Tag: lobbyists

AIPAC Demands Democrats “Stand With Israel” on Iran

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has been furiously urging House Democrats to release messages of steadfast support for Israel in its war with Iran, the Prospect and Drop Site News have learned, even as bipartisan lawmakers come together on a War Powers Act resolution to prevent U.S. troops or funds being used in yet another Middle East conflagration.

One member relayed that a colleague had received literally 100 phone calls from members of AIPAC and its allied pressure groups. AIPAC wants House Democratic members to state explicitly that they “stand with Israel” in its actions against Iran aimed at destroying the Islamic Republic’s nuclear capability, and add that Iran “must never have a nuclear weapon.”

In addition, AIPAC has taken particular pains to denigrate the moderate pro-Israel group J Street, both in private conversations with members of Congress and in public, picking a fight aimed at blocking any Democrats from using J Street as cover to deviate from AIPAC’s maximalist position. “They’re worried their members in Congress may start to shift toward J Street and they’re trying to head that off,” said an aide to one Democrat.

“I did see that AIPAC took issue with my statement,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state. “They were taking on J Street for endorsing me, which was ridiculous.” To get a sense of how extreme AIPAC’s demands are, note that J Street’s own statement merely calls for diplomacy while still supporting Israel. “We urge the Trump Administration to meaningfully pursue a diplomatic resolution to this conflict as quickly as possible while making clear the US will do what is necessary to defend Israel and US troops from retaliation,” the statement read.

AIPAC issued the same tweet in response to any statement that fell short of its expectations, such as one by Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, which called for a diplomatic resolution: “Consistent pattern: J Street endorsees issue anti-Israel statements. @jstreetdotorg is many things, but it’s not pro-Israel.”

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AIPAC leader boasts of special ‘access’ to top Trump natsec officials in leaked audio

The Grayzone has obtained audio of an off-the-record session from the 2025 Congressional Summit of AIPAC, the main US lobbying arm of the state of Israel. Recorded by an attendee of the panel discussion, the audio features AIPAC’s new CEO, Elliott Brandt, describing how his organization has cultivated influence with three top national security officials in the Trump administration – Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Director Mike Waltz, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe – and how it believes it can gain “access” to their internal discussions.

Joining Brandt on the panel was Dana Stroul, formerly the highest ranking civilian overseeing Middle East issues in the Biden administration’s Department of Defense. Stroul made it clear that defending Israel’s strategic imperatives from within the US government was a top priority, arguing that Washington should deepen its “mutually beneficial” special relationship with its “strong partner” in Tel Aviv. 

Stroul dismissed the bloodbath in Gaza as the result of supposed Hamas tactics which supposedly aim to maximize the amount of children killed by Israel. At the same time, she and her fellow Israel lobbyists fretted about the impact of the post-October 7 war on public support for the self-proclaimed Jewish state. She was particularly troubled by Sen. Bernie Sanders’ attempts to force votes on military aid packages to Israel which, in her view, should never be debated in the open. Another unidentified AIPAC panelist worried that pro-Palestinian academics could eventually influence AI knowledge systems, leading to a dangerous shift in national security policy unless they were decisively suppressed. 

The Congressional Summit was permeated with anxiety, as AIPAC leaders told rank-and-file members to hide their badges when they left the Marriott Hotel for fear they would be confronted by anti-genocide protesters. Other than a handful of sessions, such as a keynote address by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, the conference was strictly off-the-record. 

With the cameras off, AIPAC leadership provided unusually candid details of their activities. In one revealing admission, Brandt explained how he and his lobbying organization groomed the future CIA director and other top Trump officials as pro-Israel assets.

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Trying to Block Arms to Israel, Bernie Sanders Denounces AIPAC’s Massive Election Spending

As Israel continued its monthlong blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza and pounded the enclave with American bombs, in Washington the Senate on Thursday voted down two resolutions from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to block the sale of tens of thousands of 2,000-pound bombs and other offensive weapons to Israel.

The resolutions marked the second time since November that Sanders forced a vote on arms sales. Once again, they exposed a deep divide among Democrats and blanket Republican support for Israel.

The Senate voted 15-82 on the first resolution, concerning 2,000-pound bombs, with all Republicans present voting against it, along with most Democrats. Sanders was joined by 14 Democrats.

