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11 January 2011 By Stephen
Lendman On October 2, 2009, Legal Times
writer Jeff Jeffrey headlined, "Lanny Davis Leaves
Orrick for McDermott Will & Emery," saying: Former Clinton White House
special counsel "left Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
to join McDermott Will & Emery's regulatory and
government strategies practice." At Orrick, he "led a
rather unusual practice that included
litigation....related media strategies, (and)
advis(ing) clients on crisis management." In fact, he then and now he
lobbies for despots and predatory corporate clients. "More recently, (he lobbied) on
behalf of Honduran business leaders to convince
members of Congress to support the removal of"
democratically elected former President Manuel Zelaya.
In June 2009, a Washington
orchestrated coup replaced him with the current
fascist regime, responsible for reigning terror
against human rights activists, pro-democracy groups,
campesinos, independent journalists, and others
challenging state/oligarch/drug lord power. Post-coup, The Hill.com reported
that the far-right Business Council of Latin America (CEAL)
hired Davis to lobby Congress and conduct supportive
PR for the interim Micheletti government. It involved
a media blitz, arranged meetings for coup plotters
with congressional members, and drafting an Accord to
form a National Unity and Reconciliation Government as
cover to solidify fascist rule. Davis, of course, was
well paid to assure it. His credentials don't include
honor, morality, ethics and support for the rule of
law. On December 19, 2008, Legal Times
writers Jeffrey and Mike Scarcella, headlined "New
Strategy for Whole Foods in FTC Fight," saying: In the high-profile antitrust
case, "Whole Foods retained politically savvy lawyer
Lanny Davis....to convince power brokers that Whole
Foods is not getting a fair shake at the FTC" in its
attempt to acquire rival organic grocer Wild Oats. His
campaign involved "squeez(ing) the FTC on Capitol Hill
through the House and Senate judiciary committees,"
Davis saying "you do what you have to do" to subvert
antitrust laws or back despots replacing democrats.
His credo, in fact, is anything for a buck as long as
lots of them. FTC lawyers tried blocking the
merger, but lost attempts at the district and appeals
court levels. Nonetheless, they pressed their case
after both companies consummated the deal. Davis' team
created a three-pronged, full-court press strategy,
involving lawsuits, media blitzes, and hard-nosed
Capitol Hill lobbying that ended successfully. On August 18, 2009, Salon.com
contributor Glenn Greenwald headlined, "The Lanny
Davis disease and America's health care debate,"
saying: "Davis frequently injects himself
into political disputes, masquerading as a 'political
analyst' and Democratic media pundit, yet is unmoored
from any discernible political beliefs other than: 'I
agree with whoever pays me,' " the credo of all
lobbyists, especially the most disreputable, Davis
very much qualifying. His entire Capitol Hill history
is as "consistent as it is sleazy," the more sleaze,
in fact, the more compensation. The hard-right Israel
Project hired him to defend Israel's Cast Lead
onslaught against Gaza, calling it Israel's "right to
self-defense against terrorism," when clearly it was
preemptive illegal aggression. If Davis was just another
run-of-the-mill lobbyist "piggishly feeding off our
political system," it would be too commonplace "to
bother noting. But (he) parades around as - and is
treated by media organizations as being - some sort of
political pundit," when, in fact, he's a hired gun,
backing anyone who'll pay him. Calling himself a liberal
centrist, he supports big money and repressive
governments, defending them by vilifying critics. He
"reflects the grime and sleaze" that permeates our
political culture in a profession that gives whoring a
bad name. On August 10, 2009, Greg Grandin
added more to Davis' resume, including: -- calling himself a "pro-labor
liberal" while lobbying against the Employee Free
Choice Act to facilitate union organizing; it never
passed; -- in the late 1990s, serving as
chief lobbyist for Pakistan's military dictatorship;
under civilian leaders, Pakistan's government is cover
for a military-run country; and -- as Hillary Clinton's major
fundraiser during the 2008 presidential primary,
attacking Obama's association with Rev. Jeremiah
Wright for being outspoken against war, other
violence, racial hatred, and other social justice
issues. "In retrospect," said Grandin,
"Davis was running through so many lies - they were
too focused and polished to be simple mistakes or
errors of interpretation - it was hard to catch up." His entire career, in fact,
amounts to crafting, pressuring, and disseminating
lies, spin, and other misinformation supporting
systemic evil against good. In 2002 at Patton Boggs, he was
retained to do crisis management, legal, and media
advisory work for HealthSouth Corp. and its CEO
Richard Scrushy. At the time, he was under
investigation for alleged fraudulent accounting and
suspect Medicare billing practices. Though acquitted
of securities fraud in 2005, he was convicted of
bribery in 2006 and sentenced to almost seven years in
prison. Davis advised him and HealthSouth for four
months, raising questions about some of his tactics. Specifically, his October 2002
press release said that in Fulbright & Jaworski's
company audit, Scrushy was cleared of allegations that
he improperly dumped stock based on inside
information. Afterward, F & J partner Hal Hirsch said
his team didn't pre-approve the word "cleared." As a
result, Davis had to issue a new press release
retracting the first one he thought he could get away
with even though untrue. In spring 2010, Davis left
McDermott Will & Emery to form his own firm, Lanny J.
