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Senior McCain adviser Charlie Black lobbied for a mysterious Russian think tank in 2005, public records show. Black's firm was paid $50,000 to lobby on behalf of an entity that could have been named by Borat, the Center for the Development of Information Society (CDIS).
Like McCain's top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, Black is a career lobbyist with recent and lucrative ties to foreign interests. He is not a registered lobbyist today, but his firm continues to represent overseas interests while Black has unparalleled access to McCain.
Intrigued, I did some digging into the CDIS...
According to this press release, the CDIS's mission is to generate "new ideas" to continue "social progress" in the post-Putin era. The CDIS was also known as the RIO Center. It's mission is to help build an information society in Russia. In March of 2008, the RIO Center renamed itself INSOR, a Russian acronym for the Institute for Contemporary Development. The group is associated with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, Putin's hand-picked sucessor.
The chairman of the CDIS board is Igor Urievich, a lobbyist for a venture capital firm. The head of the board of trustees is the Minister of Information Technologies and Communication, Leonid Reiman.
Disclosure forms show that Black and three other lobbyists from his firm BKSH & Associates were hired by the CDIS to influence the State Department, the National Security Council, the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Senate on unspecified economic, foreign policy, and technology issues in 2005.
BKSH does not appear to have registered as a foreign agent of CDIS under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Willful failure to register as a foreign agent is a criminal offense that carries serious penalties, or would do, if the government bothered to enforce the law.
BKSH registered with FARA to represent the Russian Information Agency, but that registration lapsed at the end of 2003. A 2003 contract between BKSH and the RIA stipulates that BKSH would provide government relations council and work with U.S. elected officials for the balance of the callendar year. Yet, there is no record of BKSH registered to lobby on behalf of RIA during 2003. Technically, BKSH was a subcontractor to Hannaford Enterprises on the RIA account.
So, Charlie Black has a lot of explaining to do. Was he an unregistered lobbyist for the Russian Information Agency in 2003? And, why was he a registered lobbyist for a Russian think tank in 2005 without registering the contract with FARA?
Interestingly, the Open Secrets database shows that BKSH also lobbied for INSORS (with an "S") between 2005 and 2007, during which time INSORS paid BKSH a total of $160,000 to lobby the House and Senate on defense issues and computer issues. One of the lobbyists on this account, Gardner Peckham, was also one of Black's lobbyists on the CDIS account. Mother Jones reported that INSORS has paid BKSK $330,000 since 1998.
It's not clear whether INSOR and INSORS are related. Outwardly, apart from very similar names, a shared focus on telecommunications, and a desire to give a lot of money to BKSH, the two don't appear have much in common. INSORS, now IOCOM, is a Chicago-based telecommunications firm that just happens to have Gardner Peckham on its advisory board.
BKSH refuses to disclose any information about its clients.
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I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. Honest. John McCain is honorable and would never surround himself with lobbyists if he knew what they did.
He’s a maverick that way. Ordinary politicians know what lobbyists do. But knowing is for pussies.
McCain’s dirty friends are making McCain dirty.
It’s not just guilt by association. It’s the fact that they are shaping his policies, that we will all have to live with if he gets elected.
McCain is too deep into the cesspool to get out at this point.
My friends, Barack Obama is so inexperienced that he does not recognize the value that paid lobbyists and foreign agents bring to a presidential campaign.
As always, IOKIYAR
Does this count as foreign policy experience?
1,774 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen Lindsay Beyerstein and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
And the beat goes on…these people are gunna keep grabbin the cash in broad daylight right up until inauguration day because they don’t believe that the people’s representatives have the stones ta throw any of the bastards in jail. If the last two weeks have proven anythin’ at all it’s that Nancy Pelosi needs ta lose her seat in Congress and that an independent prosecutor investigatin’ political corruption would take down a good third of the elected Democrats as well as most a the fascists.
Smoke and mirrors can’t hide the fact that the emperor has no cloths and the United States of America is on the verge of collapse…a simple turnover of elected power to the Democrats will not save us unless thousands of representatives of the oligarchy go ta jail and confiscatory taxation of the rich bankrupts the ruling families and is used ta restructure the economy. The fascist beast we face has no teeth unless they succeed in pullin ours and usin ‘em on us…
The Charley Blacks of this surreal nightmare will continue to scurry around in the stinkin’ dens of corruption from Russia to Saudi Arabia to Washington D.C until we have a president who is willin’ ta eradicate the criminal cancer eating away our history and our future…I think Obama’s beginnin’ ta get the picture.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, FEAR IS ALL THEY GOT NOW!!!