The second resolution, focusing on other weapons, fared even worse. It was defeated 15-83.

The Trump administration officially opposed the resolutions, along with the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Sanders, in a passionate floor speech, denounced AIPAC for its massive spending on last year’s elections.

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When Watchdogs Sleep: The Failure of Government Oversight

Imagine a world where the people tasked with protecting you are the ones leaving the door wide open for danger. Sounds like a bad movie plot, right? But this isn’t fiction. This is the reality of government oversight—or the lack of it. Agencies created to prevent corruption and ensure fairness often end up doing the opposite. They don’t just fail; they become part of the problem. How does this happen? Let’s dig in.

The Illusion of Protection

We’re told that government agencies are our guardians. They’re supposed to watch over industries, enforce laws, and keep the powerful in check. But what happens when these watchdogs fall asleep on the job? Or worse, what if they’re not sleeping at all—what if they’re working for the very people they’re supposed to regulate?

Take the financial sector, for example. After the 2008 crash, we were promised tighter controls. New rules were put in place to prevent another disaster. But here’s the kicker: many of the people who wrote those rules came from the banks they were supposed to regulate. It’s like hiring a fox to guard the hen house. And guess what? The foxes are still eating well.

The Revolving Door

One of the biggest problems is what’s known as the “revolving door.” This is when government officials leave their posts to take high-paying jobs in the industries they once regulated. It happens all the time. A regulator today could be a corporate lobbyist tomorrow. And when that happens, whose interests do you think they’re really serving?

This isn’t just a theory. It’s a well-documented pattern. People in power use their government positions as stepping stones to lucrative private sector jobs. In return, they go easy on the companies they’re supposed to oversee. It’s a cozy arrangement that benefits everyone—except the public.

The Bureaucratic Black Hole

Government agencies are often criticized for being slow and inefficient. But what if that inefficiency is by design? When agencies drag their feet, it’s not just annoying—it’s dangerous. Delays in enforcement can allow bad actors to continue their harmful practices unchecked.

For instance, environmental regulations are supposed to protect our air and water. But when agencies take years to investigate violations, polluters have plenty of time to keep polluting. And by the time any action is taken, the damage is already done. It’s a system that seems almost designed to fail.

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Congressman Thomas Massie Faces Trump’s Wrath Over Dual Citizenship Proposal and AIPAC Stance

U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) has found himself at the center of a political firestorm after proposing a ban on dual citizenship for lawmakers, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from President Donald Trump and highlighted Massie’s ongoing tensions with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The libertarian-leaning Kentucky congressman, known for his independent streak, has taken no financial contributions from AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying group, which some of his supporters claim has made him a target for political retaliation.

Massie’s proposal, first publicized in August 2024 via a post on X, calls for members of Congress who hold dual citizenship to renounce citizenship in all other countries. At a minimum, he argued, they should disclose such statuses and abstain from votes that specifically benefit those nations. “Dual citizens elected to United States Congress should renounce citizenship in all other countries,” Massie wrote, igniting a debate about loyalty and influence in American politics. While the proposal has not yet been formally introduced as legislation, it has gained traction among some conservative and populist circles, who see it as a way to ensure lawmakers prioritize U.S. interests.

The controversy escalated on March 10, 2025, when Trump announced on Truth Social that he would “lead the charge” to primary Massie, accusing the congressman of being an “automatic ‘NO’ vote on just about everything” and comparing him to former Representative Liz Cheney, whom Trump successfully helped oust in 2022. Trump’s ire appears to stem from Massie’s refusal to support a short-term government funding bill backed by the president, as well as his broader history of bucking party leadership. However, posts on X and comments from Massie’s supporters suggest that his stance on dual citizenship and his rejection of AIPAC funding may also be fueling the conflict.

AIPAC, a powerful lobbying organization that spent over $100 million in the 2024 election cycle to support pro-Israel candidates, has had a fraught relationship with Massie. In a June 2024 interview with Tucker Carlson, Massie claimed that every Republican congressman except him has an “AIPAC babysitter” – a liaison who lobbies them on behalf of the group’s interests. He has also criticized U.S. military aid to Israel, notably boycotting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress in July 2024 and calling for Israel to fund its own weapons if it targets civilian infrastructure in Lebanon. AIPAC, in turn, has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on attack ads against Massie in past primaries, though he easily won reelection in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District in November 2024 with no Democratic opponent.

