Former House Majority
Leader
Sells His Soul for
Fistful of Dollars
By Harut Sassounian
20.08.2014
Washington has long-suffered
from unethical politicians, but the prize for the top hypocrite on an Armenian
issue goes to former Cong. Richard Gephardt who served as House Majority Leader
from 1989 to 1995 and Minority Leader from 1995 to 2003.
After championing the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide for over two decades, Gephardt retired from the House of
Representatives in 2005, and began enriching himself by lobbying against the
very issue that he had staunchly defended in Congress!
Taking advantage of Turkish
paranoia on the eve of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, the Gephardt
Group Government Affairs expanded earlier this year its long-standing lobbying
relationship with the Republic of Turkey. The new contract, worth $1.4 million
per year, includes subcontractors Dickstein Shapiro ($531,000 per year),
Greenberg Traurig ($314,000 per year), Lydia Borland ($180,000 per year), and
Brian Forni ($78,000 per year). The Gephardt Group and its subcontractors agreed to provide the following services to Turkey:
“(a) Proposing and
pursuing passage of legislation and other U.S. government action that promotes
Turkey's interests and provides a positive image of Turks, Turkey and the
United States-Turkey relationship,
(b) Preserving and
enlarging the Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans,
(c) Educating members of
Congress and the Administration on issues of importance to Turkey,
(d) Promptly notifying
Turkey of any action in Congress or the Executive Branch on issues of
importance to Turkey,
(e) Preparing brief
analyses of developments in Congress and the Executive Branch on particular
issues of concern to Turkey,
(f) Identifying official
gatherings and social events to which [Turkish] Embassy personnel ought, in the
Gephardt Group's opinion, attend, including to the extent possible, obtaining
the necessary invitations,
(g) Identifying and/or
arranging speaking engagements locally and nationally for [Turkish] Embassy
personnel or their appointed or suggested proxies in fora that will improve
Turkey’s image and advance its causes on Capitol Hill. Such would be, if so
directed by Turkey, coordinated with Turkey's existing public relations service
provider(s), and
(h) Maintaining and
forging alliances with other interest groups whose goals are similar to or
shared by Turkey.”
Significantly, subcontractor
Greenberg Traurig’s responsibilities include: “develop and utilize contacts at
the State and Defense Departments, and the National Security Council to convey
the seriousness of the genocide issue and the potential threat it poses to the
U.S./Turkey relationship.”
While there are plenty
of sleazy lobbyists in Washington, none can match Gephardt’s shocking
transformation from a leading supporter of Armenian Genocide recognition to a
genocide denialist! The early years of Gephardt’s shameful flip-flop on this
critical moral issue was revealed by The New Republic in its July 23, 2007
article titled, “K Street Cashes in on the 1915 Armenian Genocide.” Throughout
his 26 years in Congress, Cong. Gephardt co-sponsored several genocide
Resolutions and repeatedly spoke on the importance of recognizing the Armenian
Genocide. In 2000, Gephardt and two other House Democrats co-signed a letter to
then-Speaker Dennis Hastert urging him to schedule an immediate vote on the
Armenian Genocide Resolution.
In January 2005, barely
days after leaving his House seat, Gephardt opened his consulting and lobbying
firm in Washington, D.C. From 2005 to 2009, he became a strategic adviser on
government affairs for the international law firm of DLA Piper, which was paid
$100,000 per month to represent the interests of Turkey, including lobbying
against the pending House Resolution on the Armenian Genocide! The New Republic
reported that Gephardt arranged meetings between members of the Turkish
parliament and House Democratic leaders, helped Turkey’s U.S. Ambassador to
gain an audience with "a skeptical Nancy Pelosi," and circulated a booklet titled
“An Appeal to Reason,” that denied the Armenian Genocide.
Armenian-Americans and
all people of good will should not remain silent while Gephardt enriches
himself with Turkish blood money! They should warn his lobbying firm’s clients
-- Anheuser-Busch, Boeing, Chevron, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, General Electric,
Goldman Sachs, Google, Los Angeles Airport, National Football League, Port of
Oakland, and United Airlines -- that they will boycott their products and
services unless these firms cancelled their contracts with the Gephardt Group.
Letters of complaint should also be sent to Ford Motor Company and The Scripps
Research Institute for giving Gephardt a seat on their Board of Directors.
Finally, readers should
write directly to Dick Gephardt, Gephardt Government Affairs, 1101 K Street,
N.W., Suite 310, Washington, D.C. 2005 or send an e-mail to dickgephardt@gephardtdc.com,
admonishing him for his highly unethical behavior!
