Egypt and US Lobbying History Share This:

With the military called in to control the demonstrations now underway on the streets of cities in Egypt, here’s a brief look at the country’s attempts to sway Washington more in their favor.

In 2008 and 2009, the country has spent close to $2 million and hired leading DC insiders including former Congressman Bob Livingston, R-La., and democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta to push their military and political agenda. Egypt is also one of the foremost recipients of foreign U.S. foreign aid.

Filings required by the Foreign Agent Registration Act, and digitized and made searchable by Sunlight’s joint project with ProPublica, the Foreign Lobbyist Influence Tracker show thousands of contacts with Congressional staff, members of Congress and executive branch officials and hundreds of contacts made to discuss military issues.

Here’s an excerpt from a 2008 report.