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A Revolution, a Change of Regime and 4 Rulers: Egypt’S Journey Through Washington’S Lobbies During the Decade of the Arab Spring

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A Revolution, a Change of Regime and 4 Rulers: Egypt’S Journey Through Washington’S Lobbies During the Decade of the Arab Spring A revolution, a change of regime and 4 rulers: Egypt’s journey through Washington’s lobbies during the decade of the Arab Spring Part 1 SPECIAL REPORT Middle East Monitor is a not-for-profit media research institute that provides research, information and analyses of primarily the Palestine-Israel conflict. It also provides briefings on other Middle East issues. Its outputs are made available for use by journalists, academics and politicians with an interest in the Middle East and North Africa. MEMO aims to influence policy and the public agenda from the perspective of social justice, human rights and international law. This is essential to obtain equality, security and social justice across the region, especially in Palestine. MEMO wants to see a Middle East framed by principles of equality and justice. A revolution, a change It promotes the restoration of Palestinian rights, including the Right of Return, a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and with democratic rights upheld. It also advocates a nuclear-free Middle East. of regime and 4 rulers: By ensuring that policy-makers are better informed, MEMO seeks to have a Egypt’s journey through Washington’s lobbies greater impact on international players who make key decisions affecting the during the decade of the Arab Spring Middle East. MEMO wants fair and accurate media coverage of Palestine and other Middle Eastern countries. Translated from SasaPost Title: A revolution, a change of regime and 4 rulers Cover Image: Flags of Egypt and the US Published: March 2021 © MEMO Publishers 2021 [translation]. Original Arabic by Sasapost MEMO Publishers All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored 1 Green Mews or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission of Bevenden Street the copyright owner. London N1 6AS t: +44 (0)20 8838 0231 This report is available to download free of charge on the e: [email protected] Middle East Monitor Website: www.middleeastmonitor.com w: www.memopublishers.com Overview: What does the Egyptian lobby in Washington A revolution, a change of look like over the last decade? regime and 4 rulers: Our reading through the Egyptian files begins in the period extending from late 2009 to early 2010. During this time, the deposed President Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt’s journey through Washington’s lobbies regime had contracts with three major lobbying firms in Washington. Once during the decade of the Arab Spring the revolution broke out and Mubarak was ousted, these firms continued to provide services to the SCAF, referred to as the Military Council. This report is part of The Washington Project covering the actions of the Middle East lobbies in the US between 2010 and 2020. Most of the information The Military Council continued to work with these firms for a year. It ended in the report is based on documents from a database belonging to the US ties with them in February 2012, after launching campaigns against US civil Department of Justice, operating under the Foreign Agents Registration Act organisations in which US activists worked. In the aftermath of the campaigns, (FARA). This legislation requires lobbyists to disclose their activities and funds, the US media pressured the lobbying firms to sever their relations with the ensuring that all documents are publicly accessible online. SCAF. The files on the Egyptian lobbies are extremely important. Over the last decade, Ensuing this, the Egyptian files show a significant gap as of February 2012, Egypt has undergone radical changes in the domestic political scene and in during which all Egyptian political forces and institutions, including the Muslim regional alliances. This report seeks to answer the question: what happened in Brotherhood and the Egyptian government led by Mohamed Morsi, were the Washington lobbies in the early years of the January Revolution and over entirely absent from the world of lobbying. the last decade? This absence continued until the military overthrow of Morsi, the Rabaa There are more than 220 documents about Egypt covering the period of 2010- massacre and the events that followed, until October 2013, when Egypt 2020. They provide an insight into the Egyptian Army’s movements, specifically reappeared in the lobbying arena through a contract in favour of the Egyptian the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), in 2011. They also draw government. a picture of the activities of the “counter-revolution” and of how the current This was the first contract in favour of the “new regime” and continued until the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi tried to burnish his image and assert beginning of 2017. Afterwards, things were different, and the Egyptian General his presence in the US for the benefit of the Obama administration, and later Intelligence Directorate stepped in, side-stepping the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on, for his “friend” Donald Trump. and the Egyptian Embassy in Washington. It signed three direct contracts Egyptian records reveal the sums paid for these services and the names of the with a firm engaged in lobbying and a public relations and promotions firm. personalities behind the staging of the Egyptian Army’s interaction with the US Trump’s victory in the US presidency coincided with the entry of the Egyptian authorities during this period. intelligence services onto the US lobbying scene. 