Politics

FreedomWorks/Tea Party Leader Dick Armey Lobbied for Terrorist Group

By Anne Landman

Dick ArmeyIn his previous position with the lobbying firm DLA Piper, Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey promoted the interests of the People?s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, otherwise known as Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), an organization that the State Department brands a terrorist group. According to the State Department, MEK blends Marxist and Islamic tenets, and was founded to overthrow the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran. In 1975 and 1976, MEK is alleged to have killed seven American defense advisers to the Shah. MEK achieved its original purpose when, working with followers of Ayatollah Khomeini, the group staged the Islamic revolution, seized the American Embassy in Tehran and sent the Shah into exile. MEK later allied itself with Saddam Hussein to undermine the Islamic government of Iran. Armey also represented the Iranian-American businessman Saied Ghaemi, who from 2005-2008, paid DLA Piper $910,000 specifically for Armey's services bringing issues relating to Iran to the attention of Congress, the State Department, the Department of Defense, the White House, the National Security Council and the Department of Treasury.

Full post as published by PR Watch on March 22, 2010 (boomark / email).