Lobbying for Libya--and Bush

A last-minute endorsement of President George W. Bush by a hastily formed coalition of Arab-Americans was coordinated in part by a registered lobbyist for the Libyan regime of Col. Muammar Kaddafi--a government formally branded by the State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Randa Fahmy Hudome, who just this month signed a $1.4 million contract to represent the Libyan government, served as a behind-the-scenes "media consultant" helping to prepare this week's press release praising Bush's record in promoting "human rights, democracy and self-determination" in the Middle East, a chief organizer of the group told NEWSWEEK.

Walid Phares, who described himself as the academic adviser for the newly created group called Middle Eastern American National Conference, said he had no idea when he worked with Hudome in recent days on the group's endorsement that she was simultaneously representing Libyan interests in Washington as a recently registered foreign agent.

Copies of the Bush endorsement, and Hudome's candid comments on strategy and the prospective signatories, were shared with a top Bush campaign official prior to its release--and then inadvertently sent to an anti-Bush organization, which promptly posted them on its Web site.

"For now on, we're not going to be consulting with her," Phares said about Hudome's role as an adviser to his organization.

Until last year, Hudome was a top Bush administration energy official, serving as chief aide on international issues to Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham. Her new role as Washington representative for the Kaddafi regime has raised eyebrows in Washington's lobbying community--both because of the lucrative size of her contract and her continued connections with the Bush campaign. Until President Bush lifted most economic sanctions against Libya this summer, citing its cooperation in giving up its nuclear program, it was illegal for Americans to have financial dealings with Libya--or represent its government in Washington.