Registered Agent of Turkey Clinton ‘Hillraiser’
While the Clinton campaign has dropped a nationalist Turk from their fundraising team, at least one “hillraiser” – a reference to those who have raised $100,000 for the New York Senator’s presidential bid – is a registered agent of the Republic of Turkey whose contract includes fighting the Armenian Genocide.
John Merrigan, a contract lobbyist on behalf of Turkey, is listed on Clinton’s website’s Hillraisers page. A federal government link features Merrigan’s and another colleague’s contract with the Turkish government under the Foreign Agent Registration Act. The first point in the contract is “Preventing the introduction, debate and passage of legislation and other
Apparently, it is legal for registered foreign agents to collect funds for presidential candidates. Yet it would be interesting to know what the Clinton campaign thinks about this.
2 Responses to “Registered Agent of Turkey Clinton ‘Hillraiser’”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Joseph on 13 Mar 2008 at 5:26 pm #
Thanks blogian. Added this to http://www.armeniangenocide.com and credited/linked it to your site. Good work!
If you get a chance, check out our Sibel Edmonds thread.
Nikephoros on 18 Mar 2008 at 7:11 am #
http://www.fara.gov/docs/3712-Exhibit-AB-20070510-4.pdf (OCR’d by me below):
SERVICES AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made this first day of March, 2007, between the Government of the Republic of Turkey (“Turkey”), a foreign sovereign, and DLA Piper US LLP (“DLA Piper”), a Maryland limited liability partnership.
1. Term: This Agreement shall be for one year, commencing March 1, 2007 and expiring February 29, 2008. Its terms may be renewed for additional successive one-year periods upon the explicit written assent of both parties.
2. Services: DLA Piper Agrees to provide lobbying and government relations services to Turkey, which shall consist of those services ordinarily and customarily provided in representing a foreign sovereign before the United States Congress and Executive Branch. These services shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Preventing the introduction, debate and passage of legislation and other U.S. government action that harms Turkey’s interests or image,
(b) Proposing and pursuing passage of legislation and other U.S. government action that promotes Turkey’s interests and provides a positive image of Turks and Turkey,
© Preserving and enlarging the Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans,
(d) Identifying and educating members of Congress who will speak in Turkey’s favor on matters of critical importance to Turkey, including its most controversial issues,
(e) Educating members of Congress and the Administration on issues of importance to Turkey,
(f) Promptly notifying Turkey of any action in Congress or the Executive Branch on issues of importance to Turkey,
(g) Preparing brief analyses of developments in Congress and the Executive Branch on particular issues of concern to Turkey,
(h) Identifying official gatherings and social events to which Embassy personnel ought, in DLA Piper’s opinion, attend, including to the extent possible, obtaining the necessary invitations,
(i) Identifying and/or arranging speaking engagements locally and nationally for 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 providers],
(j) Informally advising Turkish-American organizations as requested from time to time by Turkey,
(k) Maintaining and forging alliances with other interest groups whose goals are similar to or shared by Turkey.
3. Personnel and Other Service Providers:
(a) Except as noted below, DLA Piper shall compose its own team to achieve the best possible results in providing the services described above. It will provide Turkey at the earliest possible date a list of personnel, including an indication of their areas of expertise and/or how they will be utilized. This list will be updated from time to time as required.
(b) DLA Piper will retain the services of David Mercer, President of Mercer & Associates, to serve as a consultant to DLA Piper on this matter at no additional cost to the Turkey. Should DLA Piper employ additional subcontractors at its discretion to assist in providing the services described herein, it shall include them on the personnel list described above.
© DLA Piper’s team shall include at no additional cost to Turkey at least one individual who is proficient in the Turkish language and who possesses an understanding of Turkish and American political developments.
