GOP Lobby Firm’s Allawi Contract Worth $300K for 6 MonthsChristina Davidson at IraqSlogger, who broke the story that influential GOP lobbying firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers are promoting Iraqi parliamentarian Ayad Allawi to be the new prime minister, has another scoop. On Monday, BGR president Robert Blackwill — President Bush’s former Iraq coordinator at the White House — signed a contract with Allawi worth $300,000 over six months to provide “strategic counsel” for the would-be-premier “before the US Government, Congress, media and others.”
Reports Davidson:
The filings stipulate that Allawi is not supervised by, owned by, directed by, controlled by, financed by, or subsidized by any foreign government, foreign political party, or other foreign principal.While BGR registers him as an individual, rather than as a political party, they do identify him as head of the Iraq National Accord, and indicate they will not only represent Allawi, but also “his moderate Iraqi colleagues.”
Coming up: who are Allawi’s “moderate Iraqi colleagues” — and how can they afford such a boutique lobbying firm?