[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith all the talk about Russian influence in U.S. elections, it's easy to overlook the pervasive foreign influence over our system exerted through paid lobbyists. Nations such as Russia and Ukraine hire U.S. lobby firms to push their interests on Capitol Hill, in the news media, and to publish their talking points in op-eds. It's not always clearly disclosed that these narratives are being driven by foreign countries.
Our cover story this week highlights the case of some U.S. vets who were offered an all expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. They claim they had no idea Saudi Arabia was picking up the tab and that they were being used in an intensive campaign to lobby against a U.S. law. It's a fascinating story that gives a lot of insight into how Washington really works (something we love to expose here on Full Measure).
[hr]Preorder Sharyl's new book: "The Smear: How Shady Political Operative and Fake News Control What You See, What You Think and How You Vote."[hr]
Joce Sterman reports on a surprising use of the U.S. Postal Service: to deliver illegal drugs. It turns out the USPS lacks tracking controls that FedEx and UPS have. As a result, drug traffickers have figured out the postman can be an easy way to move drugs.
And we'll profile the original Washington DC reality TV: C-SPAN. I'll sit down with founder Brian Lamb and ask if today's media environment is driving more viewers to C-SPAN in search of unbiased, unfiltered information.
Watch Us, Follow Us, Like Us! Sunday on Full Measure.
[hr]Preorder : "The Smear: How Shady Political Operative and Fake News Control What You See, What You Think and How You Vote."
Dear Sharyl Attkisson,
Re: foreign influence, you might be aware of the Awan family of IT workers who were fired from working on the capitol because they were caught stealing equipment from the representatives they were there to serve. These reps sat on highly sensitive committees. Despite this, this is not being handled by the FBI but only the Capitol Police.
The IT workers who replaced the Awans were puzzled by the loyalty shown to the them by the reps and wondered if the Awans were blackmailing them. Recently Debbie Wasserman Schulz (who sits on the police budget committee) threatened a member of the police "with consequences" if equipment wasn't returned.
The Daily Caller has published very important stories on this, which stinks to high heaven of blackmail and corruption in some very high places. George Webb's reports on youtube are also very good (though can be hard to follow), esp with his cadre of informed commenters.
This important story could use your experience and professionalism.
http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/21/house-it-aides-fear-suspects-in-hill-breach-are-blackmailing-members-with-their-own-data/
http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/24/wasserman-schultz-threatened-police-chief-for-gathering-evidence-on-her-it-staffers-alleged-crimes/
http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/13/house-hacking-suspects-could-read-every-email-dozens-of-congressmen-sent-and-received/
Most sincerely,
Shannon