For fans of the short-lived HBO series "K Street," of which I was apparently one of like a dozen, this evolving story about the FBI investigation of the Saudis' chief lobbying firm Qorvis Communications is, well, very familiar. The real-life investigation apparently revolves around whether Qorvis tried to disguise to the Justice Department the fact that the Saudis were behind a front group, "Alliance for Peace and Justice," that took out radio ads on behalf of a Saudi-backed Israel-Palestine peace plan. The ads (which I never heard) were apparently offensive to some Jewish community leaders. The latest revelation about Qorvis -- that the lobbying powerhouse Patton Boggs owns a 10 to 15% stake in Qorvis -- is actually not new to aficionados, but the Sun's Josh Gerstein has some interesting new details, such as that Boggs allegedly tried but failed to sell its stake. Here's some good background from this site and the Forward. [Thanks also to Jason Vest who has reported on the matter for Southern Exposure.]

Posted by Laura at December 21, 2004 11:40 AM