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| October 10, 2009 |
"Would you represent Hitler?"
A prominent Democratic fundraiser and ally of Sen. John F. Kerry <http://projects.Robert B. Crowe, a partner at Atlanta-based Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, has met with special U.S. envoy J. Scott Gration and several Democratic lawmakers in recent weeks in an attempt to garner support for the deal, which would give the Khartoum government its first official U.S. representative in nearly four years.
A State Department official said Gration and his aides initially rejected the application but have since urged Crowe to seek support from Congress before they reconsider the proposal. Kerry's office said a staff member was briefed about Crowe's plans but that the senator, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was not aware of them.
The prospect of a lobbying deal for Sudan has alarmed human rights activists and lawmakers focused on the conflict in its Darfur region, where up to 300,000 people have been killed by government-backed militias as part of what the United States has called an ongoing genocide.
"They are on our sanctions list and have been for some time, and I see no reason to allow them to have a lobbyist," said Rep. Donald M. Payne <http://projects.
Rep. Frank R. Wolf <http://projects.
The lobbying discussions come as the Obama administration prepares to announce a new policy on Sudan after months of fierce internal debate between hard-liners such as U.N. Ambassador Susan E. Rice, who favors keeping up pressure on Khartoum, and those such as Gration, who has endorsed a softer strategy.
Some State Department and White House officials are particularly uncomfortable with Gration's conciliatory approach to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has been indicted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Gration has suggested easing sanctions on the regime and has likened such rewards to "giving out cookies" and "gold stars" to children.
Crowe declined to say how much the Sudanese regime would pay Nelson Mullins for its services. The last lobbyist to represent Sudan, Robert J. Cabelly of C/R International, had a $530,000 annual contract with the regime that ended in early 2006 amid an outcry in Congress.