EXCLUSIVE: Romney Bundler A Registered Foreign Agent For Hong Kong

[kpete]

Source: Think Progress

EXCLUSIVE: Romney Bundler A Registered Foreign Agent For Hong Kong
By Josh Israel on Jul 25, 2012 at 9:30 am

Tom Loeffler
Newly released lobbyist bundler disclosure records filed by the Mitt Romney campaign show that Tom Loeffler raised at least $17,500 in bundled contributions for the campaign over the first six months of 2012. Loeffler, a former Republican U.S. Representative from Texas and a lobbyist at Akin Gump represents a wide array domestic clients including USAA, NextgenID, and the Texas Association for Home Care & Hospice. But a ThinkProgress review of Foreign Agent Registration Act reveals that Loeffler registered in February as a registered agent for a foreign government: the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).

The agreement — signed by Loeffler — stipulated that, from February 13 through June 30, 2012, he would “protect, promote, assist and develop Hong King’s economic and trade interests in the United States of America” by working with Congress and the executive branch. In exchange, the HKTDC agreed to pay Akin Gum $35,775 per month. The Romney bundling all took place during the time Loeffler was under this initial contract, though it is unclear whether the contract was renewed at the end of June.

Loeffler has a long history of raising money for Republican presidential candidates. In 2008, Loeffler stepped down from his position as a national finance co-chair for John McCain’s campaign when Newsweek discovered that he had lobbied on behalf of Saudi Arabia. But Romney’s campaign has welcomed him back into the campaign fundraising fold.

Romney’s campaign, while being highly critical of China and the Obama administration’s approach to it, has organized campaign fundraising events in Hong Kong for U.S. citizens living there. He has also come under fire for apparently profiting from Bain investments in a company that provides surveillance cameras for the Chinese government to spy on its own citizens.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/07/25/578531/romney-bundler-registered-foreign-agent-hong-kong/

[annabanana]

1. The simple fact that all this "dark money" in the election is ABSOLUTELY

a "c'mon fellas" to every foreign interest in the world had not been remarked on enough.

[still_one]

2. My question is the foreign agent an anglo saxon? /nt

[Quantess]

4. LOL. Does he have genetic roots in England, you mean?

I hope that's what you meant.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014175845

[still_one]

9. obviously he a person with those roots would have a greater understanding, no? /nt

[progressoid]

3. I'm sure the Republicans will decry this just like they did for the Clinton/Gore "Chinagate"

And maybe start an investigation too?

[patrice]

5. Lobbyist for "... and the Texas Association for HOME CARE and HOSPICE ..."

OMG! The pieces, they fit so WELL together!!

Home care is OUT of our collective awareness in our care institutions. + Hospice is the final solution to ALL kinds of problems.

Oh. My. God.

If I thought "let them die" was an exaggeration before, I sure as hell don't think that now.

[patrice]

6. WOW. Starting to get at least the tiniest peek into the FOREIGN money buying the U.S. Presidency.

Loeffler has a long history of raising money for Republican presidential candidates. In 2008, Loeffler stepped down from his position as a national finance co-chair for John McCain’s campaign when Newsweek discovered that he had lobbied on behalf of Saudi Arabia. But Romney’s campaign has welcomed him back into the campaign fundraising fold.

[patrice]

7. And it appears to me that they DEMAND 1. Wages DOWN + 2. Old people GONE. nt

[starroute]

8. The corruption goes very deep with Loeffler

He was a major Bush bundler in 2000 and 2004. But even before that, he'd been a top donor when Bush ran for governor of Texas, and in 1995 Bush appointed him to the board of UTIMCO. That was the private non-profit that Bush created to invest the $13 billion endowment of the University of Texas and stocked with his cronies, who invested much of the money in funds run by their associates or other major GOP donors.

Even before that, in 1994, Loeffler was involved in handling a gene therapy technique developed at the university over to a private drug firm that then appointed him to its board and gave him 10,000 shares of stock.

According to information that came out in 2008, Loeffler's firm had also kept one of its lobbyists on its payroll in 2007, after she left to become McCain's finance director. This was described as severance pay, but within a few months the same person was rehired by Loeffler as a consultant while still working on the McCain campaign -- which is against federal law if it was done as a covert means of subsidizing the campaign.

