While Aide Advised McCain, His Firm Lobbied for Georgia

[deminks]

Source: Washington Post

Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic.

The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington.

The McCain campaign said Georgia's lobbying contract with Orion Strategies had no bearing on the candidate's decision to speak with President Mikheil Saakashvili and did not influence his statement. "The Embassy of Georgia requested the call," said campaign spokesman Brian Rogers.

(snip)

For months while McCain's presidential campaign was gearing up, Scheunemann held dual roles, advising the candidate on foreign policy while working as Georgia's lobbyist. Between Jan. 1, 2007, and May 15, 2008, the campaign paid Scheunemann nearly $70,000 to provide foreign policy advice. During the same period, the government of Georgia paid his firm $290,000 in lobbying fees.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

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One of many McCain Whisperers.

[cal04]

1. McCain adviser got money from Georgia

Source: Associated Press

John McCain's chief foreign policy adviser and his business partner lobbied the senator or his staff on 49 occasions in a 3 1/2-year span while being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

The payments raise ethical questions about the intersection of Randy Scheunemann's personal financial interests and his advice to the Republican presidential candidate who is seizing on Russian aggression in Georgia as a campaign issue.

McCain warned Russian leaders Tuesday that their assault in Georgia risks "the benefits they enjoy from being part of the civilized world."

On April 17, a month and a half after Scheunemann stopped working for Georgia, his partner signed a $200,000 agreement with the Georgian government. The deal added to an arrangement that brought in more than $800,000 to the two-man firm from 2004 to mid-2007. For the duration of the campaign, Scheunemann is taking a leave of absence from the firm.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080813/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_...

[seafan]

2. So, is this foreign government bankrolling McCain? Where's Sibel Edmonds.....

Keep on connecting these dots.

[maddezmom]

3. kick

[Octafish]

4. McCain foreign policy adviser paid by Georgian government

Source: Times (of London) Online

14 August 2008
Hannah Strange
News Reporter, Times Online

John McCain’s strong anti-Russian stance in the current Georgia crisis is drawing scrutiny after it emerged that his top foreign policy adviser was a paid lobbyist for the Georgian government.

Both presidential candidates have been critical of Russia but the Republican has adopted a notably sharper tone, culminating in his invocation of the Cold War earlier this week.

Now both commentators and his opponents are questioning whether that tone might have been influenced by Randy Scheunemann, whose firm, Orion Strategies, has received $800,000 in fees from the Georgian government over the last four years and signed a new lobbying deal as recently as April.

"We've seen this movie before in Prague and Budapest," McCain told Fox News on Tuesday. "And I'm not saying we are reigniting the Cold War, but this is an act of aggression which we didn't think we'd see in the 21st century."

CONTINUED...

Read more: http://timesonline.typepad.com/uselections/2008/08/mcca...

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It's good to have friends, my friends.
Wag the Dog costs big bucks. Big, big bucks.

[Doctor_J]

5. Let's see if Cokie The Whore jumps on this like she did on Obama's

trip to the foreign country of Hawaii

[Octafish]

8. It takes a lot to get Cokie to move on anything.

A lot of money.

[Happyhippychick]

6. Maybe I'm just crazy but wouldn't that be called a

conflict of interest?

[Octafish]

9. Lobbyists must enjoy immunity. Here's from Olbermann last noche...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNSIteh7uvc

Seems Georgia may've thought McCain would fly in air support.

[BridgeTheGap]

7. October surprise moved to August? n.t

[Octafish]

10. Psyops may've found it's more effective now than later.

These guys are pros. Consider the ads with Britney and Paris: Lots of tall towers in the background phallically emphasize the main "Would you want your daughter to marry one" theme.

[BridgeTheGap]

11. I think they're saving the "Israel strikes Iranian Nuclear sites" for October...n.t

[Octafish]

12. THAT makes sense.

Based on his love for oil and his forced love for Israel, it always seemed a good bet Mossad had photos from Madrid or Paris or wherever it was that Poppy flew to in 1980.