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Coleman Took Nearly $10,000 from Lobbying Group with Ties to Burma Military Regime.

Coleman Took Nearly $10,000 from Lobbying Firm Tied to Myanmar Military Regime:

Coleman Took $9,861 from DCI Group.  According to campaign finance reports, Norm Coleman has taken $6,000 in individual and PAC contributions from the DCI Group, a firm that has recently come under fire for its lobbying connections to the military junta in Myanmar. [Center for Responsive Politics; Newsweek, 5/19/08 Issue]

Coleman Took $4,000 from DCI Group Senior Leadership and Partners.  According to campaign finance reports, Norm Coleman took $4,000 from the following at the DCI Group:

        * $1,000 from Douglas Goodyear, DCI Group President
        * $1,000 from Angela Flood, DCI Group Vice-President
        * $2,000 from Justin Peterson, DCI Group Managing Partner
                                   [Center for Responsive Politics, 5/12/08]

Coleman Took $2,000 from DCI Group PAC.  According to campaign finance reports, Norm Coleman took $2,000 from the DCI Group Political Action Committee in his campaign for re-election. [Center for Responsive Politics, 5/12/08]

Coleman’s PAC Took $3,861 from DCI Group. On August 11, 2004, Coleman  took $3,861 from DCI group staff that included $855 from Doug Goodyear, $855 from Timothy Hyde, $855 from Thomas Synhorst, $556 from Charles Francis, $370 from Doug Davenport, and $370 from James Murphy. [Center For Responsive Politics, 5/13/08] 

Goodyear’s Firm (DCI Group) Lobbied for Myanmar. Newsweek reported, DCI Group “was paid $348,000 in 2002 to represent Burma’s military junta, which had been strongly condemned by the State Department for its human-rights record and remains in power today. Justice Department lobbying records show DCI pushed to “begin a dialogue of political reconciliation” with the regime. It also led a PR campaign to burnish the junta’s image, drafting releases praising Burma’s efforts to curb the drug trade and denouncing “falsehoods” by the Bush administration that the regime engaged in rape and other abuses.” [Newsweek, 5/19/08 Issue]

McCain Staffers Resigned Over DCI Group Ties to Military Junta:

May 10: McCain’s Republican National Convention Chair Doug Goodyear Resigned Over Lobbyist Firm Ties To Myanmar. According to the Associated Press, “The man picked by the John McCain campaign to run the 2008 Republican National Convention resigned Saturday after a report that his lobbying firm used to represent the military regime in Myanmar. Doug Goodyear resigned as convention coordinator and issued a two sentence statement: ‘Today I offered the convention my resignation so as not to become a distraction in this campaign. I continue to strongly support John McCain for president, and wish him the best of luck in this campaign.’ [Associated Press, 5/10/08]

May 11: McCain Regional Campaign Manager And Former Head of DCI Lobbying Practice Resigned Over Myanmar Lobbying.  The Politico reported, “Doug Davenport, one of McCain’s 11 regional campaign managers, quit his post today, a McCain spokeswoman said in response to an inquiry.  “Doug has tendered his resignation and we have accepted it,” Jill Hazelbaker wrote in an e-mail.” [Politico, 5/11/08]

DCI Group And Doug Davenport Lobbied On "Humanitarian Issues Affecting Myanmar." The Department of Justice’s Supplemental Statement to the Foreign Agents Registration Act lists the details of DCI groups lobbying efforts with the Union of Myanmar.  The state purpose of DCI’s activities with Myanmar was “to begin a dialogue on political reconciliation and humanitarian issues affecting Myanmar.”  Doug Davenport is listed among the groups’ Public affairs staff on the contract. [FARA Database, accessed 5/11/08]

McCain Tapped Founder of DCI’s Lobbying Group as Regional Campaign Manager. Marc Ambinder of theAtlantic.com reported that “Doug Davenport, a founder of the DCI Group and the head of its lobbying practice, will be one of the McCain campaign’s ten regional campaign managers.” The Washington Post reported, “Davenport launched the government affairs (read: lobbying) practice at DCI Group in 2000.” Over the last decade, Davenport has lobbied for dozens of clients, including gambling services company GTECH, AT&T, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Intel, Lockheed Martin, United Airlines, Verizon and Visa. [Atlantic, 4/2/08; Washington Post, 4/6/08; Senate Lobbying Disclosure Database, accessed 4/2/08]

Davenport Planned To Continue Lobbying For DCI While Working For McCain, But Backtracked After Lobbying Plans Were Reported. When Davenport’s position as McCain’s regional campaign manager was announced the Wall Street Journal reported an email from DCI President Jim Murphy. “While this new, full-time position will require him to take a leave of absence from the DCI Group partnership, we are fortunate that he will remain professionally affiliated with us as a senior consultant, assisting us with our portfolio clients and special projects,” Murphy wrote. He added: Doug will still maintain an office here.” After the Wall Street Journal reported, “[Davenport] has taken a full leave from the firm without pay, effective last week, on April 1; he also has given up his owner equity, and has begun deregistering as a lobbyist.” [Wall Street Journal, Washington Wire, 4/8/08]   

 

 

 


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