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The Arbitrary Hypocrisy of American “Justice”

US Democrat Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was sentenced to eleven years in prison by federal district judge Sidney Stein for acting as an illegal agent for Egypt and accepting cash and gold bars as payment.

How does this differ from the $1,417,811 bribe that Big Pharma pays in campaign contributions to Senator Bernie Sanders or the $821,941  campaign contribution Big Pharma pays to Senator Elizabeth Warren?  If you think these sums don’t make Sanders and Warren agents of Big Pharma, you are out of your mind.  Warren is doing her Big Pharma assigned job by trying to block Robert Kennedy’s confirmation as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Congress is up for sale, and it is purchased with campaign contributions. Everyone in Washington knows that members are purchased by lobby groups, such as Big Pharma, the military/security complex, agribusiness, energy, the Israel Lobby, and so on.  A corrupt or stupid Supreme Court legalized the purchase of the US government by lobby groups.  This is the reason that Congress does not represent the people who elect Congress. You can blame your lack of representation squarely on the US Supreme Court. One can’t help but wonder if there were under the table payoffs.

An uninformed person might answer that Menendez was paid personally, whereas campaign contributions are not personal money.  But, in fact, retiring members are entitled to take their election war fund with them.  Those planning to retire pay attention to building up their re-election funds.

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RFK Jr. TORCHES Bernie Sanders For Taking Big Pharma Donations

The crowd went wild with applause on Thursday after Donald Trump Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. slammed hypocrite Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for taking millions of dollars from Big Pharma.

The moment came during day two of Kennedy’s Senate confirmation hearing, where he told Sanders, “By the way Bernie, the problem with corruption is not just in the federal agencies, it’s in Congress too. Almost all the members of this panel are accepting, including yourself, are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry.”

When the audience clapped in approval of RFK’s comment, Sanders angrily waved his hand in the air, saying, “Oh no! No, no, no, no… I ran for president like you. I got millions and millions of contributions. They did not come from the executives, not one nickel of PAC money from the pharmaceutical industry, they came from workers.”

Kennedy responded, “In 2020 you were the single largest receiver of pharmaceutical money… Bernie, you were the single largest accepter of pharmaceutical dollars. $1.5 million.”

“Yeah, out of $200 million,” Sanders answered.

During Wednesday’s confirmation hearing for Kennedy, the socialist senator launched into an unhinged tirade at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding baby clothes that celebrate not taking vaccines.

Highlighting Kennedy’s former group Children’s Health Defense (CHD) advertised baby clothing that said “Unvaxxed Unafraid” and “No Vax, No Problem” on its website, Sanders shouted, “ARE YOU SUPPORTIVE OF THESE ONESIES?!”

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Former ‘GMA Producer’ Accused of Taking Thousands from Florida Lobbying Firm for ‘Hit Job’ Interviews Sues NPR, Floodlight, and High-Profile Players

Freelance television producer Kristen Hentschel has filed a high-profile lawsuit against a web of powerful individuals and organizations, alleging that a conspiracy led to the destruction of her once-flourishing career.

The ‘Emmy-nominated producer’ accuses Jeffrey Pitts, a former CEO of the controversial consulting firm Matrix LLC, along with public relations powerhouse McNicholas & Associates, and prominent news outlets NPR and Floodlight, of orchestrating a campaign of defamation, false light, and invasion of privacy.

“Plaintiff Kristen Hentschel (“Plaintiff” or “Hentschel”) brings this action against Defendant Jeffrey Pitts (“Pitts”) for tortious interference with business relationships, defamation, false light, and invasion of privacy, against Defendant McNicholas & Associates, Inc. (“McNicholas”) for invasion of privacy and false light, and against Defendants National Public Radio, Inc. (“NPR”) and Floodlight, Inc. (“Floodlight”) for defamation and false light,” according to the court filing obtained by The Gateway Pundit.

Hentschel, who previously worked behind the scenes at ABC News, claims her professional and personal life became collateral damage in a power struggle between Pitts and Matrix’s owner, Joe Perkins.

The allegations center on Pitts, who allegedly “groomed” Hentschel to serve his interests before sacrificing her career to protect high-profile clients, including Florida Power & Light and Florida Crystals.

