Report: Azeris demand lobbyists violate foreign agent law

In May, the Department of Justice charged Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and his wife Imelda Cuellar with bribery and acting as unregistered foreign agents of Azerbaijan. Cuellar—who was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus—allegedly accepted at least $360,000 from companies controlled by Azerbaijan in exchange for, among other things, shooting down Congressional efforts to support Armenian separatists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and “consulting representatives of Azerbaijan on their efforts to lobby the United States government.”

Despite Cuellar’s indictment, Azerbaijan is still looking to skirt the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the foreign influence law that requires lobbyists to register and disclose their work for foreign principals.

POLITICO Influence reported on Thursday that Azerbaijan “recently asked Washington lobbyists that it was considering working with to not register under FARA for work they considered necessary to register for.” One lobbyist told POLITICO that they were being “asked to set up meetings that they believe would have violated FARA.”

Azerbaijan’s brazen demand reportedly comes from a high-level official. Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mammadov told the firm that “the contact was contingent on there being no FARA registration,” causing the firm to back away from the deal and cancel a meeting at the Azerbaijani embassy. Had the firm complied, they would have risked breaking U.S. law and up to five years in prison.

Friend or foe, no country is above the law. The Guardian reported in August that the Israeli government was also seeking to avoid FARA compliance. A legal strategy memo from the Israeli justice ministry revealed that officials discussed ways of avoiding FARA disclosure of a $8.6 million public relations campaign to counter critics in the U.S. The memo noted that registration “would damage the reputation of several American groups that receive funding and direction from Israel, and force them to meet onerous transparency requirements.”

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry is currently represented by the Friedlander Group, which received $833,330 in just six months, according to the latest available disclosure. However, according to the lobbyists approached by Azerbaijan, the country is “not happy” with the Friedlander Group’s “progress on issues important to Azerbaijan.” Ezra Friedlander, CEO of the Friedlander Group, told POLITICO that “In all my interactions the government of Azerbaijan has adhered to the highest ethical standards regarding FARA and all other issues pertaining to my representation.”

Last August, Azerbaijan hired Rodney Dixon, an international legal expert, to publish a report defending Azerbaijan against allegations of genocide in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Dixon promoted the report in U.S. media outlets and, led by Friedlander, met with six U.S. representatives and dozens of Congressional staffers—all without registering as a foreign agent.

While some firms are rejecting working with Azerbaijan, citing pressure to skirt federal regulations, others are lining up to cash checks from the oil-rich Caucasus country. In June, two more firms registered to represent Azerbaijani interests.

The Azerbaijani Embassy hired Skyline Capitol, led by former Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), at a rate of $50,000 a month to target members of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, coordinate Congressional delegations to Azerbaijan, and reinvigorate the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus (an updated list of Congressional Membership Organizations does not list Cuellar as a Co-Chair).

Azerbaijan’s other recent addition is Teneo Strategy, a public relations firm that is targeting global media outlets ahead of COP 29, a major environmental summit that will take place in Baku next month. The firm has contacted some 144 journalists as part of a $4.7 million contract. Teneo began its work in February but did not formally disclose its work under FARA until June, flouting a 10-day registration requirement.