Qorvis

Qorvis Communications
Type Private
Industry Public relations, lobbying
Founded 2000 (2000)
Headquarters Washington, D.C., United States
Key people Michael Petruzzello (CEO)
Stan Collender
Sam Dealey
Ron Faucheux
Greg Lagana
Matt J. Lauer
Rich Masters
John Reid
Esther Thomas Smith
Karen Vahouny
Services Media relations, grassroots campaigns, advertising, Internet-based campaigns, opinion polls
Employees 150
Website qorvis.com

Qorvis Communications is a Washington, D.C. public relations and lobbying firm. Its CEO is Michael Petruzzello.

Qorvis acts as public relations representation on behalf of Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Mexico, Equatorial Guinea,[1] Palestinian business interests, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, some members of the Kuwaiti government and Yemen.

Contents

Work on behalf of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia hired Qorvis to improve its image in the wake of the September 11 attacks, receiving $14.7 million between March and September 2002.[2] Qorvis engaged in a PR frenzy that publicized the "9/11 Commission finding that there was 'no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded [ Al Qaeda ]'—while omitting the report's conclusion that 'Saudi Arabia has been a problematic ally in combating Islamic extremism.'"[3][4]

2004 FBI raid

In December 2004, the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed search warrants at Qorvis's offices as part of a criminal investigation into whether a pro-Saudi radio ad campaign run by the firm broke federal law by not disclosing funds from the Saudi government.[5][6]

Criticism from human rights groups

The group's Geopolitical Solutions division, headed by former United States Department of State official Matt J. Lauer, has been criticized by human rights groups for representing rogue governments.[7][8] During the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011, senior vice president Seth Thomas Pietras said, “Our clients are facing some challenges now.... But our long-term goals — to bridge the differences between our clients and the United States — haven’t changed. We stand by them.”[8] In March 2011, a third of Qorvis's partners left the firm due to its work on behalf of autocratic governments. A former employee was reported as saying, "I just have trouble working with despotic dictators killing their own people."[9]

In September 2011, Egyptian steel tycoon and Qorvis client, Ahmed Ezz, who pays Qorvis $90,000 per month, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $11 million for corruption.[10][11] In October 2011, the Department of Justice's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section began court proceedings to seize $70 million from the family Equatorial Guinea's dictator and Qorvis client Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.[12]

Work on behalf of the Bahrain government

According to Foreign Agents Registration filings with the Department of Justice, Bahrain's government pays Qorvis $40,000 per month to whitewash the regime's image in face of civil protests, known as the Pearl Revolution.[13][14] In August 2011, it was widely reported that Qorvis wrote press releases on behalf of Bahrain's government, defending its crackdown on Doctors Without Borders.[15][16] Qorvis employee Tom Squitieri has written articles critical of the protesters that have appeared in Huffington Post and USA Today.[17]

Clients

In addition to foreign governments, Qorvis' clients have included numerous corporations and non-governmental organizations.[18][19]