Hentschel contends that Pitts provided false information to media outlets, resulting in NPR and Floodlight publishing defamatory articles that irreparably damaged her reputation.

The stories, published in late 2022, accused Hentschel of unethical journalism practices, including leveraging her ABC credentials for corporate espionage—a claim she vehemently denies.

The Journalist’s Resource reported that the operations of Matrix LLC, a political consulting firm, and its alleged payments to local news outlets to shape coverage in favor of powerful clients, might have remained undisclosed if not for an anonymous whistleblower who leaked hundreds of internal documents in 2022.

The leaked trove included emails, financial ledgers, and other records that laid bare the firm’s covert tactics.

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INVESTIGATION: American “news” is mostly written by Israeli lobbyists pushing Zionist agenda

Mint Press News conducted an in-depth investigation into who writes America’s “news,” and the findings are shocking, though expected.

It turns out that hundreds of former Israeli lobbyists from groups like AIPAC (American-Israeli Political Action Committee), StandWithUs, and CAMERA are pretty much running the largest media organizations in the United States, including at MSNBC, The New York Times, CNN and Fox News.

Specifically with news related to the Israel-Palestine situation, these embedded Israeli lobbyists are steering what millions of Americans believe about what Israel really is and what is really going on in the Middle East right now.

“Many key U.S. newsroom staff were also formerly Israeli spies or intelligence agents, standing in stark contrast to journalists with pro-Palestine sentiments, who have been purged en masse since October 7, 2023,” reports Mint Press News.

While the Israel-Palestine conflict is about as old as time itself, it is a relatively new phenomenon for many Americans to learn that this conflict has now come to the United States via the “news.”

For years, Israeli lobbyists have controlled what gets published, most of it having a pro-Israel slant. Most people now seem to know that the corporate media is generally untrustworthy, but it is new information for them to learn that actual pro-Israel activists are the ones telling most of the stories about the Middle East.

According to Mint Press News, the job of these Israeli lobbyists is to “whitewash Israeli crimes and manufacture consent for continued U.S. participation in what a wide range of international organizations have described as a genocide.”

Take NBCUniversal, for instance, where journalist and associated producer Kayla Steinberg works. Back in 2018, Steinberg introduced herself to the world with an immediate admission that she is a Zionist through and through.

“The summer before my first year of college, I attended the AIPAC New England Leadership Dinner and absolutely loved it,” Steinberg said at the time.

“After going to Saban, I knew I had to get involved in [AIPAC] and go back to Israel … I dream of being a journalist someday, and I hope to write about Israel or Judaism. WIPAC and AIPAC have taught me so much about how important it is for the U.S. to be Israel’s greatest friend, and I know now why I am proudly pro-Israel.”

NBCUniversal hired “many” former Israeli lobbyists like Steinberg – and keep in mind that NBCUniversal is a conglomerate that owns all sorts of other well-known media outlets including CNBC, NBC News and MSNBC.

NBC reporter Emma Goss is another whose career in media began with a trip to Israel where she helped make a documentary for Write on For Israel.

“This Zionist group aims to educate young Jewish students to ‘make a difference on college campuses’ by learning about Jewish identity and anti-Semitism in American universities,” Mint Press News explains.

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Pharma, Big Ag Lobbyists Help U.S. Scuttle Global Plan to Cut Antibiotic Use in Industrial Meat Production

Targets to cut the use of antimicrobials in animal agriculture were dropped from a key United Nations (U.N.) political declaration following pushback from the agriculture and veterinary drug industry and meat-producing nations comprising the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The declaration is meant to commit countries to address surging resistance to antimicrobial medicines — a problem that kills nearly 1.3 million people globally in a single year, topping deaths from HIV and malaria combined.

On Sept. 26, global leaders will meet at the U.N. where they are expected to adopt the declaration. But without concrete targets, scientists, global leaders and politicians are concerned that governments won’t effectively address the problem.

In particular, they will fail to curb the use of antimicrobials in farm animals, which is spurring the development of resistance to critical medicines, they warn.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who is campaigning for improved control of antibiotics in food-producing animals in the U.S., said in a statement, “The massive overuse of antibiotics on factory farms in the United States is a serious threat to public health.”

“Federal agencies have a troubling history of deferring to corporate interests on this issue, and I am very concerned about any role that the United States played in weakening international commitments to reduce antibiotic use in farm animals,” he adds.

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