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McCain Adviser Lobbied For Georgian Government

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The Associated Press

Published: August 14, 2008

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain's chief foreign policy adviser and his business partner lobbied the senator or his staff on 49 occasions in a 3 1/2 -year span while being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

The payments raise ethical questions about the intersection of Randy Scheunemann's personal financial interests and his advice to the Arizona Republican presidential candidate who is seizing on Russian aggression in Georgia as a campaign issue.

McCain said Wednesday that Russia's invasion of Georgia calls for a complete re-examination of U.S. relations with the Moscow government.

He said there should be heightened security arrangements for Ukraine, the Baltic states and Poland. He offered no specifics and ruled out military action against Russia or a return to the Cold War.

On April 17, a month and a half after Scheunemann discontinued work for Georgia, his partner signed a $200,000 agreement with the Georgian government.

The deal added to an arrangement that brought in more than $800,000 to the two-man firm from 2004 to mid-2007. For the duration of the campaign, Scheunemann is taking a leave of absence from the firm.

"Scheunemann's work as a lobbyist poses valid questions about McCain's judgment in choosing someone who - and whose firm - are paid to promote the interests of other nations," said New York University law professor Stephen Gillers. "So one must ask whether McCain is getting disinterested advice, at least when the issues concern those nations.

"If McCain wants advice from someone whose private interests as a once and future lobbyist may affect the objectivity of the advice, that's his choice to make."

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