4 A revolution, a change of regime and 4 rulers middleeastmonitor.com 5 ‘Down with Mubarak’ and ‘long live the SCAF’ • The firm coordinated visits for Faiza Abou El-Naga, minister of planning and international cooperation at the time, and Sameh Shoukry, Egyptian One might consider that the revolution of 25 January was a decisive event ambassador to Washington at the time. in the last decade of Egypt’s history. The fall of Mubarak after his 30-year reign paved the way for many forces to enter the political arena. Ironically, the • The overall 2011 payments to this firm amounted to $289,000. Egyptian Army was ready to exploit the revolution to expand its control over both society and the Egyptian state. Speaking of the contracts of Mubarak’s regime, such agreements began in August 2007. Mubarak held contracts with three firms that served him and then continued to serve the SCAF. Details about the services they provided to the SCAF (between 2011 and 2012) and their contacts with the US government are available here. Americans in the Army service The first firm that worked for the SCAF was The Livingston Group, a major lobbying firm in Washington. The Livingston Group was founded by Bob Livingston, a Republican who was a long-time congressman and almost got the job of speaker of the house, but retired from politics in 1998 following a sex scandal. This, however, opened the door wide open for Livingston to enter the world of lobbying, specifically working for Egypt. Here are the most notable services provided by The Livingston Group: • The firm coordinated and arranged the SCAF delegations’ trips to Washington and visits to Congress, led by Major General Mohamed Al- Image 1: A shot from The Livingston Group documents showing a visit by a delegation from the Military Council headed by Major General Mohamed Al-Assar in his capacity as assistant to the Assar and Major General Fouad Abdel Halim. minister of defence at the time, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. The names of certain members of Congress who met with them during the visit, which took place between July 26-28, 2011, are • The firm liaised with US military entities, including the US Central given. In the meetings, the delegation discussed Egyptian-US relations, the political transition in Command, the Egyptian Command Office and the US chiefs of staff. Egypt, regional security and attempts to withhold US aid to the Egyptian Army. Source: US Department of Justice website. • The firm liaised with the Pentagon, the State Department and the National Security Council. 6 A revolution, a change of regime and 4 rulers middleeastmonitor.com 7 Image 3: Part of the Moffett Group documents showing a meeting of “Egyptian generals”, without mentioning their names, with a group of Congress members, on July 27, 2011. Source: US Image 2: A copy of The Livingston Group documents, showing a visit by a delegation from the Department of Justice website. Military Council headed by Major General Fouad Abdel Halim, in his capacity as assistant in arms affairs to the minister of defence at the time, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. In the document, the names of some members of Congress and their employees who met with them during the visit between 11 and 18 October, 2011, appear. In the meetings, the delegation discussed Egyptian-US relations, the political transition in Egypt, regional security and attempts to disrupt US aid to the Egyptian Army. Source US Department of Justice website. 8 A revolution, a change of regime and 4 rulers middleeastmonitor.com 9 • The firm reached out to Congress and provided media representation for the Military Council to US media. • The overall payments made to the firm in 2011 amounted to $277,000. The ‘Hillary clique’ The last lobbying firm on the Military Council’s list is the Podesta Group. The group is particularly noteworthy due to its deep and extensive connections with the Democratic Party and many Obama administration figures. The most crucial relationship of the firm is its “political marriage” to the Clintons. The firm is headed by Tony Podesta and his brother John Podesta, Bill Clinton’s former White House chief of staff. Podesta headed the Obama transition team and was also the founder of the Centre for American Progress (CAP), a liberal think tank. It is worth noting that Hillary Clinton was the US Image 4: A picture from The Livingstone Group documents revealing some of the company’s secretary of state at the time.
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