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McCain Talked With Georgia President On The Same Day McCain Aide Sealed Georgia Lobbying Contract
Randy Scheunemann earned about $70,000 serving as Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser between the January 2007 and May 15, 2008.
During the same period, the government of Georgia paid his firm $290,000 in lobbying fees.
Today's Washington Post reports a stark illustration of the conflict of interest that Scheunemann faced while advising McCain on foreign policy matters related to the former Soviet Republic and also working for the Georgia embassy.
On April 17, McCain got on the phone with Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili about Russian efforts to gain leverage over two of Georgia's troubled provinces. That same day, McCain issued a public statement condemning Russia and expressing strong support for the Georgian position.
And also on that same day, Georgia signed a new, $200,000 lobbying contract with Scheunemann's firm, Orion Strategies, according to the Post.
[McCain Campaign spokesman Brian] Rogers said Orion's representation of Georgia had no bearing on McCain's decision to speak with Saakashvili in April. "The Embassy of Georgia requested the call because of Georgian concerns over recent Russian actions dealing with South Ossetia and Abkhazia," he said.
The McCain campaign said Scheunemann has not received any payments from his lobbying firm since May 15 -- a few weeks after the Georgia contract was signed -- when the campaign imposed strict new restrictions on lobbying by campaign staffers. And the campaign notes that Scheunemann de-registered as a lobbyist for Georgia in March.
But Scheunemann remains owner of the firm, according to the Wall Street Journal. It's not a big firm -- essentially including only one other person, Scheunemann's partner, Mike Mitchell.
The firm has lobbied McCain's senate office a lot over the past few years. Orion reports making at least 71 phone calls to McCain and his staffers since 2004 to lobby on behalf of foreign clients, including Georgia.
August 13, 2008 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here we go again, McCain is just another corrupt, lobbyist loving politician who cares more about money than he does about average American people.
Keating 5 anyone?
August 13, 2008 2:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
The real question is, how stark does this slimey, payola reality have to become, before it can break through the "maverick" myth that the public and the mainstream media believe?
-- ARG
August 13, 2008 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, I forgot. The Olympics are on. Nevermind...
-- ARG
August 13, 2008 4:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm glad that more attention is being paid to Randy Scheuneman. Check out the wikipedia article on him; it ought to raise eyebrows:
And don't forget Josh's article of last month, "Do Your Job: Stop Ignoring Scheunemann's Past" (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/203960.php) which outlines what Scheuneman's been up to over the last several years, including his close relationship with Chalabi.
August 13, 2008 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't know how much it would have mattered back in 2000 to know who Bush's advisors were. The agenda only became obvious to me when I accidentally came across the PNAC web site back in December 2002 while trying to understand Bush's strange obsession with Iraq when the real 9/11 perpetrators were in Afghanistan. Reading the letters and "literature" there made it very clear. My first reaction...this does not represent the values of my country. Trying to get others to listen was a challenge then, as invading Iraq was a done deal and had been pretty much sold. Lessons learned...shine the klieg lights on Scheunemann and whoever else is surrounding McCain in the most relentless way possible, and tie it back to Bush and his advisors.
August 13, 2008 5:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wouldn't it be nice if Obama had a surrogate, say someone with the last name of Clinton, to hammer home this story. The major media doesn't seem to want to cover it, but they would have to cover a Clinton speech.
August 13, 2008 7:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have commented more on this as well, with a wider timeline, if anyone is interested. The link is here:
August 13, 2008 7:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Conspiracy to October Surprise?
August 13, 2008 7:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
When McCain say Country First what country is he talking about? McCains New Motto: Any country that can afford to pay for a high priced lobbyist that the Country that I will put First!
August 13, 2008 9:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Georgia named him, Georgia claimed him, sweet John McCain.
August 13, 2008 10:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
In April, McCain was prepped by his top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, for a phone call with Mikhail Saakashvili, the president of Georgia, and then the presumptive Republican presidential nominee got Scheunemann's help preparing a "strong statement of support for the fledgling republic."
On the day of that call, Scheunemann's Washington-based lobbying firm signed a $200,000 contract *to continue* lobbying for and providing strategic advice to the Georgian government.
Yesterday, McCain uses bellicose language to condemn Russia and reaffirms solidarity with Georgia, saying, "We are all Georgians now.”
Saakashvili responds on CNN this morning with, “Well, very nice, you know, very cheering for us to hear that, but OK, it’s time to pass from this. From words to deeds.”
(Did I just sleep through the election that made McCain president?)
THINK ABOUT THIS: Candidate McCain is freelancing foreign policy advice, bought & paid for by the client-government of his top foreign policy advisor.
That's not just PRESUMPTUOUS.
It's downright DANGEROUS.
What good is all his so-called "experience" if he needs the paid agent of a foreign government to articulate US diplomacy and foreign policy for him.
Thanks, Senator McCain -- but no thanks.
August 13, 2008 9:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now we know why John McCain said he talked with the Georgian leader almost every day? Because it is a normal routine to talk to Saakashvili, then there is nothing unusal about talking with him on the same day that Scheunemann gets a $200,000 contract for his organization? Or that he is John McCain's foreign policy adviser? Much like pornography, I know a crime when I see it - I just can't define it yet...
August 14, 2008 11:37 AM | Reply | Permalink