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20080813
John McCain - Randy Scheunemann - Money - Politics - Georgia - Russia - Military - Arizona - US - 2008 Election
"While Aide Advised McCain, His Firm Lobbied for Georgia: Campaign Dismisses Timing of Phone Call, Contract." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic." ... "The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington." ... "The McCain campaign said Georgia's lobbying contract with Orion Strategies had no bearing on the candidate's decision to speak with President Mikheil Saakashvili and did not influence his statement. "The Embassy of Georgia requested the call," said campaign spokesman Brian Rogers." ... "But ethics experts have raised concerns about former lobbyists for foreign governments providing advice to presidential candidates about those same countries. "The question is, who is the client? Is the adviser loyal to income from a foreign client, or is he loyal to the candidate he is working for now?" said James Thurber, a lobbying expert at American University. "It's dangerous if you're getting advice from people who are very close to countries on one side or another of a conflict."" ... "For months while McCain's presidential campaign was gearing up, Scheunemann held dual roles, advising the candidate on foreign policy while working as Georgia's lobbyist. Between Jan. 1, 2007, and May 15, 2008, the campaign paid Scheunemann nearly $70,000 to provide foreign policy advice. During the same period, the government of Georgia paid his firm $290,000 in lobbying fees." ... "Since 2004, Orion has collected $800,000 from the government of Georgia." -By Matthew Mosk and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum with contributions by Alice Crites -WashingtonPost 

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John McCain - Randy Scheunemann - Politics - Georgia - Russia - Taiwan - Macedonia - Romania - Latvia - US - Law - 2008 Election
"McCain adviser got money from Georgia." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's chief foreign policy adviser and his business partner lobbied the senator or his staff on 49 occasions in a 3 1/2-year span while being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia." ... "The payments raise ethical questions about the intersection of Randy Scheunemann's personal financial interests and his advice to the Republican presidential candidate who is seizing on Russian aggression in Georgia as a campaign issue." ... ""Scheunemann's work as a lobbyist poses valid questions about McCain's judgment in choosing someone who — and whose firm — are paid to promote the interests of other nations," said New York University law professor Stephen Gillers. "So one must ask whether McCain is getting disinterested advice, at least when the issues concern those nations."" ... ""If McCain wants advice from someone whose private interests as a once and future lobbyist may affect the objectivity of the advice, that's his choice to make."" ... "Scheunemann's firm lobbied McCain's office on four bills and resolutions regarding Georgia, with McCain as a co-sponsor or supporter of all of them." ... "In addition to the 49 contacts with McCain or his staff regarding Georgia, Scheunemann's firm has lobbied the senator or his aides on at least 47 occasions since 2001 on behalf of the governments of Taiwan and Macedonia, which each paid Scheunemann and his partner Mike Mitchell over half a million dollars; Romania, which paid over $400,000; and Latvia, which paid nearly $250,000." -By Pete Yost -AP via -Yahoo 

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Georgia - Russia - EU - Belgium - France - Military - History
"Georgia Says Russian Troops Move Beyond Conflict Zone (Update2)." ... "Georgia accused Russia of sending troops beyond the South Ossetia [Republic of Georgia region] conflict zone in violation of a cease-fire. A Russian official denied the claim, saying the troops are eliminating Georgia's ability to renew attacks." ... "Georgian Security Council chief Kakha Lomaia said a column of Russian troops may be moving from the city of Gori [Republic of Georgia] toward the Uplistsikhe military base, which Georgian forces abandoned earlier in the conflict. The Russians are advancing ``well beyond the conflict zone,'' he said today." ... "The Russian troop movements come one day after Georgia and Russia agreed to a European Union-brokered peace plan to end five days of fighting. EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels [the capital of Belgium and the European Union] to push the peace deal forward. The 27-nation bloc may send military personnel to monitor the cease-fire, said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country brokered the accord." ... "Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Russian tanks continue to operate within Georgia, destroying ``infrastructure,'' as Russia said it was responding to sporadic attacks by Georgian snipers while observing the terms of a cease-fire declared by [Russian] President Dmitry Medvedev." ... "Medvedev ordered a halt to the military campaign, which was sparked by fighting between Georgia and South Ossetia on Aug. 7. Saakashvili said Russia launched a ``well-planned invasion'' of Georgia the next day. Nogovitsyn said Georgia planned its incursion into South Ossetia in advance and expected to meet resistance only from Ossetian forces and the 588 Russian peacekeepers deployed in the region." ... "South Ossetia and Abkhazia broke away from Georgian control in wars in the early 1990s and Russian forces have been stationed as peacekeepers in the regions under a Commonwealth of Independent States mandate. Most people living in both regions have Russian passports. Saakashvili yesterday said Georgia is quitting the CIS, a loose association of all former Soviet republics except the three Baltic states. " -By Henry Meyer and Lucian Kim -Bloomberg 

