Scheunemann, Payne, Latvia, and Iraq

TPMM recaps McCain adviser Randy Scheunemann's ties to disgraced Republican influence peddler and petro-lobbyist Stephen Payne through their mutual interest in Latvia.

While researching the Scheunemann/Payne/Latvia connection, this news item caught my eye. Payne and Scheunemann met jointly in 2003 with a senior Latvian official to discuss how Latvia could help rebuild Iraq.

Baltic News Service
June 19, 2003
LATVIAN FORMIN OFFICIAL, IRAQ LIBERATION COMMITTEE EX-LEADER DISCUSS IRAQ RENOVATION

LENGTH: 209 words

DATELINE: RIGA, June 19

Latvia's Foreign Ministry parliamentary secretary Peteris Karlis Elferts Wednesday met Committee for Liberation of Iraq ex-president Randy Scheunemann and honorary consul to Texas, the United States, Steven Payne, to discuss possible participation of Latvia in Iraq renovation.

Elferts told BNS the officials during the meeting also discussed Latvian government decision to send more soldiers to Iraq and experts to help in Iraq renovation.

Scheunemann said Latvia's experience in finance and economy sectors will be important for Iraq.

Elferts said Scheunemann will again come to Latvia in July together with some official from the United States government but would not provide the name.

Latvia plans to take part in iraq renovation by providing expertise while businesses are keen to carry out work there.

Press reports suggest one company already has acquired work to do in Iraq renovation. Mikrotikls, a wireless internet solutions company, will set up internet and voice communications in Iraqi capital Bagdad, business daily Dienas Bizness reported Thursday.

Latvia's six leading construction companies meanwhile have pooled in a contract union to run for Iraq infrastructure renovation works with joint efforts.

The McCain campaign claimed yesterday that Scheunemann has had no knowledge of Payne's business activities since July of 2006. Yet Scheunemann was listed as a member of the executive team of Payne's Worldwide Strategic Energy in a pre-prospectus circulated in 2007.

Another piece of evidence has emerged to suggest that Payne and Scheunemann have been in professional contact later than July 2006. In November of 2006, Payne and Scheunemann both moderated panels at the Young Leaders Summit in Riga, Latvia (.pdf).  Interestingly, the keynote address at the Riga summit was delivered by none other than Rudy Giuliani of the firm Bracewell Giuliani. The Youth Summit ran concurrently with the NATO summit, which was attended by George W. Bush.

The investment document issued by Payne's Worldwide Strategic Energy (WSE) prominently bills Bracewell Giuliani as WSE's Outside Strategic and Legal Counsel. The document explicitly mentions the political connections of Giuliani and other Bracewell Giuliani staffers as a selling point, "Among this group are former top officials with FERC as well as former top administrators with state and federal agencies that regulate the public utilities and oil and gas industries."

[Original reporting, please credit Lindsay Beyerstein.]