Times of London: Houston lobbyist Stephen Payne sells access to Bush/Cheney to various Central Asian dictators and kleptocrats, for fees including six figure donations to the Bush library. So much for the Bush Library's planned Freedom Institute, being paid for evidently by such types. Oh - and Payne didn't register with the Justice Department, despite his lobbying work at the White House on behalf of clients in Azerbaijan, Uzkbekistan, the Turkmenistan pipeline, and Kazakhstan, including organizing Cheney's trip there.

Payne and [WorldWide Strategic Partners] WSP [.pdf] do not appear to have registered much of their work for foreigners with the Department of Justice.

Payne said WSP’s work for Azerbaijan was nonpolitical, but its brochure says that it “implemented an aggressive media campaign to discredit the Azeri opposition”.

WSP did not register its work for an Uzbek politician as it was unpaid. The justice department says unpaid work must be registered.

Video here.

Posted by Laura at July 12, 2008 10:41 PM