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20080523
• John McCain - Randy Scheunemann - Charlie Black - Money - Politics - Foreign - Russia - Macedonia - Republic of Georgia - Zaire is the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Military - Food- Indiana - Arizona - US - 2008 Election - Law - "Senior Aide's Lobbying Efforts Highlight Challenge for McCain." ... "For a decade, [lobbyist] Randy Scheunemann has been a campaign staffer to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain, an ideological ally in the fight to contain Russian power -- and a lobbyist seeking the Arizona senator's support for former Soviet states." ... "The lobbying group Mr. Scheunemann founded in 2001, Orion Strategies LLC [Limited Liability Company], has earned $2.6 million from clients for whom Mr. Scheunemann directly lobbied [Arizona Senator] Sen. McCain and his staff, Justice Department records show." ... "In March, as scrutiny intensified, Mr. Scheunemann, who is the campaign's top foreign-policy staffer, sent a letter to the Justice Department's office for foreign-client lobbying registrations saying he had stopped working for clients such as Macedonia and [the Republic of] Georgia. However, his company's contracts with those countries, worth a combined $240,000, appear still to be in effect. A spokeswoman for the Georgian Embassy in Washington said the country's contract with Orion is active. The Macedonian contract is listed as active in Justice Department records." ... "Charlie Black, a McCain campaign senior adviser, has represented foreign leaders accused of corruption and human-rights abuses, such as Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire [now the Democratic Republic of the Congo]. He ended his relationship with BKSH & Associates Worldwide this year. Outside advisers and fund-raisers for the campaign include Wayne Berman, a registered lobbyist for an Indiana food-packaging company that sells to the Department of Defense." -By Mary Jacoby -WSJ.com

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20080522
• John McCain - Randy Scheunemann - Money - Politics - Foreign - Republic of Georgia - Latvia - Macedonia - Romania - Ky - Arizona - US - 2008 Election - "Former Outside NRA Lobbyist Gives A Boost To McCain." ... "When he went to woo the National Rifle Association convention in Louisville, Ky. [Kentucky], on Friday, it did not hurt that presumptive Republican presidential nominee, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Senator] Sen. John McCain of Arizona, was accompanied by a former outside NRA [National Rifle Association] lobbyist turned campaign adviser, Randy Scheunemann." ... "Officially the top foreign policy and national security adviser to McCain’s campaign, Scheunemann told National Journal in March he has weighed in with advice on Second Amendment and firearms issues. He said he had stopped lobbying for all his clients early this year, and his lobbying registration forms show that the NRA work ended at the end of 2007." ... "But during that year while he was helping the [McCain] campaign, Scheunemann & Associates, one of two boutique firms he runs, received $40,000 in fees from the NRA. The NRA, one of his oldest clients, paid him the same amount for several prior years. Scheunemann, who started working for the campaign as a volunteer in early 2007, did not return four calls seeking comment for this story." ... "According to one NRA lobbyist who was at the convention, Scheunemann arrived and departed with McCain. Scheunemann spent most of his time at the event backstage -- where McCain had a brief meeting with NRA leaders, according to a lobbyist." ... "Scheunemann’s other lobbying firm, Orion Strategies, has worked for several foreign governments, including [the Republic of] Georgia, Latvia, Macedonia and Romania, who have joined or are seeking to join NATO." -By Peter Stone -NationalJournal