Only tyrants rule with fear!
McCain has always been dirty. He tries to hide it behind his POW shield. That just doesn’t work so well when so many people are looking.
Citizen neurophius:
“McCain’s dirty friends are making McCain dirty.”
Sorry Citizen neurophius but McCain was BORN dirty…he’s never had any honor, integrity or decency and all he’s got goin’ for ‘im is the compassion we must hold for ‘im because he’s human.
Well said, Norske. I wish he felt that human compassion for others.
Gotta admit this is a strange choice of an advisor.
Probably checked Black out as well as he vetted Palin!
If Scheuenmann’s in Georgia’s pocket and Black is in Russia’s pocket, do they cancel each other out? I think this is the “balance” we hear so much about on Fox News.
Citizen Norske, I guess I chose my words too lightly.
What I meant was that these crooks and liars McSame has surrounded himself with are rubbing their filth on him. I did not mean to suggest that he was clean to begin with.
Keating 5, etc. point well taken.
As I think about it, one could even argue that McCain’s pre-existing dirty nature was what drew these slimeballs to him like moths to a flame.
He’s perfect for them. Would sell his soul to be prez with the morals of a tom cat. Not to mention being dumb as a stump.
Stirling Newberry up over at the Mothership
McPalin: Lobbyists, Lies, and Meaningless platitudes with completely restricted access by press and attendees to their rallys handpicked.
Christy Hardin Smith is on Rachel Maddow at 6:16PM Eastern and 3:16PM PT.
Stirling at the mothership, discussing the background of the bit shitpile
I think that she was vetted thoroughly. The Republicans choose her because she is a religious, right wing war monger, unethical politician who steps on anyone and everyone to get what she wants.
She lies,cheats,worships money and power,sucks up to the rich and powerful, thinks God wants wars and the end of the world(soon)(Bush 2),she does not think she has to obey any laws, she buys off and/or threatens people, she turns on her ‘friends’,and just adores oil profits.
She does not care about the environment, or animals(except to kill them). She panders to different religions..even admires and praises a witch doctor.
And she is willing to be molded and taught how to be the perfect Republican. She knows little about anything except her Alaska area. So,she will believe whatever crapo they wish to ‘teach’ her about the rest of the world.
And just loves the thought of nuclear war. I know she can see Russia but she doesn’t seem to understand that if Iran is attacked, Russia is going to become involved. She just parrots whatever she is told.
An NRA member. Anti abortion…brings in the far right religious nuts and counters McCain who is not anti abortion. Has the same indoor plumbing as Hilary. Uses her looks to get men thinking with the wrong anatomy part so that they don’t notice the lack of intelligence…etc..
One miscalculation from the Republicans…women don’t like women who use a pretty face to get what they want. All show and no substance. I am sure that her fake persona is going to stop many women from voting for her.
For a while we have been blogging about John McCain’s rather complicated and interesting relationship with Russia-related interests.
First, we think that Putin would prefer that he win, then there’s this one thing that he and Obama agree on, and lastly, how come nobody talks about how his main policy adviser on the country is also the VP of Ford or why he celebrated his birthday on Oleg Deripaska’s yacht?
Oh yes, there is also the Ukraine thing…
Palin’s flacks kint spell Kissinger. She told ‘em it’s an igloo term for foreplay.
She ain’t never takin’ no questions from a human mout other than “Charlie Charlie” and “Sean Sean.”
If you don’t register the hundreds of thousands of people who are apparently sitting this out, you’re going to have these two morons to look at for at least four years.
It has become abundantly clear that both Clintons have one interest–defeating Obama and giving Hillruh another shot in four years.
No one can offer any evidence to the contrary.
The biggest taboo subject at FDL but the media is slowly picking up on it. The Clinton’s ain’t doin’ nothing substantive to help Obama. They have done nothing but complement the moron Palin and they know better but in truth they don’t care if Daffy Duck gets the White House in January as long as Obama doesn’t. An Obama loss is to the Clintons a Clinton win and no one at FDL dares to say it but they know it’s true.