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Prez, Consultant Go Back 20 Years
It looks like George W. Bush has known Stephen Payne pretty well for a long time.
The White House today tried to distance Bush from a former lobbyist who was caught on tape by the Times of London offering to arrange meetings with high-level U.S. officials in exchange for large payments to the future Bush presidential library fund.
But the president and the Houston-based consultant have known each other for at least 20 years.
Payne was George W. Bush's personal travel aide during the senior Bush's 1988 presidential campaign, according to an out-dated version of Payne's firm's Web site.
More recently, he's been running a firm called Worldwide Strategic Partners (pdf), which bills itself as an "International Relations and Energy Development" consulting firm.
A photo of Payne with Afghan President Hamid Karzai is featured in one of his firm's powerpoint slides.
Payne has helped Bush and Cheney when they visit the Middle East. He joined the president at the Red Sea Summit in Jordan in June 2003, serving as a "Senior Presidential Advance Representative," according to his firm's own description.
With the vice president, Payne has traveled to the Middle East in 2002 and 2005, to Korea in 2004, Kazakhstan in 2006, and Afghanistan for the inauguration of Afghan President Karzai.
Payne's firm says he's been a "governmental affairs consultant" representing Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Morgan Stanley, SAP Software, & Continental Airlines. He's also worked for Yukos Oil, Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Payne registered a few lobbying contracts back in 2001 and 2002 for companies including SAP America and United Space Alliance.
Payne also appears to have deep ties with the Texas GOP fundraising machine.
In 2000, Payne was listed among Bush's "Pioneers," the list of campaign bundlers who helped raise more than $100,000 for the president's first bid for the White House.
As the 2004 campaign geared up, Payne was among some 350 bundlers invited to Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas for a barbecue, billed as a "donor maintenance event," according to the Houston Chronicle at the time.
In the 1990s, Payne served as a fundraiser and staffer for Sen. Kay Baily Hutchison (R-TX). He served as "vice chair" of her two most recent campaigns.
Recently, he was appointed by Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff to serve on the Homeland Security Advisory Council, where he sits on the Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee.
Comments (6)
Mr. Payne has been described as a “senior advance representative” for the White House. Now, knowing a few things about a few things, I feel compelled to point out that:
1 - Advance representatives were behind the Denver Three scandal, by way of a long-time semi-secret advance manual.
2 - Other advance representatives have been shown to be similarly “shady” (or lecherous)
3 - “Senior Advance Representatives” are unpaid quasi-governmental officials. They represent the White House, yet do not draw a salary. Strange how this administration loves to use these quasi-governmental officials to do its bidding.
So Mr. Payne is a FINE example of the Advance Office (formerly Karl’s portfolio, I may add).
And, apart and aside from the Advance gig, this raises severe questions about Payne’s ability to properly advise and represent the United States Government.
Any special security clearances he has been granted under his Department of Homeland Security Advisory Board appointment must be REVOKED IMMEDIATELY
July 14, 2008 7:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
So the White House has certain deniability. "Mr. So-and-so never ever worked for the White House..."
July 14, 2008 11:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
No Payne, no gain ...
July 15, 2008 1:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
More on Worldwide Strategic Partners bios here.
Major General Lincoln Jones, III (USA Ret.) Chairman, Advisory Board for Worldwide Strategic Energy and Chairman of Worldwide Strategic Partners, Inc.
...Following his Army career, General Jones was a key executive at Enron where he served as President of Enron Power Corp. (1991-98); Vice Chairman, Enron Europe (1996-98); and President, Enron Engineering & Construction (1993-96). During that time, he developed sixteen and operated eighteen power plants throughout the world. He also managed the maintenance of 43,000 miles of gas pipeline located in the United States. Since retiring from Enron in 1998, he has acted as a consultant for energy, military and geopolitical issues...
Brian Ettinger - Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Worldwide Strategic Partners, Inc. and Worldwide Strategic Energy
... Mr. Ettinger has performed legal services in the sports, entertainment, and gaming industries and was an advisor and an official registered lobbyist for the Government of Pakistan from the summer of 2001 to fall 2004. Previously, Brian Ettinger served as Legislative Director for Senator Joseph Biden (Ranking Member, Senate Foreign Relations), as a Staff Assistant for U.S. House Majority Leadership, and as an Assistant to the Mayor of Philadelphia...
July 15, 2008 7:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Steven Payne is a co-founder of Alliance & Co. and Frank Carlucci is a senior advisor.
Payne is also a partner in a related investment firm, MSH Ventures. I would imagine this is how he is making serious money. Check out the portfolio - it seems like Payne is involved in half of the investments.
From his DHS bio:
Mr. Stephen Payne is President of Worldwide Strategic Partners and Worldwide Strategic Energy: Mr. Payne is an accomplished international affairs and business development consultant with an impressive background in the energy, political, business, fundraising and diplomatic fields.
His extensive clientele roster ranges from large international corporations, including Morgan-Stanley, Nextel Communications, Yukos Oil, Boeing and Lockheed Martin; to serving NASA as a Senior Advisor; to guiding diplomatic negotiations for foreign heads of state in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Mr. Payne has established strong diplomatic relationships with top officials in the U.S. and internationally, with particular emphasis on relations with and projects in Pakistan, U.A.E., Iraq, Libya, Turkey, Azerbaijan, India, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Russia and China as well as leading energy security talks for the NATO Summitt. Mr. Payne also serves as Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Latvia.
Mr. Payne has a long history of protecting the environment. In the early 1990's Payne was Legislative Director for the Chairman of the Texas Senate's Natural Resources Committee where he played a key role in passing several important environmental protection laws. He currently serves as President of Advanced Clean Air Technologies which holds an exclusive patent license from NASA for one-of-a-kind breakthrough technology that removes NO2, SO2, and Mercury from coal powerplants.
July 15, 2008 8:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
You leave out what he was caught saying on the tape about how to "clean" -- launder -- the bribes. Money laundering is illegal.
Bribery? Payne would like us to believe "not so much". But they too are illegal.
July 17, 2008 4:43 AM | Reply | Permalink