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20080520
• John McCain - Randy Scheunemann - Money - Politics - Foreign - Macedonia - Republic of Georgia - Taiwan - Arizona - US - 2008 Election - Law - "McCain adviser's work as lobbyist comes to light." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's top foreign policy adviser lobbied the Arizona senator's staff on behalf of the republic of Georgia while he was working for the campaign, public records show." ... "Randy Scheunemann, founder of Orion Strategies, represented the governments of Macedonia, Georgia and Taiwan between 2003 and March 1, according to the firm's filings with the Justice Department. In its latest semiannual report, the firm disclosed that Scheunemann had a phone conversation in November about Georgia with Richard Fontaine, an aide in McCain's Senate office." ... "Orion Strategies earned $540,000 from its foreign clients over the year ending on [December] Dec. 1, reports show. Scheunemann also received $56,250 last year from March to July from McCain, according to campaign finance records." ... "The campaign consulting fees ended at a time when McCain was under financial pressure to cut costs, but Scheunemann remained the campaign's top foreign policy adviser. He represented McCain throughout last fall — including an appearance at a Republican Jewish Coalition event during the same week he lobbied McCain's Senate office." ... "Georgia paid Orion Strategies $240,000 in the year ending Dec. 1, reports show." -By Matt Kelley -USATODAY

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20070817
• Russia - Georgia - Airplane - Politics - "Panel Hints at Russian Involvement in Fallen Missile in Georgia." ... "A panel of international military experts concluded in a report released Thursday that a missile found in a field in the Republic of Georgia last week fell from an airplane that flew from Russia into Georgia and then returned to Russia." ... "The discovery of the missile points to what would be the second firing of a Russian-made missile in Georgia this year. In March, a Russian-made, helicopter-launched missile exploded outside a Georgian government building in the Kodori Gorge, the only portion of the separatist region of Abkhazia that is under Georgian control." -By Andrew E. Kramer -NYTimes 

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20051110
• Azerbaijan - Georgia - People - "Cautious protest in Azerbaijan: An opposition protest of election results occurred peacefully Wednesday. Another is planned for Saturday." ... "Thousands of protesters marched Wednesday to demand a replay of Sunday's parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, which international observers have judged badly tainted by voter coercion and ballot-fixing." ... ""I want to live in a democratic country. It's our last chance," said Samir Hussein, a businessman who joined 15,000 opposition supporters who marched peacefully, as 500 or more riot police looked on, through a Baku suburb. "If we lose our chance today, we will never get freedom."" ... "Azeri opposition leaders are hoping to harness popular outrage over the flawed election to force authorities into staging the voting again - with more democratic conditions. Roses and orange banners betrayed the source of their inspiration: the peaceful revolutions that brought democratic change to Georgia and Ukraine in the past two years, following similar official attempts to rig results." -By Daria Vaisman with contributions by Fred Weir -CSMonitor

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20051105
• Azerbaijan - Russia - Georgia - Turkey - Iran - Energy - "Azerbaijan Braces for Election: Riots Threatened If Fraud Is Seen." ... "Flame licks the hills outside of this city on the Caspian Sea, spontaneous little eruptions jumping from the earth and testifying to the energy riches that this Muslim country with a large impoverished population is about to transform into billions of dollars in cold cash." ... "Between now and 2024, a new oil pipeline to Turkey will generate an estimated $124 billion, a bonanza for this nation of 8 million with a state budget this year of $1.4 billion." ... "Azerbaijan, a small former Soviet republic squeezed between Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and Iran, is on the verge of an oil boom. On Sunday it will go to the polls in parliamentary elections, and the outcome, amid charges of strong-arm tactics and fears of vote-rigging, might prove just as pivotal to the country's future." -By Peter Finn-WashingtonPost 

