Coalition reengages Washington, DC lobbying firm

May 16, 2020 News

– Significant differences in controversial briefing attached to new contract

Just one month after initially engaging in an agreement with Washington-based lobbying firm John, James & Bart Limited Liability Company (JJ&B LLC), the APNU+AFC Coalition had signed what appears to be amended and extended contract with the firm.

Screenshots of the new contract between JJ&B LLC and the APNU+AFC

According to documents filed with the United States Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and seen by this publication, a contract was signed on April 20, 2020 by Joseph Harmon representing the A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and David Patterson for the Alliance For Change (AFC).
The Federal documents also contained a briefing of “The Guyana Situation”, a 14-page document that was circulated to US State Department employees Brad Freden of the Eastern European Affairs, and Kevin O’Reilly of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs; and Matthew Pottinger, Deputy National Security Advisor, National Security Council, all on April 28.
The new engagement while containing minor similarities differs heavily from the prior agreement in critical areas. For example, the initial agreement listed ‘The Government of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana’ as the client of JJ&B, while the new contract lists the ‘APNU+AFC Coalition’.
The new agreement addresses both Harmon and Patterson saying, “We look forward to working with the APNU + AFC Coalition (“Coalition”) on issues related to the electoral disputes now confronting Guyana. The issues confronting your Coalition require experienced public policy experts with direct relationships with the principals in the U.S. Government responsible for managing the U.S. -Guyana relationship.”
In relation to the purpose of the hire, the initial agreement stated that, “We will be seeking to facilitate resolution of disputes regarding the recent presidential election in Guyana, and to improve relations between Guyana and the United States. In doing this, we will be contacting officials in the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. Government, as well as providing information to news media.”
However, per the new engagement, the scope of services differs with the firm stating that they seek to “promote the interest of the Coalition” through six lobbying projects.
Those projects are listed as “Contacts with the Executive Office of the President of the United States, including the National Security Council, regarding the importance of the U.S partnership with Guyana; Contacts with the U.S. Department of State regarding the importance of the U.S. partnership with Guyana; Contacts with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the legitimacy of the current Government of Guyana, including legal advice regarding the activities of GECOM; Contacts with key Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee regarding the importance of the U.S. partnership with Guyana; Contacts with media designed to improve the perception of your party; and Economic development efforts related to needed infrastructure projects, including contacts with U.S. companies, as required.”
The cost of both agreements remained the same, a monthly retainer of US$40,000; however, the duration of the new agreement moved from one month to a year-long contract. There was speculation that government used public funds to hire the lobbying firm but Harmon had claimed that it was not government who hired the firm but “upset coalition supporters”.
Incumbent President David Granger had later issued a statement distancing the executive government from the arrangement, despite claims to the contrary by the company on statutory federal, stating that at no time did he hire JJ&B, LLC and has no contractual arrangement or affiliation with the firm. It is unclear who is funding this current contract.
Both agreements carried the signature of Bart S. Fisher, who this publication understands is the lead counsel at the lobbying firm. While the prior agreement contained the signature of one Michael Granger, the new contract carried the signatures of both Harmon and Patterson.
Attached to the initial agreement was a 147 page Dossier, entitled “Guyana Elections 2020” which detailed its account of events that transpired from the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections onwards, including a briefing document titled “The Guyana Situation”; another edition of that briefing was submitted separately as additional information in support of the amended contract.
An important point to note is the difference in the language used between the briefings. Throughout the initial briefing, reference was made to the “incumbent Government”, “Granger Government” or the “Government of Guyana.” However, in the amended document, specific mention is made throughout of the APNU+AFC, the political party.
The first briefing listed both President David Granger and Joseph Harmon as US citizens however, the amended document did not contain Harmon’s name while the President did not have US citizen listed beside it.
Additionally, the first briefing listed Guyana as a “Pro United States Friendly Government” while the amended document did not carry the same. Moses Nagamootoo was listed as the “Head of Government” in the first briefing while in the second listed him as “Prime Minister.”
Guyana was also listed as “A member of the Lima Group and strong believer in democratic values” in the amended briefing while this was visibly missing from the first. In both dossiers, the APNU+AFC claimed to have won the March 2, 2020 Elections by a close margin. While the first said that the opposition refused to concede and sued for a recount, the new document states that, “the Elections Commission has not made a final declaration as is required by law.”
The new briefing speaks to the agreement between President Granger and Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo to allow a CARICOM scrutinized recount, currently ongoing, something not referred to in the previous agreement. The allegations leveled at the” British Foreign Minister” (Dominic Raab) were also removed from the second briefing, including claims that his pronouncements on the elections were linked to connections to oil firms British Petroleum and Shell.
Also missing from the amended briefing in this section were the claims that the PPP in their reign established a base for China in Guyana by gifting them “5% of Guyana’s territory for logging and other unauthorized business ventures.”
It was stated in the first briefing that Jagdeo offered Chinese nationals “expedited and preferential citizenship in Guyana”, a direction violation of the law. This too, was missing from the second.
Sub-headings in this section of the briefing changed from “Guyana is in danger of falling into China’s orbit” to “Guyana is in danger of reverting to its bygone era of governing.”
On the final page of the new briefing, it was stated that the “material is distributed by JJ&B, LLC on behalf of the APNU+AFC Coalition” as opposed to the initial one which stated that “this material is distributed on behalf of Guyana.”