References

  1. ^ Lynch, Colum (June 24, 2010). "Can K Street save Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo's good name?". Foreign Policy. http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/06/24/can_k_street_save_teodoro_obiang_nguema_mbasogo_s_good_name. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 
  2. ^ Gerstein, Josh (December 20, 2004). "P.R. Effort By Saudis Sparks Justice Probe". The New York Sun. http://www.nysun.com/foreign/pr-effort-by-saudis-sparks-justice-probe/6502/. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 
  3. ^ Kurlantzick, Joshua (2007-05-07). "Putting Lipstick on a Dictator". Mother Jones. http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2007/05/extreme_makeover.html. Retrieved 2007-08-22. 
  4. ^ Shenon, Philip (December 5, 2002). "Saudis Face New Problem With Publicity". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/05/business/saudis-face-new-problem-with-publicity.html. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 
  5. ^ Horwitz, Sari (2004-12-09). "FBI Searches Saudi Arabia's PR Firm". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49849-2004Dec8.html. 
  6. ^ Gerstein, Josh (2004-12-21). "Saudi Account Caused a Row At Patton, Boggs". The Sun. http://www.nysun.com/national/saudi-account-caused-a-row-at-patton-boggs/6578/. 
  7. ^ Garcia, Tonya (August 9, 2011). "Qorvis Working with Bahrain’s Ruling Family to Improve Image". PR Newser. http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/bahrain-ruling-family-working-wit-qorvis_b25538. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 
  8. ^ a b Lichtblau, Eric (2011-03-01). "Arab Uprisings Put U.S. Lobbyists in Uneasy Spot". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/world/middleeast/02lobby.html. 
  9. ^ Baram, Marcus (2011-3-25). "Lobbyists Jump Ship In Wake Of Mideast Unrest". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/24/lobbyist-mideast-unrest-departures_n_840231.html. 
  10. ^ McCauley, Kevin (2011-9-19). "Qorvis Client Sentenced". O'Dwyer's Blog. http://www.odwyerpr.com/blog/index.php?/archives/3265-Qorvis-Client-Sentenced.html. 
  11. ^ Kirkpatrick, David (2011-09-15). "Steel Tycoon With Links to a Mubarak Is Sentenced". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/world/middleeast/egypt-sentences-mubarak-era-tycoon-ahmed-ezz-to-prison.html. 
  12. ^ Grimaldi, James (2011-10-30). "Efforts against Equatorial Guinea official shows challenge for U.S. in foreign corruption cases". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/efforts-against-equatorial-guinea-official-shows-challenge-of-us-in-foreign-corruption-cases/2011/10/25/gIQAndatWM_story.html. 
  13. ^ Elliot, Justin (2011-08-08). "D.C. firm inks lucrative public-relations contract with Bahrain". Salon. http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/08/08/qorvis_bahrain/. 
  14. ^ Baker, Aryn (November 29, 2011). "Disappearing Dissent: How Bahrain Buried Its Revolution". Time. http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/11/29/disappearing-dissent-how-bahrain-buried-its-revolution/. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 
  15. ^ Gladstone, Rick (2011-08-05). "Relief Group Stops Work in Bahrain After Raid". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/06/world/middleeast/06bahrain.html. 
  16. ^ McEvers, Kelly (2011-08-09). "Doctors Without Borders Targeted In Bahrain". NPR. http://www.npr.org/2011/08/09/139030028/doctors-without-borders-targeted-in-bahrain. 
  17. ^ Silverstein, Ken (December 7, 2011). "How Bahrain works Washington". Salon. http://www.salon.com/2011/12/08/how_bahrain_works_washington/singleton/. 
  18. ^ "Qorvis at a Glance". Qorvis Communications. http://www.qorvis.com/an-influential-firm/qorvis-glance. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 
  19. ^ "Case Studies". Qorvis Communications. http://www.qorvis.com/clients/case-studies#case-274. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 
  20. ^ Park, Kristi (October 3, 2008). "The FDA hires a PR firm, creates a public relations nightmare for itself". Bizmology. http://www.bizmology.com/2008/10/03/the-fda-hires-a-pr-firm-creates-a-public-relations-nightmare-for-itself/. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 
  21. ^ Bogardus, Kevin (December 6, 2011). "Palestine rep finds closed doors". The Hill. http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/197367-palestine-rep-finds-closed-doors. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 
  22. ^ Bandow, Doug (February 6, 2005). "A sweet deal for the sugar industry". The San Diego Union-Tribune. http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050206/news_mz1e6bandow.html. Retrieved December 8, 2011. 

External links

Part of the Arab Spring
Events
Deaths
Opposition groups
People
Activists
Opposition
Government
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (King) • Khalifa ibn Salman Al Khalifa (Prime Minister) • Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa (Crown Prince) • Khalid ibn Ahmad Al Khalifah (Foreign minister)
Human Rights reports
Detailed
Short
Background
Other
 Category ·  Commons