Rep. ROHRABACHER (1999) -- How the Clinton Administration brought the Taliban to power 9/28/2001, 10:01:18 PM · by Nita Nupress · 43 replies · 2,520+ views Senate testimony | April 14, 1999 | Rep. Dana Rohrabacher April 14, 1999, Wednesday COMMITTEE HEARING SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS: SUBCOMMITTEE ON NEAR EASTERN AND SOUTH U.S. SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS) HOLDS HEARING...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Raphel
After retirement, Raphel was hired to head the global affairs and trade group of Cassidy & Associates, a DC lobbying firm. She returned to the State Department in 2009 as a senior adviser on Pakistan under Richard Holbrooke, during the tenure of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Until November 2, 2014, she served as coordinator for non-military assistance to Pakistan.
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Post-retirement lobbyist
In 2005, soon after her retirement, Raphel began working for Cassidy & Associates, a Washington-based lobbying firm, where she headed the global affairs and trade group.[32] Shortly after hiring Raphel as a senior vice president, Cassidy signed a $1.2 million contract to lobby for the government of Pakistan. Raphel was assigned to lead the contract.[33] One month later, however, Cassidy canceled the Pakistan lobbying contract after Pakistan’s president Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule.[34][32][35]
Raphel continued her role at Cassidy, lobbying for other international clients who included Bangladeshi politician Anwar Hossain Manju and the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization, according The Hill.[34] On July 14, 2009, Cassidy signed a new one-year contract with the Pakistani Embassy, to “engage in efforts to improve Pakistan-U.S. relations and promote the development of U.S. policy beneficial to Pakistan and its interests.”[34]
Cassidy & Associates is a government-relations firm based in Washington, D.C. In 2018, the company received $14,170,000 in income from various companies for lobbying of the United States government.[1] According to The Washington Post its founder, Gerald Cassidy, was once worth $125 million, possibly the richest Washington lobbyist.[2] In 1999 and 2000, Cassidy & Associates was led all lobbying firms in reported income.[3]
History
Beginning in 2004, the firm represented Equatorial Guinean president Teodoro Obiang, “one of Africa’s most notorious dictators”.[4] According to the United States Department of Justice the president paid Cassidy & Associates at least $120,000 per month.[4] Mother Jones has described the agency as almost “a shadow foreign ministry” for the country.[4]
In 2007, The Washington Post reported, “Cassidy helped invent the new Washington,” and was “creator and proprietor of the most lucrative lobbying firm in Washington.”[2]
Kai Anderson, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, serves as the firm’s CEO, and Barry Rhoads, former Deputy General Counsel to the 1991 Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC), serves as its chairman.[5]
In 2015, the firm’s founder and namesake, Gerald S. J. Cassidy, stepped down after 38 years of leading the firm.[6]
The firm reported earning $12.85 million in 2015, according to records filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) with the Secretary of the U.S. Senate and Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.[citation needed]
In 2017, the Associated Press reported that the firm had been hired by the Egyptian intelligence services.[citation needed] In late February, the U.S. State Department cataloged human rights abuses in Egypt in its annual report. The Egyptian government hired Cassidy & Associates and its parent company Weber Shandwick to improve Egypt’s image in the United States.
In June 2017, Cassidy announced a management buyout from The Interpublic Group (IPG), returning it to an independent firm.[7]