(d) DLA Piper will retain the services of The Livingston Group, L.L.C. to serve as a subcontractor on this matter according to the following terms:
i. Term of Subcontract: The Livingston Group subcontract shall commence on the same date as this Agreement and shall terminate six months later, subject to subsequent renewal upon the mutual assent of the parties.
ii. Fees for Subcontractor: The costs and fees of the subcontractor shall be borne by Turkey, which shall remit $750,000 to DLA Piper for this purpose as soon as practicable after the execution of this Agreement. DLA Piper shall maintain these funds in an account separate from other funds that it receives from Turkey. DLA Piper and The Livingston Group shall together decide the method and timing of disbursement of these funds.
iii. It is understood that The Livingston Group shall have obligations identical to those of DLA Piper in this Agreement and that DLA Piper and The Livingston Group have pledged to work together amicably for the benefit of Turkey.
(e) DLA Piper agrees to share information and work amicably with Turkey’s other service providers as identified by the Turkish Embassy.
4. Fees: Turkey agrees to pay DLA Piper a flat fee of US $100,000 per month for the services described in this Agreement. Payment shall be due at the beginning of each month.
5. Additional Costs and Expenses: Should DLA Piper incur extraordinary costs and expenses on Turkey’s behalf that are not otherwise contemplated in the fees described above, Turkey shall reimburse these costs provided that Turkey gives explicit advance approval.
6. Termination:
(a) This Agreement shall terminate upon its natural expiration if not renewed.
(b) Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time prior to its natural expiration subject to thirty (30) days advance written notice. In this event, Turkey shall pay DLA Piper its pro-rata share of earned fees apportioned on a daily basis through the end of the notice period.
© Should this Agreement terminate prior to its natural expiration, any fees paid to DLA Piper by Turkey that exceed the pro-rata share of earned fees apportioned on a daily basis up to the date of termination shall be refunded by DLA Piper to Turkey.
7. Reporting: DLA Piper shall provide monthly a written report to Turkey succinctly describing its work on Turkey’s behalf. Such reports need not include calculations of the time spent by the individual members of the DLA Piper team.
8. Privileged Information: DLA Piper will use all permissible efforts to protect privileged communications or other confidential information developed by it or provided to it by Turkey during the term of this Agreement. This obligation shall survive the termination of this Agreement and any renewals for a period of not less than two years. Upon the termination of this Agreement and any renewals Turkey may request from DLA Piper the return of any documents or other information provided by Turkey.
9. Registration and Disclosure: DLA Piper and any subcontractors it may employ shall separately and individually comply with any and all restrictions and requirements, including filing and other disclosure, of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the Lobbying Disclosure Act, the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, the Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act, and other applicable laws and regulations of the United States and the District of Columbia.
10. Conflicts: Turkey acknowledges DLA Piper’s large size and breadth of practice, which give rise to the potential that it may represent clients in unrelated matters whose interests are contrary to Turkey’s. Nonetheless, even the appearance of a conflict could render unproductive the relationship contemplated by this Agreement. Therefore, DLA Piper shall endeavor not only to avoid actual conflicts, but the appearance of conflicts as well. To that end, DLA Piper shall comply with all applicable provisions of the District of Columbia Bar Code of Professional Conduct. It shall also immediately assess whether it represents any clients whose interests are contrary to Turkey. If so, then it shall inform Turkey and then Turkey and DLA Piper shall work together to determine whether and how to resolve any apparent or actual conflict. Only on a case-by-case basis will Turkey acknowledge that a concurrent representation in an unrelated matter is appropriate. In order to assist in the process of identifying potential conflicts, DLA Piper shall consult with the Turkish Embassy’s legal counsel in identifying those issues, which, if addressed in other client matters, may present a conflict.
11. Choice of Law: This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Republic of Turkey. The Turkish Republic courts located in Ankara, Turkey shall be the venue for resolving any dispute related to the interpretation and application of this Agreement that cannot otherwise be settled amicably by the parties.
12. Power to Bind: Absent the express written consent of Turkey, neither DLA Piper nor its consultants and subcontractors have authority to bind Turkey in any manner whatsoever.
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF) TURKEY
By: H.E. Nabi Sensoy
Turkish Ambassador to the United States
FOR DLA PIPER US LLC