The special counsel’s latest files says that employees of the firm knew
that they were working for a foreign government, and not disclosing it.
By Betsy Woodruff
Just over a year ago, a spokesperson for lobbying powerhouse Mercury
LLC was emphatic: His firm never worked for the Ukrainian strongman
Viktor Yanukovych, who played a major role in making Paul Manafort
notorious.
That was in response to a query
after reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team had subpoenaed
Mercury as part of its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016
campaign.
Mercury LLC partner Mike McKeon replied, saying he
would be fielding media queries about federal filings showing the firm
had introduced Viktor Klyuyev, a parliamentarian in Yanukovych’s party
and the brother of his former chief of staff, to Congressional offices.
He added: “But please note that we never worked or did PR for
Yanukovich.”
Court filings released Friday indicate Special
Counsel Robert Mueller would not believe that statement. Communications
between lobbyists revealed in those filings indicate employees at
Mercury LLC understood they were working on behalf of Yanukovych, who
had jailed his political opponent and drawn condemnation throughout the
Western world. And those lobbyists appear to have known they weren’t
complying with federal disclosure law.
The revelation means lobbyists at the firm could face legal jeopardy, according to former federal prosecutors.
And
Sol Wisenberg, who was Ken Starr’s deputy during the Monica Lewinsky
investigation, told The Daily Beast that Mercury could be in trouble.
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Source: The Daily Beast
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