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20040104
• "Poll landslide for Saakashvili in Georgia." ... "Georgians flocked to the polls on Sunday to vote in Mikheil Saakashvili, the 36-year-old leader of November's "rose revolution", as president. Exit polls indicated Mr Saakashvili gained 85.8 per cent of the vote, with 12.8 per cent voting "against all" candidates." ... "About 1.6m Georgians turned up to cast their ballots in the snap election which confirmed a change of power brought about by mass protests in November. Since Mr Saakashvili faced little opposition in the poll, all eyes yesterday were on the turnout figure, which far surpassed the 50 per cent necessary for the election to be valid." -By Tom Warner -FT.com 

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20031206
• -  -  -  - "Rumsfeld Visits Georgia to Bind a Strategic Partnership." ... "The United States views Georgia as a strategic partner, in part for its location, along an arc of instability in a region thought to be a crossroads for terrorists. A pipeline set to open in 2005 linking Azerbaijan, which Mr. Rumsfeld visited Thursday, and Turkey, NATO's only Islamic member, runs across Georgia, as well." ... "Georgia's leaders, describing the desperate state of their temporary government, said the treasury was so empty that they had asked the United States to consider helping pay soldiers' salaries. Satisfying the armed forces is viewed as important to keeping the peace ahead of Jan. 4 elections." -By Thom Shanker -NYTimes via -Google-News 

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20031205
• - "Rumsfeld Offers U.S. Support for Georgia." ... "Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld pledged full U.S. support Friday for this former Soviet republic and said Russia is obliged to withdraw its troops as promised." ... "Rumsfeld met with Georgia's interim leadership, including the acting president, Nino Burdzhanadze." ... "He was the first member of President Bush's cabinet to come here since election protests forced Eduard Shevardnadze to resign the presidency last month." -By Robert Burns -AP via -Guardian.co.uk

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20031124
• "Georgia leader quits in velvet coup:  Shevardnadze forced out in tense standoff." ... "Eduard Shevardnadze last night ended his 30-year domination of Georgia, stepping down as president after weeks of street protests, in what his opponents hailed as a velvet revolution." ... "The former Soviet foreign minister, lauded by the west for his role in ending the cold war but hated at home for a presidency that turned authoritarian and corrupt, looked exhausted after a weekend in which allies deserted him and opponents stormed parliament, driving him out." ... ""I have quit. I see that this [the political crisis] could not have ended bloodlessly and I would have had to exercise my power. I have never betrayed my people, and therefore I believe that, as president, I must resign," he said." -By Nick Paton Walsh -Guardian.co.uk

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20031115
• "Protests escalate against government in Georgia." ... "A post-election standoff erupted into turmoil in Georgia on Friday as thousands of anti-government protesters filled the streets, forming a human chain outside the presidential compound and demanding the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze." ... "The protests, sparked by anger over the government's manipulation of a parliamentary vote on Nov. 2, have swelled into a condemnation of Shevardnadze's 12-year rule with its corruption, economic decline and breakdown in government services." -By Seth Mydans -NYTimes via -IHT.com

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20030318
• -  -  -  - "State Department Noon Briefing Transcript [List of the 30 Nations Supporting US Disarmament of Iraq]." ... "BRIEFER:  Richard Boucher, Spokesman." ... "MR. BOUCHER: There are 30 countries who have agreed to be part of the coalition for the immediate disarmament of Iraq. I'd have to say these are countries that we have gone to and said, "Do you want to be listed?" and they have said, "Yes."" ... "They are: Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan." ... "In addition to these countries, there are actually another 15 or so that we know of, probably more than 15, that are cooperating with us in -- and the coalition, or perhaps offering defensive assets in the event that Saddam resorts to the use of weapons of mass destruction." -Washington File -State.gov 

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20020226
• "A new terror-war front: the Caucasus:  Russia and Georgia may attack Al Qaeda in a mountain hideaway." -By Fred Weir -CSMonitor/subscribe

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