Confidential documents posted to Facebook by a group called WikiLeaks Libya show that a motley group of Washington fixers-for-hire mounted an 11th-hour push in April to revive Moammer Gadhafi's sagging Washington reputation. And all they asked for their services was the nominal fee of $10 million from the Libyan strongman, who was killed by rebel forces last month in his hometown of Sirte. The story was first reported late Thursday by the New York Times' Scott Shane and Penn Bullock.
The confidential documents, addressed to Your "Excellency Moammar Khaddafi," and dated April 17, "contained a shock for the Americans: a three-page letter addressed to Colonel Qaddafi . . . [offering] the Libyan dictator the lobbying services of what he called the 'American Action Group' to outmaneuver the rebels and win United States government support," Shane and Bullock reported.
"Our group of Libyan sympathizers . . . would like to help to block the actions of your international enemies and to support a normal working relationship with the United States Government," a letter signed by a Belgian member of the proposed lobbying group, Dirk Borgers, said, Shane and Bullock reported.
"Our group . . . working inside the different services, Intelligence, Military, Congress and Administration, of the American government, since 30 plus years," can help "block the actions of your international enemies" and "support a normal working relationship with the United States government," the proposal to Gadhafi stated.
The letter also lists a roster of members for the proposed "American Action Group." The terrorism specialist Neil Livingstone was a lead name; he reportedly recently closed his lobbying firm Executive Action LLC to explore a GOP run for governor in Montana. Also included on the list were Kansas City, Missouri attorney Randell K. Wood of Wood Law Firm LLC; former senior CIA Middle East officer Marty Martin; and Neil Alpert, pitched in the documents as a onetime fundraiser for the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Republican National Committee.
The release of the confidential letter "is especially awkward for Mr. Livingstone," Shane and Bullock noted, since offering his services to Gadhafi could presumably complicate his designs on the Montana governorship.
However, Livingstone told the Times that he had not previously seen the letter. The ad-hoc group's "whole goal was to get the Qaddafis out of there as fast as possible," he told Shane and Bullock.
Nevertheless, one of the documents addressed to Gadhafi and posted to Facebook by Wikileaks Libya purports to be signed by Livingstone.
"This will confirm that our team is ready to leave at the earliest possible date," that letter, dated March 21, 2011, states. "Our team will be comprised of myself, Mr. Marty Martin (a former senior CIA officer fluent in Arabic), Mr. Neil Alpert (a former senior AIPAC and GOP National Committee official and PR specialist), and Mr. Randell Wood (an attorney)."
"We would expect to meet for one or two days to establish a plan for assisting the client in resolving the client in resolving the present conflict in a satisfactory way," the letter continued. "In preparation for the meeting, we will need certain travel arrangements and to know that visa requirements have been waived." The missive was signed "Sincerely, Neil C. Livingstone, Chairman and CEO," and was printed on what appears to be the letterhead of Executive Action LLC, Livingstone's former PR-strategy/lobbying shop named apparently with a wink to the euphemism for Cold War-era CIA-assassinations.
A contract alleging to be part of the group's proposal to Gadhafi requests that the "CLIENT hereby agrees to pay a retainer of $10,000,000.00 USD," subject to getting a license from the U.S. Treasury Department (apparently, Treasury's decision on whether to grant the waiver is still pending, Shane and Bullock report). The contract also states that it was drawn up by attorney Randell K. Wood, whose Missouri-based law practice website states that it handles cases ranging from DUIs to "represent[ing] international clients in matters under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and other federal agencies."
Wood did not return a phone call left by Yahoo News Friday, and an assistant said she did not think that the firm was currently commenting on the matter.
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