Taiwan pays $900,000 for ally Guatemala to lobby Washington
JOSHUA GOODMAN,
Associated Press
Jan. 17, 2022
Updated: Jan. 17, 2022 11:45 p.m.
MIAMI (AP) — Guatemala has hired for $900,000 a major supporter of former President Donald Trump to seek influence with U.S. officials in an unusual lobbying contract paid for by its ally Taiwan, foreign lobby records show.
Ballard Partners registered as a foreign agent with the U.S. Justice Department on Jan. 13, according to new filings made public over the weekend. The contract, dated Jan. 12, was signed by Alfonso Quinonez, Guatemala's ambassador to the U.S., and Brian Ballard, president of the namesake lobbying firm and a longtime Trump ally.
It's not clear how hiring Ballard, who years before Trump ran for the White House worked for him as a lobbyist in Florida, will be able to help Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei draw closer to the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden, which has repeatedly expressed concerns about corruption in the Central American nation.
On Sunday, the U.S. State Department blasted Giammattei's government for seeking to lift the immunity from prosecution of a judge who has won high honors in Washington for exposing bribery in Guatemala.
More:
https://www.chron.com/news/article/Taiwan-pays-900-000-for-ally-Guatemala-to-lobby-16783773.php
Also posted in LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142854769
