Much has been made about Jack Abramoff's tribal clients. To be sure, Abramoff's involvement with various tribes were the downfall of his storied lobbying career. But Abramoff had a long list of clients over the years. Many of the more exotic and interesting clients have been foreign executives and governments, such as
Russian
oil executives and island sweatshop industries. However, there are scores of rather questionable groups that Abramoff has represented over the years. Many have been diaried here by
dengre,
myself, and others.
One that has slipped under the radar, is Abramoff's work on behalf of the autocratic Malaysian government.
More on details of that body of work in extended.
From
Keadilan Raykat, the People's Justice Party of Malaysia:
The story of Abramoff started with the Malaysian efforts to win over public opinion in the US and to open the way for a meeting between then Malaysian PM [Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad] with the US President [Bush]. After the economic downturn and the detention of ex-Deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim together with a number of others in 1998, Malaysia was strongly criticized by the media and civil society the world over, especially in the US, for her human rights records.
Beginning in early 2002, the Malaysian government brought Abramoff on board to lobby the US government and improve its image in the States.
Malaysia's credibility had taken a huge hit when in 1998 Al Gore commented:
"Democracy confers a stamp of legitimacy that reforms must have in order to be effective. And so, among nations suffering economic crises, we continue to hear calls for democracy, calls for reform, in many languages - People Power, doi moi, reformasi. We hear them today - right here, right now - among the brave people of Malaysia."
Just a year before, Mahathir had denounced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Known to arrest people indefinitely without a trial based on the 'Internal Security Act,' Mahathir ruled with an iron fist. Before 9/11 President Bush denounced the Internal Security Act, calling it "a draconian law. No country should any longer have laws that allow for detention without trial." Three years later Bush reversed his position stating, "We cannot simply classify Malaysia's Internal Security Act as a draconian law."
But that wasn't the only sentiment that changed in Washington.
In November of 1998, the Heritage Foundation released 'Standing Up for Democracy and Economic Reform in Malaysia'. The report states:
To counteract the effects of the Asian economic crisis that continue to afflict Malaysia, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed instituted anti-free market currency controls and jailed U.S. friend and pro-market reformer Anwar Ibrahim, his former deputy prime minister and minister of finance. To protest these actions, President Bill Clinton should have sought a change in venue for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum Leaders' Meeting to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital. The next-best option would have been to boycott the meeting. But now that President Clinton is planning to attend the APEC meeting on November 17 and 18, he should be prepared to speak out strongly against Mahathir's actions, enunciate a set of economic reform principles based on democratic and free-market values, and present a coherent policy approach to guide the U.S. relationship with Malaysia in the future.
The following year (1999), Heritage Foundation president Edwin J. Feulner called VP Gore's comments on Mahathir "an impressive defense of freedom in Malaysia."
According to Human Rights Watch, in July of 2001, Colin Powell told the Malaysian foreign minister that meetings were off the table until Anwar's case (and those of other detainees) were reversed.
At the same time, the Heritage Foundation was changing their Mahathir policy entirely. Since Gore's comments, Malaysia hadn't instituted any new governmental reforms or abolished its Internal Security Act. No, that wasn't necessary. They simply hired lobbyists and a consulting firm to 'manage' their image.
The consulting firm in question was Hong Kong-based Belle Haven Consultants. Belle Haven Consultants was created by Heritage Foundation president Edwin J. Feulner and former head of Heritage's Asia office Ken Sheffer. Belle Haven also employs Feulner's wife and a number of current/former Heritage Foundation employees.
To gain favor with the GOP establishment, Heritage paid for a Congressional trip to Malaysia in mid-2001.
From the WaPo:
Heritage paid expenses for [Rep. Tom] DeLay, Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Ander Crenshaw, both Republicans from Florida, and their spouses; Edwin and Linda Feulner, and Sheffer. Joining them on the trip but paying his own way, according to Edwin Feulner, was Buckham, the former DeLay aide and chairman of the Alexander Strategy Group.
Shortly after 9/11, Belle Haven hired Ed Buckham's Alexander Strategy Group to represent the Malaysian government. The Malaysian government sought to help the US in its war on terror, providing military training and overflight capability.
Linda Feuler, Edwin's wife, also happened to work at ASG as a consultant. During the two years which ASG lobbied on behalf of the Malaysian government under its first contract it received upwards of $600,000. It did not file as a foreign agent, as required by law, during that period. (ASG has recently announced that it will cease its lobbying practices due to its ties to Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay.)
In 2002, Belle Haven brought former Senator Malcolm Wallop on the lobbying team. Wallop, a Heritage Foundation Asia Studies fellow, runs the lobbying firm the Western Strategy Group. WSG received $120k from Belle Haven to lobby on behalf of the Malaysian government.
However, Wallop told Time Magazine:
"Heritage had nothing to do with it....Belle Haven did."
It is against House rules to misrepresent the sponsor of an event/trip. A DeLay spokesperson reaffirmed to Time the claim that Heritage sponsored the trip. The Heritage Foundation said "documentary proof exists in storage but was not immediately available."
The Heritage Foundation is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization. As such, it cannot legally provide lobbying services or services which benefit its members or their side ventures.
In 2002, The Heritage Foundation hosted two events featuring Malaysian officials, titled 'U.S.-Malaysia Defense Cooperation: A Solid Success Story' and 'Strengthening the U.S.-Malaysia Friendship.' In May of that year, Mahathir visited the US. A dinner event was held honoring the Malaysian prime minister at the Metropolitan Club in DC. The host of the dinner? Edwin Feulner.
