Ukraine’s D.C. Lobbyists in Disarray as Dictator Flees
02.25.14 6:11 PM ET
Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s deposed autocrat, could probably use his lobbyists in Washington now more than ever. The only problem at this point is that the lobbyists themselves are not sure whether they still work for him.
It's a risk built into the business of lobbying for foreign clients. Every now and again, the guys writing the checks are ousted from power. Take the government of Ukraine. Two heavyweight lobbying firms sold their services to represent an innocuous sounding think tank based in Brussels, Belgium called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECFMU). Now those lobbyists are in limbo.
On paper, the Centre represented itself as a non-partisan research institution that pressed for Ukraine’s integration with the European Union. In reality, it was closely tied to the party of Viktor Yanukovych and one of his principal financial backers,
Sergei Klyuyev.
The two firms that got the ECFMU contract are the Podesta Group, which is run by the brother of White House special counselor John Podesta, Tony; and Mercury, a public relations firm staffed by former GOP Congressman Vin Weber and other Republican lobbyists.
Ed Kutler, a lobbyist representing the ECFMU for Mercury told the Daily Beast, “We are waiting to see what happens on the ground in Ukraine. But we are still talking to staff and think tank people who come to us and ask us what is happening in the Ukraine. The fact is every five minutes there is a new headline and obviously a changing situation and we need to see how events settle in.” "We’re awaiting guidance from the European Centre for what if any work they have for us in the future,” said one source in Washington familiar with the lobbying efforts from the two groups. Another former lobbyist for the Centre told The Daily Beast the account was now in up in the air.
One Republican Senate aide who works closely on Ukraine issues told The Daily Beast that the lobbyists for the ECFMU have been “radio silent” for at least the last six weeks. Another Democratic House staff member who works on European policy issues confirmed this.
These sources say the last major push from the ECFMU lobbyists was in the fall when they pressed lawmakers to oppose a resolution from Sen. Richard Durbin, the Senate Majority Whip, calling for the release of Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Ukrainian prime minister who was convicted and jailed in 2011 under the Yanukovych regime on corruption charges. On Feb. 22 she was released from prison.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ukraines-dc-lobbyists-in-disarray-as-dictator-flees
