June 28, 2007
In New Expose, Ken Silverstein of Harper’s Magazine Goes Undercover to Find Out What US Lobbyists Do for Dictators
EXCERPT:
AMY GOODMAN: Ken Silverstein, you also write about the companies that you didn’t get represented by or offers of representation. For example, you talk about Patton Boggs and Cameroon.

KEN SILVERSTEIN: Well, that was a—I mean, I talked about Patton Boggs as just being another lobbying firm around town. I didn’t approach Patton Boggs. I did approach several other firms. But Patton Boggs had in the past done some work for the government of Cameroon, where they sent a team of former members of Congress over to Cameroon, allegedly independent observers, to be there for a presidential election in which the longstanding ruler of Cameroon won 80% of the vote. So Patton Boggs—and its team incidentally was led by a former member of Congress, as well—goes over there, sets up the agenda for a group of members of Congress, former members, who go over and issue sort of uplifting statements about the election being democratic and a step forward, all the usual sort of boilerplate language that they could use to sell this sham election as legitimate. And I was able to discover that, in fact, the whole thing had been set up by Patton Boggs, and it was paid—you know, the expenses of the delegation were paid for by the government of Cameroon.


Afghan lobby scam
EXCERPT:
At the heart of the scandal is the Defense Department's $2.2 billion Host Nation Trucking contract, a military logistics operation launched with six major contractors, a number that has since risen to eight. One of the contractors under investigation is NCL Holdings, a US firm headed by Hamed Wardak, the Afghan-American son of Afghanistan's defense minister, Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak. (NCL denies ever having made payments, directly or indirectly, to the Taliban.)

But it seems Hamed Wardak was more than just a defense contractor with a budding business. Parallel to his business ventures, he's been running an aggressive foreign policy campaign in Washington to keep the US heavily vested in Afghanistan. A confidential lobbying memo obtained by The Nation shows that Wardak commissioned a blue-chip lobbying firm to push for an extended US presence in Afghanistan--a potentially lucrative outcome for NCL.

Patton Boggs LLP
Patton Boggs Runs Pro-War Front Group for Hamed Wardak and NCL Holdings
Afghanistanastroturffront groupslobbying
Source: The Nation, December 22, 2009

The Campaign for a U.S.-Afghanistan Partnership is being exposed as an insidious pro-war front group. Aram Roston reports in the The Nation magazine that "As President Obama prepares a massive military buildup in Afghanistan, a House subcommittee has launched an investigation into whether Defense Department contractors are paying off the Taliban to protect American supply lines. ... One of the contractors under investigation is NCL Holdings, a U.S. firm headed by Hamed Wardak, the Afghan-American son of Afghanistan's defense minister, General Abdul Rahim Wardak. ... Parallel to his business ventures, he's been running an aggressive foreign policy campaign in Washington to keep the U.S. heavily vested in Afghanistan. A confidential lobbying memo obtained by The Nation shows that Wardak commissioned a blue-chip lobbying firm to push for an extended U.S. presence in Afghanistan -- a potentially lucrative outcome for NCL. Earlier this year Patton Boggs LLP, Washington's most monied lobbying firm, established a nonprofit front group (Campaign for a U.S. - Afghanistan Partnership) on Wardak's behalf to act as the 'face' of a campaign for increased US engagement in Afghanistan, according to confidential legal records." Blogger Steve Hynd first reported critically on this front group in a posting on October 29, 2009.

Patton Boggs buys lobbying firm of former Sens Lott and Breaux
EXCERPT:
Patton Boggs acquires lobbying firm of former Sens. Lott, Breaux
By Silla Brush - 07/01/10 04:21 PM ET

K Street’s biggest firm on Thursday acquired one of Washington’s fastest-growing lobbying shops.

Patton Boggs, the perennial lobbying powerhouse, acquired Breaux-Lott Leadership Group, the firm started in 2008 by former Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) and ex-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.).

Halliburton hires Patton Boggs for BP fiasco
EXCERPT:
Transocean Ltd., which owned and leased to BP the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded and sank, recruited Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Halliburton Co. has hired Patton Boggs

Patton Boggs LLP pdf
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Over 􀃎
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