And Loeffler did a previous stint as a lobbyist for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, in 1990-93. Altogether a highly unsavory fellow.


On edit: I've dug even deeper into my files and found allegations of shady activities going back to Iran-Contra and the savings and loan scandal in the 1980s -- though those aren't as solidly sourced as the more recent stuff. It also seems that Loeffler was involved in McCain's questionable attempts to discredit Boeing and steer defense contracts towards Airbus, a consortium of European aerospace firms.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

10. Republicans can't remember their prior outrages.

Back in the Clinton Years they were screaming over the notion that the Clinton campaign was breaking the law and accepting money from foreign sources.

Remember, "Buddhist Temple! Buddhist Temple! Buddhist Temple! Buddhist Temple! Buddhist Temple! Buddhist Temple! Buddhist Temple!"?

Al Gore claimed he wasn't there when they talked about money because he had to go the bathroom after drinking lots of iced tea.

Flash forward to today.

The Republicans are acting like getting money in the billions from other countries to buy the Presidency is just fine. You could show massive business or financial deals as a quid pro quo and they would just say you are anti-business.

[leveymg]

11. Loeffler is a familar name from '08 foreign corrupted campaign. This is what we knew then:

This extract is from Reformer, The Crimes and Coverups of John McCain, as posted here on June 03, 2008: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/leveymg/365

The Saudi-Manchurian Candidate

The Senator’s patented role as All-American influence peddler to the world now includes the latest flap over his national campaign finance co-chair’s lucrative deals as a Saudi lobbyist and revelations about possible violations of federal campaign laws.

Tom Loeffler, McCain’s finance co-chair received $15 million from Saudi clients since 2002, is just part of a long conduit in the petrodollar pipeline from Riyadh to the Senator from Arizona. The Loeffler Group, which he founded, has also represented the People’s Republic of China.

Under Loeffler, the campaign has brought in more than $50 million for McCain so far this year, far more than was raised during all of 2007 when the GOP candidate faced a weak field of primary competitors. OpenSecrets.com shows that Loeffler and his wife, Nancy, have made a total of fifteen $2,300 maximum personal contributions to McCain during the past year.

The latest revelation of McCain’s connection to Arab oil money, and corruption within his campaign, came after the May 17 issue of NEWSWEEK reported: http://www.newsweek.com/id/137522

Loeffler last month told a reporter "at no time have I discussed my clients with John McCain." But lobbying disclosure records reviewed by NEWSWEEK show that on May 17, 2006, Loeffler listed meeting McCain along with the Saudi ambassador to "discuss US-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia relations."

Another potential problem: Loeffler's firm started paying $15,000 a month last summer to one of its lobbyists, Susan Nelson, after she left to become McCain's full-time finance director, said a source familiar with the arrangement (who asked not to be identified talking about sensitive matters). Campaign officials were told the payments were "severance" for Nelson and that they ended by November. But in "February or March," Loeffler rehired Nelson as a consultant to "help him with his clients" while she continued on the McCain payroll, according to a campaign official who asked not to be identified talking about personnel matters. Federal election law prohibits any outside entity from subsidizing the income of campaign workers. . . .Also last week, energy adviser Eric Burgeson was ousted.

Burgeson reportedly represented the Gulf emirate state of Qatar, along with several major multinational energy companies. See, http://radio.weblogs.com/0145903/2008/05/2...

McCain is, indeed, in good favor among the Saudi and Gulf elites. Bloomberg reports: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...

Saudis are privately rooting for the presumptive Republican nominee, discounting some of his rhetoric because he's the only candidate to promise to keep U.S. troops in Iraq and to deter Iran.

``The royal family and other elites would like to see McCain,'' Mai Yamani, a visiting scholar with the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said yesterday in a telephone interview from London.

``He would keep the troops in Iraq, and that is their main worry, that the U.S. may withdraw or minimize its presence,'' said Yamani, whose father, Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, was the kingdom's oil minister from 1962 to 1986.

When McCain belatedly ordered his campaign to sever Loeffler, Nelson and Burgeson he may have wished he could so easily jettison the rest of the crude oil covered skeletons from his closet.

[Enrique]

12. no worries

Mitt will just retroactive retire him. And FactCheck.org will back him up.