Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly

Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly (often simply Black, Manafort) was a lobbying firm based in Washington, D.C. Formed in 1980 by Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Charles Black, it merged with Martin B. Gold's Gold & Liebengood to form BKSH & Associates in 1996.

History

As Black, Manafort & Stone, the firm was one of the first political consulting groups to work for Ronald Reagan's presidential candidacy in 1980,[1] and would later also have extensive connections to the presidential administrations of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.[2]

In 1984 it was renamed to Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly (BMSK) & associates, after Peter G. Kelly was recruited.[3]

The firm has represented, and lobbied the US Congress on behalf of, numerous foreign governments and heads of state from both representative democracies and unelected dictatorships including Mohamed Siad Barre of Somalia, dictator Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines,[4][5] dictator Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire,[6] and Jonas Savimbi of Angola. According to "The Torturer's Lobby", a report published by The Center for Public Integrity, the firm received $3.3 million in the early 1990s for their work with dictators.[7]

During the 1988 presidential campaign in the United States, it was disclosed that Black, Manafort retained the island nation of the Bahamas as a client at a time its leadership was being attacked for alleged ties to drug traffickers. BMSK officials insisted that they intended only to help the Bahamas obtain more United States aid for efforts to curb drug smugglers.[1]

Domestically the firm represented Bethlehem Steel and Tobacco Institute, helped elect Senators Phil Gramm, Jesse Helms, Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr., Arlen Specter, Paula Hawkins and David F. Durenberger—and worked on legislation that benefitted the firm's clients.

Both Paul Manafort and Roger Stone worked on and held important positions in the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump. As of 2019, they are both convicted felons due to their work on the Trump campaign.

Personnel

Principals

Others
  • Lee Atwater became a senior partner in the political-consulting function of the firm (the partners claimed the firm kept political and lobbying functions separate) the day after President Reagan defeated Walter F. Mondale in 1984.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. "A Political Power Broker", The New York Times, June 21, 1989
  2. Steve Burkholder (1993). "On the town with Jonas Savimbi - huge U.S. lobbying expenditures by Angola". FindArticles. Common Cause magazine. Archived from the original on 2004-11-15. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  3. Choate, Pat (1990). Agents of Influence. Simon and Schuster. pp. 307. ISBN 0671743392.
  4. "Paul Manafort's Wild and Lucrative Philippine Adventure". Politico. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  5. "Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly, Public Affairs Company document for U.S. Department of Justice" (PDF). U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act website (FARA.gov). Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  6. "Mobutu in Search of an Image Boost". Washington Post. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  7. Brogan, Pamela (1992). "The Torturer's Lobby: How Human Rights-Abusing Nations Are Represented in Washington" (PDF). The Center for Public Integrity. ISBN 0-9629012-9-6. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  8. Partners in Political PR Firm Typify Republican New Breed, Thomas B. Edsall, April 7, 1985
  9. Thomas, Evan (1986-03-03). "The Slickest Shop in Town". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
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