TheSaudi Arabia lobby in the United States is a collection of lawyers, public relation firms and professional lobbyists paid directly by the government ofSaudi Arabia to lobby the public and government of theUnited States on behalf of the interests of the government of Saudi Arabia.
In January 2023,DAWN reported that the accounts of 16 Saudi citizens were used to exclude several pro-Saudi influencing editors fromWikipedia, affecting a diverse range of articles.[1] However, Wikipedia's operator has denied such allegations.[2]
An article by journalistJohn R. MacArthur inHarper's Magazine details "The Vast Power of the Saudi Lobby".[3] According to MacArthur,
The long and corrupt history of American-Saudi relations centers around the kingdom's vast reserves of easily extractable oil, of course. Ever since President Franklin D. Roosevelt met aboard ship in 1945 with King Ibn Saud, the special relationship with the desert kingdom has only grown stronger. The House of Saud is usually happy to sell us oil at a consistent and reasonable price and then increase production if unseemly market forces drive the world price of a barrel too high for U.S. consumers. In exchange we arm the Saudis to the teeth and turn a blind eye to their medieval approach to crime and punishment.[3]
According toSeymour Hersh the power ofPrince Bandar and the Saudi lobby was so great that Bandar effectively joined the Bush administration as a virtual member of the cabinet.[3]
George Washington University ProfessorHossein Askari blames the "power of the Saudi lobby in Washington" for the failure of the American government to defend thedemocracy protesters in Bahrain in 2011. According to Askari, "our marriage to the Al-Sauds threatens our (American) national security."[4]
In the assessment ofThe Economist, "No Arab ambassador—perhaps no ambassador—has come close to matching Prince Bandar's influence in the American capital. At the height of his powers he was indispensable to both sides: in Mr Ottaway's words, "at once the king's exclusive messenger and the White House's errand boy".[5]The Prince's "feats" of lobbying legerdemain included securing the purchase of AWACS surveillance aircraft in the teeth of fierce Israeli and congressional opposition, and augmenting his influence with the Reagan administration by quietly supplying $32m to theContras in Nicaragua and $10m to anti-communist politicians in Italy.[5]
The Atlantic Council received $2 million in 2015 from the United Arab Emirates and benefactors close to Saudi Arabia.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) received $600,000 in 2015 from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.[6]
In the first decade of the 21st century, the Saudis paid approximately $100 million to American firms to lobby the American government.[7]
Major lobbying firms that work as lobbyists in the pay of the Saudi government includeHill & Knowlton, which has been employed to lobby for Saudi Arabia since 1982.[7]Qorvis Communications has worked for Saudi Arabia since the 9/11 attacks, receiving over $60.3 million over the course of a decade.[8][9]Hogan Lovells U.S., L.L.P., formerly Hogan & Harston, worked for Saudi Arabia in 2009.[7] TheLoeffler Group, LLP, headed by former CongressmanTom Loeffler of Texas, was paid $10.5 million by the Saudi government during the first decade of the century, and gave Sandler Innocenzi, Inc. $8.9 million.[7]Patton Boggs, LLP, earned over $3 million from Saudi Arabia for lobbying in the first decade of the century.[7]
TheMiddle East Policy Council has received large payments from Saudi Arabia to lobby for the Kingdom, including $1 million in 2007.[10][11]
A partial list of firms that have been paid by Saudi Arabia to lobby the American government includes:[7]
Since 2015, Saudi Arabia paid $18 million to 145 registered lobbyists to influence the U.S. government.[12]
A partial list of lobbyists that have been paid by Saudi Arabia to lobby for the Kingdom: thePodesta Group, founded byJohn Podesta andTony Podesta, theGlover Park Group, former SenatorNorm Coleman, H.P. Goldfield, vice chair of Madeleine Albright'sAlbright Stonebridge Group, theBGR Group, theBrownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, theSquire Patton Boggs, theDLA Piper, thePillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, and theQorvis/MSLGroup.[12][13]
