A former top Clinton administration diplomat who used his political
sway to garner support for the Iran nuclear deal apparently was being
bankrolled the entire time by Boeing -- which is set to make billions
off a jet deal with Tehran now that sanctions have been lifted.
Thomas Pickering, who also served as co-chairman of
the board examining the Benghazi attack response, publicly pushed for
the nuclear deal before its approval last year. He did so by penning
op-eds, writing to high-level officials and even testifying before
Congress.
With the deal in place, Boeing has since moved
forward on a $25 billion deal with Iran Air made possible by the nuclear
agreement.
While Pickering never denied being on Boeing’s
payroll during the talks, he didn’t regularly disclose it either,
according to a new report in The Daily Beast. And that’s the problem,
transparency advocates say.
“In Pickering’s case, he has a direct connection to
Boeing, which I think should be disclosed,” Neil Gordon, an investigator
for the Project on Government Oversight, told
The Daily Beast.
“I think it’s necessary for the public debate. It’s necessary for the
public to fully realize the participants’ financial interests. Some of
them might have a direct financial stake in a particular outcome.”
Pickering was a former top State Department official
in the Bill Clinton administration, and before that ambassador to
Russia. He also served as ambassador to the United Nations, Israel and
elsewhere in prior administrations.
When Pickering testified before the House Armed
Services Committee on June 16, 2014, the biography provided to committee
members touted his military and government services but did not list
his business ties.
Pickering also sent a July 7, 2015 letter to
lawmakers urging them to back the nuclear deal but reportedly did not
make his association with Boeing known. The letter was cited by the
media, lawmakers and the White House in the push to sell the nuclear
deal to the public.
In op-eds for
The Washington Post and
Tablet, he also made the case for the deal but again did not disclose his ties.
He confirmed to The Daily Beast that he was a Boeing
employee from 2001 to 2006 (which was more widely known) and later
worked as a "direct consultant" from 2006 to 2015.
Earlier this month, Boeing reached a tentative
agreement to sell passenger planes to Iran’s state-run carrier, Iran
Air. The deal is the first major business venture after sanctions were
eased against Tehran last year and is seen by many as a groundbreaking
test for other American companies looking to profit from Iran’s untapped
economy.
The deal is still in its early stage and will likely face scrutiny from U.S. trade regulators and lawmakers.
“It’s tragic to watch such an iconic American company
make such a terribly short-sighted decision,” Rep. Peter Roskam,
R-Ill., told FoxNews.com in a statement. “If Boeing goes through with
this deal, the company will forever be associated with Iran’s chief
export: radical Islamic terrorism. The U.S. Congress will have much to
say about this agreement in the coming days.”
Roskam and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, sent a
letter to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg last week raising concerns about
Tehran’s history of using commercial planes to support "hostile
actors."
“We strongly oppose the potential sale of
military-fungible products to terrorism’s central supplier. American
companies should not be complicit in weaponizing the Iranian Regime,”
the lawmakers wrote.
Boeing wrote back saying it would follow the lead of
the U.S. government with regards to working with Iran Air and that “any
and all contracts with them will be contingent upon continued approval.”
“And as we have stated repeatedly, should the U.S.
Government reinstate sanctions against the sale of commercial passenger
airplanes to Iranian airlines, we will cease all sales and delivery
activities as required by U.S. law,” Tim Keating, Boeing senior vice
president, wrote.
Five years ago, the Obama administration slapped
sanctions on Iran Air, claiming the company used passenger and cargo
planes to transport rockets and missiles to places such as Syria,
sometimes disguised as medicine or spare parts. In other cases, members
of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps took control of flights carrying
sensitive cargo.
Although U.S. officials never said such conduct
ended, the administration used a technicality to drop those sanctions as
part of last year's seven-nation nuclear deal. The agreement also
allowed the Treasury Department to license American firms to do business
in Iran's civilian aviation sector. The changes enable Boeing to sell
up to 100 aircraft to Iran Air, by far the most lucrative business
transaction between the U.S. and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution
and U.S. Embassy hostage crisis.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said the sale and any possible future deals depend on Iran's good behavior.
The U.S. could revoke the license for the deal if
planes, parts or services are "used for purposes other than exclusively
civil aviation end-use" or if aircraft are transferred to individuals or
companies on a U.S. terrorism blacklist, Kirby said.
Any suggestion "that we would or will turn a blind
eye to Iran's state sponsorship of terrorism or their
terrorist-supporting activities is completely without merit," Kirby
said.
The details of the arrangement between Boeing and
Iran Air aren't entirely clear. Iran's Transportation Minister Abbas
Akhoundi said it could match the $25 billion package between the Islamic
Republic and Boeing's European rival, Airbus. Iran Air has stated its
interest in purchasing new Boeing 737s -- single aisle jets that
typically fly up to five hours. It also wants 777s -- larger planes that
can carry passengers for 12 hours or more.
But if Iran Air continues supporting Iranian military
or Revolutionary Guard operations, it would put the Obama
administration or any successor in a bind.
Revoking the license and suspending future plane
transfers risks angering the Iranians, who've already complained about
not receiving sufficient benefit for their nuclear concessions. It also
could mean billions in lost revenue for a large American company with
more than 130,000 employees in the United States.