Browse Primary Sources
"Patrick Mercer declares payment he accepted from undercover reporters" - Peter Dominiczak - The Telegraph
". . .A Daily Telegraph and BBC Panorama investigation found that the MP for Newark, had tabled five questions to government ministers and put down a parliamentary motion after being paid a total of £4,000 as part of a contract he believed would earn him £24,000 a year. The parliamentary questions were based on a draft given to him by an undercover reporter purporting to be a lobbyist for businesses with interests in Fiji. . ."
The Telegraph 2013-06-18
"When a Reporter Is An Uninvited Guest" - Margaret Sullivan - New York Times
"... I would see the case far differently if a Times reporter had been eavesdropping on a private citizens for a salacious story or had illegally broken into a private home. That would be unacceptable -- but it wasn't what happened." "My conclusion: Given the buttoned-down, scrubbed-up way politicians present themselves, it's challenging for reporters to get under the surface. And it's important for citizens that they do. "What Mr. Lipton [the reporter, Eric Lipton] did should not become an everyday practice. But -- seen in this wider context -- it's not nly pretty small stuff, but also reflects some journalistic initiative that serves Times readers well."
The New York Times 2013-04-26
"When a Reporter Is An Uninvited Guest" - Margaret Sullivan - New York Times
"... I would see the case far differently if a Times reporter had been eavesdropping on a private citizens for a salacious story or had illegally broken into a private home. That would be unacceptable -- but it wasn't what happened." "My conclusion: Given the buttoned-down, scrubbed-up way politicians present themselves, it's challenging for reporters to get under the surface. And it's important for citizens that they do. "What Mr. Lipton [the reporter, Eric Lipton] did should not become an everyday practice. But -- seen in this wider context -- it's not nly pretty small stuff, but also reflects some journalistic initiative that serves Times readers well."
The New York Times 2013-04-26
"When a Reporter Is An Uninvited Guest" - Margaret Sullivan - New York Times
"... I would see the case far differently if a Times reporter had been eavesdropping on a private citizens for a salacious story or had illegally broken into a private home. That would be unacceptable -- but it wasn't what happened." "My conclusion: Given the buttoned-down, scrubbed-up way politicians present themselves, it's challenging for reporters to get under the surface. And it's important for citizens that they do. "What Mr. Lipton [the reporter, Eric Lipton] did should not become an everyday practice. But -- seen in this wider context -- it's not nly pretty small stuff, but also reflects some journalistic initiative that serves Times readers well."
The New York Times 2013-04-26
"When a Reporter Is An Uninvited Guest" - Margaret Sullivan - New York Times
"... I would see the case far differently if a Times reporter had been eavesdropping on a private citizens for a salacious story or had illegally broken into a private home. That would be unacceptable -- but it wasn't what happened." "My conclusion: Given the buttoned-down, scrubbed-up way politicians present themselves, it's challenging for reporters to get under the surface. And it's important for citizens that they do. "What Mr. Lipton [the reporter, Eric Lipton] did should not become an everyday practice. But -- seen in this wider context -- it's not nly pretty small stuff, but also reflects some journalistic initiative that serves Times readers well."
The New York Times 2013-04-26
"Tax Lobby Builds Ties to Chairman of Finance Panel" - Eric Lipton - New York Times
"'It allows us to scare off opponents,' Mr. Wilkins told the group, which included former Baucus aides turned lobbyists, at a Capitol Hill townhouse owned by Federal Express. 'It is the basis of everything we do. So thank you for your support and everything you have done for Senator Baucus.'" A New York Times reporter in attendance was asked to leave the private event. . . . "
The New York Times 2013-04-06
"Tax Lobby Builds Ties to Chairman of Finance Panel" - Eric Lipton - New York Times
"'It allows us to scare off opponents,' Mr. Wilkins told the group, which included former Baucus aides turned lobbyists, at a Capitol Hill townhouse owned by Federal Express. 'It is the basis of everything we do. So thank you for your support and everything you have done for Senator Baucus.'" A New York Times reporter in attendance was asked to leave the private event. . . . "
The New York Times 2013-04-06
"Stung by Harper's in a Web of Deceit" - Howard Kurtz - Washington Post
"Ken Silverstein says he lied, deceuved and fabricated to get the story. But it was worth it, he insists. Those on the receiving end don't agree. . ."
The Washington Post 2007-06-25
"The Lobby King Arraigned" - Unsigned - New York World
"The sensation of the day in Albany was the appearance before the House Judiciary Committee of Miss Nellie Bly, the bright young correspondent of THE WORLD who so neatly entrapped the shrewd old lobbyist, Edward R. Phelps, into betraying the secrets of his profession."
New York World 1888-04-19
Reaction: "The Lobby King Returns" - Unsigned - New York World
New York World 1888-04-11
Reaction: "Phelps Driven From His Throne" - Unsigned - New York World
New York World 1888-04-06
Followup-"The Lobby King's Bluff" - Unsigned - New York World
New York World 1888-04-02
Bill Moyers talks with Ken Silverstein
BILL MOYERS: Every day people from all walks of life make their way up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to pay their respects to the martyred president. From here Lincoln broods over the city he imagined would become the seat of government of, by, and for the people. But this is no longer their city. or Lincoln's. This is an occupied city, a company town, whose population of lobbyists constitute the permanent government. The number of lobbyists registered to do business in Washington has more than doubled since the year 2000. There are now twenty five lobbyists for every member of Congress. This is where you start if you want to know how it is that some truly awful regimes around the world keep on winning favors from our government. I mean regimes ruled by dictators, despots, and tyrants of every kind -- governments that send their critics to prison, torture dissidents, steal from their own people, control the press, and make a mockery of human rights...yet still wind up with trade agreements, U.S. tax dollars, business deals blessed on high, and a hearty welcome in Congress and the White House. If you've ever asked yourself, why are we helping those guys, you are about to meet a tour guide of our nation's capital who can show you what dirty little secrets lie behind some of Washington's fanciest addresses and prominent letterheads.