The Heritage Foundation issued a response to these allegations, claiming:
"The Heritage Foundation has and always will call it like we see it. Neither Linda Feulner's work with Belle Haven and ASG [Alexander Strategy Group] nor Edwin Feulner's relationship with Belle Haven influenced any of the policy recommendations or analysis of The Heritage Foundation....The Heritage Foundation is organized under IRC [Internal Revenue Code] Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code and as such is engaged only in educational activities, not lobbying."
A cursory glance at Human Rights Watch shows that Malaysia still suffers the same unjust human rights abuses. The "U.S. friend and pro-market reformer Anwar Ibrahim," remained in prison. (Though he was later freed in 2004, his convictions overturned.)
Back to Abramoff. Neither Abramoff nor Abramoff's firm, Greenberg Traurig, filed as a foreign agents during their period representing the Malaysian government. In order to bypass this, Abramoff ordered the Malaysian government to pay the American International Center (Michael Scanlon's front company). The money was then transferred to Greenberg Traurig, who likely had no idea where the funds had come from originally. Outside of arranging Congressional trips to Malaysia, it's not clear what Abramoff's additional lobbying duties entailed.
[Update]
Paul Krugman also notes:
BusinessWeek Online reports that both [Peter] Ferrara and Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, were paid by the ubiquitous Jack Abramoff to write "op-ed articles favorable to the positions of some of Abramoff's clients."
...
...Ferrara endorsed another odd cause: U.S. friendship with Malaysia. (Bandow did the same.)
So Abramoff appears to have taken an indirect lobbying approach, in buying favorable reporting in the media and arranging trips for members of Congress to visit Malaysia. Indeed, it almost seems as though Abramoff was doing PR work here and not lobbying for a particular issue
per se.
In early 2002, Abramoff partner Tony Rudy accompanied Congressman Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA) and his wife on a $21,000 trip to Malaysia. [The National Journal had a piece on this in December which I haven't been able to track down in full.]
On May 14, 2002, President Bush met with Prime Minister Mahathir in the Oval Office and took part in a short joint press conference and photo op. Ironically, Bush takes time to blast Castro for his lack of democratic rule rather than the dictator sitting next to him.
Ahead of the meeting, Human Rights Watch made this statement:
"Dr. Mahathir is manipulating the war against terrorism, to justify the use of this repressive law. The Bush administration should make clear that it rejects that kind of opportunism, and wants to see real improvement in Malaysia's human rights record - starting with the repeal of the ISA."
A former US ambassador to Malaysia urged Bush not to meet with Mahathir. But the meeting went as planned, with the two sides agreeing on a preliminary arms deal. Mahathir also met with members of Congress and created the Malaysia Trade, Security and Economic Cooperation Caucus.
In October 2003, Mahathir retired from office. Shortly before leaving office, Mahathir made several anti-semitic remarks. A Presidential rebuke soon followed. Soon afterwards, Congress passed an amendment halting all military assistance to Malaysia. Shortly thereafter, the Heritage Foundation printed an executive memo, 'Cutting Off Military Aid to Malaysia is Counterproductive'.
From the memo:
It is Congress's prerogative to address international injustices, but restricting military assistance to Malaysia based on the racist remarks of a retiring prime minister is both counterintuitive and counterproductive to the U.S.-Malaysian relationship and the war on terrorism. To some degree, the U.S.-Malaysian relationship has already been injured by former Prime Minister Mahathir's outrageous remarks and the congressional reaction.
Before the congressional sanctions are sent to the President, and to prevent any further damage to the U.S.-Malaysian relationship, the State Department should assure Members of Congress that Malaysia does support and promote religious freedom and that Malaysia is important to American national security interests in the region.
Lest the Heritage Foundation's influence be overlooked, remember this:
According to Feulner, the group put forward 400 names for work with the Bush administration, among them the current US labour secretary, Elaine Chao, who was once chairman of Heritage's Asian Studies Centre Council.
The 33-year old Heritage Foundation rakes in about $36 million a year. Of their sponsored trips, approx. 95% are taken by Republicans.
In some respects, working alongside Heritage was a homecoming for Abramoff. Abramoff cut his teeth working at conservative foundations while heading the College Republicans. In 1984, he became chairman of the USA Foundation. Abramoff was also executive director of the Citizens for America, created by millionaire Lewis Lehrman. Both were partially funded by the Heritage Foundation, where Lehrman was a trustee at the time. In 1985, Norquist and Abramoff held a global conference for anti-communist leaders. But shortly after the two returned home, Lehrman fired them both. More reports cite reckless spending and terrible management (concepts which later come to plague the Republican Party) as the reasons behind Lehrman's decision.
Mother Jones reported that Abramoff...
...organized an international gathering of anticommunist rebels in UNITA's provisional capital of Jamba, Angola. Leaders from the Afghan mujahideen, Nicaraguan contras, and Laotian guerrillas attended--some flying in on a DC-3 nicknamed the "vomit comet" because it swerved so wildly to avoid detection--along with Savimbi and his followers. For two days on the savanna, the guerrillas listened to one another's speeches, received framed copies of the Declaration of Independence, and brainstormed (in vain, it turned out) about how to coordinate efforts. When Abramoff returned from Jamba, Citizens for America asked him to resign, according to the Washington Post, which reported that he and his staff had "gone hog wild" with the organization's $3 million budget.
Abramoff then bounced on to the International Freedom Foundation, where he lobbied on behalf of the South African government. And thus beginning Abramoff's dealings in the US on behalf of foreign governments.
[To this day, the 1960 Internal Security Act is still in effect in Malaysia.]