The Podesta Group has finally registered as a foreign agent on behalf of a notorious Saudi campaign, ending speculation as to whether the group was flouting Justice Department disclosure rules.
The Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee began its campaign this summer, running television and other media ads that accuse the Gulf country of supporting terrorism. The Podesta Group, which helped to produce the ads, registed as a foreign agent on SAPRAC's behalf this week, days after the Daily Beast wrote that the campaign "may have skirted U.S. lobbying laws."
The Podesta Group is providing "public-affairs services" to SAPRAC until at least September, according to the form filed with the Department of Justice. The $50,000-a-month contract began in June, leaving Tuesday's disclosure weeks past the Foreign Agent Registration Act's 10-day registration window.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have had no diplomatic relations since June, when Saudi Arabia and several of its allies cut off ties with Qatar over allegations echoed in SAPRAC's campaign. The government of Qatar has also hired U.S.-based foreign agents to run its own propaganda campaigns this summer.