Bill Moyers Journal 2007-06-22
"In New Expose, Ken Silverstein of Harper’s Magazine Goes Undercover to Find Out What US Lobbyists Do for Dictators" - Juan Gonzalez - Democracy Now
JUAN GONZALEZ: "Foreign agents — what US lobbyists do for dictators," all it takes is the right amount of money and a little help from the skilled lobbying firms in Washington, D.C. That’s according to an article in this month’s edition of Harper’s Magazine by Washington editor, Ken Silverstein. In February, Silverstein visited Washington’s top lobbying firms posing as a representative of a fictitious investment firm with a financial stake in Turkmenistan. He claimed that he was eager to bolster the image of a regime widely described as one of the most authoritarian in the world. Silverstein’s expose is titled "Their men in Washington: Undercover with D.C.’s Lobbyists for Hire." It focuses on two prominent firms, APCO and Cassidy & Associates, that fell for Silverstein’s bait and were soon vying for a lucrative contract to remake Turkmenistan’s tarnished image. For $600,000 to $1.2 million dollars a year, they promised unparalleled access to Washington’s decision makers and improved media coverage. AMY GOODMAN: Ken Silverstein joins us now from Washington, D.C. Welcome to Democracy Now!, Ken.
Democracy Now! 2007-06-28
"'Gotcha' Without a 'Get'" - Matthew Felling - CBS News
"A tempest in the sweltering DC teapot has developed this past week with regards to an investigative report in the upcoming issue of Harper's. Ken Silverstein, Harper's Washington Editor, has a piece called "Their Men In Washington" that is causing some consternation in the media circles … Or at least along those mediaphiles that aren't obsessing over a certain former jailbird. In order to expose the depths and depravity of Washington, D.C.'s lobbyist community, Ken Silverstein decided to get … creative. Here's how he describes it in his own words: My story in the July issue of the magazine details how two beltway lobby shops I approached, on the pretense that I represented a shady London-based energy firm with a stake in Turkmenistan, proposed to whitewash the image of that country's Stalinist regime. He whipped up some business cards, made a website, assumed a name and began the PR courtship process with the firms APCO Worldwide and Cassidy & Associates. His article (unfortunately available only to subscribers) is a fairly by-the-numbers accounting of the back and forth he engaged in with the lobby shops, which – it would be generous to say – were rather forgiving about Turkmenistan's less savory practices. Silverstein found, unsurprisingly, that it seemed they wanted to work with him. He found that they were willing to organize tours for convincible politicians. He found that they proposed a rather typical media strategy, including op-ed placements and other attempts to generate news items about Turkmenistan. He found that they were available to do what we already know they do for clients – occasionally tuck their conscience in the attic for a check."
CBS News 2007-06-28
"Lobbyists Offer Dictators a Door to D.C." - Neal Conan - Talk of the Nation NPR
"Foreign governments with poor records on human rights, democracy, and freedom of press still manage to find friends in high places in Washington. Ken Silverstein, Washington editor of Harper's Magazine, went undercover to find out just how far some lobbyists go to promote the interests of dictators."
Talk of the Nation 2007-06-19
"Lobbyists For Hire" – Leonard Lopate - The Leonard Lopate Show WNYC
Ken Silverstein of Harper's Magazine found out firsthand what U.S. lobbyists are willing to offer the leaders of oppressive regimes. His article in the July issue is "Their Men in Washington: Undercover with D.C.'s Lobbyists for Hire."
The Leonard Lopate Show 2009-11-05
"Their Men in Washington" - Ken Silverstein - Harper's
In March, when the U.S. State Department announced its new global survey of human rights, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared that the report demonstrated America’s commitment to civil liberties, the rule of law, and a free press. “We are recommitting ourselves to stand with those courageous men and women who struggle for their freedom and their rights,” she said. “And we are recommitting ourselves to call every government to account that still treats the basic rights of its citizens as options rather than, in President Bush’s words, the non-negotiable demands of human dignity.” Flipping through the report, however, one cannot help but notice how many of the countries that flout “the non-negotiable demands of human dignity” seem to have negotiated themselves significant support from the U.S. government, whether military assistance (Egypt, Colombia), development aid (Azerbaijan, Nigeria), expanded trade opportunities (Angola, Cameroon), or official Washington visits for their leaders (Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan). The granting of favorable concessions to dictatorial regimes is a practice hardly limited to the current administration: Bill Clinton came into office having said that China’s access to American markets should be tied to improved human rights—specifically its willingness to “recognize the legitimacy of those kids that were carrying the Statue of Liberty” at Tiananmen Square—but left having helped Beijing attain its long-cherished goal of Permanent Most Favored Nation trade status. Jimmy Carter put the promotion of human rights at the heart of his foreign policy, yet he cut deals for South American generals and Persian Gulf monarchs in much the same fashion as his successor, Ronald Reag
Harper's 2007-07-01