From Roll Call:
The government of Japan knows its way around K Street.
In the months leading up to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Washington this week, the country spent more than $1.2 million on lobbying, law and public relations firms, according to documents filed with the Justice Department.
As the country navigates numerous policy issues, including a massive trade deal with the United States, it relies on the hired help of such firms as Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Hogan Lovells and the Podesta Group. Japan enlisted the Daschle Group, the firm of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., just this month.
And…
On the other side, the Daschle firm’s registration for Japan, filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, said that the embassy of Japan had not yet signed a formal contract and did not disclose any fee arrangement. But Tom Daschle himself is registered to lobby for the government.
“The Daschle Group’s activities may include communications on behalf of the Embassy of Japan with officials in U.S. executive branch departments and agencies, with members and staff of the U.S. Congress, and with other individuals and organizations involved in governmental or public policy matters,” the FARA filing said.
Remember when Tom “wasn’t a lobbyist?”
I sure hope Old Dashole runs for something again–we need the tax revenue from his hidden income.
i love to hear that tom daschle is working for the betterment of a strong u-s ally. i’d rather have him doing that than helping the current administration advance their socialist overhaul plans for the u-s.