Davis & Associates, specializing in "legal crisis
communication, media strategy, public advocacy, and
political/legislative strategies" for some of the
world's most disreputable despots and corporate
predators. In summer 2010, he signed a $1
million annual contract to represent Equatorial Guinea
dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguerma Mbasogo, one of the
world's most corrupt ones, accused of countless human
rights abuses throughout his tenure. Reports said he
stashed his country's oil wealth offshore and rigged
elections to assure 95% majorities. Davis joked about
it, saying he urged the tyrant to "win by 51% (not)
98%." He also lobbies for Martek
Biosciences, a company making suspect additives for
federally-subsidized infant formula. They include
fatty acids known as DHA and ARA, even though
advocates for poor women question their use. In
response, Davis blitzed Congress with emails accusing
opponents of being "lactivists" who want to force
women to breast-feed. No level is too low for him to
stoop. His latest controversy involves
lobbying for Ivory Coast dictator Laurent Gbagbo.
Elected president in 2000, he kept power after his
term ended in 2005, and still holds it after his
November 2010 election defeat. His intransigence, use
of military force, and rumored death squads against
opponents pushed Cote d'ivoire toward civil war, its
second after 2002 - 04 fighting ended, the government
controlling the south and rebels the north. In March 2007, a peace agreement
ended conflict followed by November 2010 elections
defeating Gbagbo. Opposition leader Alassane
Ouattara's victory was recognized by the UN, US, EU,
African Union, and former colonial power France -
everyone, in fact, except Gbagbo. Reports say terror killings and
kidnappings were unleashed against opposition
supporters. About 200 or more deaths resulted. After a
decade in power, Gbagbo won't relinquish it, his
intransigency risking civil war. After days defending his work,
Davis reversed field and resigned, dropping an account
worth a $100,000 a month. His explanation was Gbagbo's
failure to take Obama's call, not his human rights
abuses and massive corruption. In his December 29
letter, he said: His "mission was not to say who
won or who lost the election or who was right or who
was wrong, but rather to help resolve this crisis
peacefully through dialogue, mediation and with
leadership and participation of the international
community." It was typical Davis boilerplate,
suppressing his real role as a hired gun for anyone
who'll pay him, no matter how sleazy. As an
establishment figure, he supports wealth and power
against popular interests. On December 30, New York Times
writers Ginger Thompson and Eric Lipton's article
headlined, "Lobbyist's Client List Puts Him on the
Defensive," saying: Davis "built a client list that
now includes coup supporters in Honduras, a dictator
in Equatorial Guinea, for-profit colleges accused of
exploiting students (by aggressive tactics, entrapping
them in debt for degrees of dubious value), (and his)
agree(ing) to represent" Gbagbo. His frequent role
"stoked growing criticism that (he's) become a kind of
front man for the dark side, willing to take on some
of the world's least noble companies and causes." In a business noted for
disreputable practices, "Mr. Davis' firm st(ands)
out." California WIC (women, infants & children)
Association representative Meredith McGehee said: "You look at who he represents,
and the list is just almost unseemly, tawdry."
Representing agencies that serve poor women with
infant children, California WIC lost its battle with
Davis, McGehee adding: "It is an illustration of what
most of the American people think of as wrong with
Washington," and Davis as one of its most sleazy
exponents. Yet he battles critics by lining
up support from State Department officials,
congressional members and business contacts to testify
how he helped them. He also uses his customary media
blitz approach, including making himself available for
print and on-air interviews, a technique earning him a
reputation as "spinmeister par excellence," a noted
practictioner of distortion, misinformation, and
bald-faced lies. Repeatedly exposed as
disreputable, his defense is that: "My credibility is the only thing
I have. If I defend people in indefensible, corrupt
acts, then I lose everything I have, and I'm just
another gun for hire. But when I see that I can help
get out the facts, and improve people's lives, and
peacefully resolve conflicts, then I feel an
obligation to do so....I am a liberal Democrat. I've
been (one) all my life. I haven't changed my values." Phew! The last refugee of a
scoundrel is wrapping disrepute in claimed honor,
ethics and principle, never mind being bankrolled by
some of the world's sleaziest dictators and
corporations to do it. Also claiming everyone deserves
a voice is baseless, not when claimants murder, steal,
and ravage the environment for profit. Even Obama
officials say he's on the wrong side of some fights. Recently, he's "come under
unusually vociferous attacks (from) a diverse array of
(critics) representing everyone from college students
and mothers of poor children, to diplomats and
international human rights advocates." "Do I often find myself in a
position of disputing facts that are not consistent
with easy label," he asked? "That's what I do for a
living. Controversy is what I do for a living." In fact, relying on friends in
high places, and disseminating client-friendly
disinformation makes him one of K Street's most highly
paid lobbyists. In fact, a Twitter profile called him:
"Clinton confidant, weathered PR-man and counsel to
dictators." Add to that the epitome of sleaze. Stephen Lendman lives in
Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and
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guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the
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