as an intermediary between the DRC and the adm
🔑But he later suggested because he was interested in exploring business opportunities, adding, “We’ve always wanted to see what’s Africa all about.”
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
🔑But he later suggested because he was interested in exploring business opportunities, adding, “We’ve always wanted to see what’s Africa all about.”
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
And someone familiar with Mr. Giuliani’s business affairs said that one of his companies has recently been negotiating a consulting deal to work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, possibly through Mer.
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/…
Dershowitz & Freeh have registered to lobby the US gov’t on behalf of Dan Gertler an Israeli who has been accused of getting rich from corrupt deals in Africa.
Freeh Thread
Freeh & Giuliani
Freeh & Lieberman
‼️Ukrainian Lobbying — this part should swing into view soon as it is another aspect of #UkraineGate
Secretive LLCs obscure Ukrainian foreign influence operation funding
opensecrets.org/news/2018/09/s…
Secretive LLCs obscure Ukrainian foreign influence operation funding
opensecrets.org/news/2018/09/s…
Tymoshenko a failed Ukrainian presidential candidate. Former congressmen turned lobbyists. Mysterious shell companies and offshore accounts funding it all
opensecrets.org/news/2019/05/f…
opensecrets.org/news/2019/05/f…
Tymoshenko was a political rival of former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych, the predecessor of current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's predecessor and a former client of Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, fancy that!
abcnews.go.com/Politics/feder…
abcnews.go.com/Politics/feder…
Foreign agents and lobbyists accused of orchestrating a disinformation campaign attacking former Ukrainian Prime Minister and 2019 presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko actually introduced her to key U.S. political players last year
opensecrets.org/news/2019/05/f…
opensecrets.org/news/2019/05/f…
BOB MCEWEN
This guy deserves a deeper dive, some rainy day.
This guy deserves a deeper dive, some rainy day.
2018: Ted Malloch’s (WikiLeaks/Trump transition) ties to Turkey’s Erdoğan under the spotlight
turkishminute.com/2018/04/06/opi…
turkishminute.com/2018/04/06/opi…
Monetizing Foreign Policy
TeamTrump Shadow Foreign Policy Schemes, Part Il: aka Fill The Swamp
Dark Money Funding Influence Operations
Weaponizing & Monetizing Sanctions & Tariffs.
Who benefits financially?
Law, Lobbying & PR Firms
@threadreaderapp unroll p & ty. 👆🏼
TeamTrump Shadow Foreign Policy Schemes, Part Il: aka Fill The Swamp
Dark Money Funding Influence Operations
Weaponizing & Monetizing Sanctions & Tariffs.
Who benefits financially?
Law, Lobbying & PR Firms
@threadreaderapp unroll p & ty. 👆🏼
