by Glen Richardson
As first shockingly disclosed by the Washington, D.C., based news publication The Hill, the highly prominent and powerful Denver based law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP has filed under the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act to represent the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A copy of the Fee Agreement between the Brownstein firm and the Kingdom was leaked to 710 KNUS radio host Peter Boyles (who writes a column for the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle and found on page 2 each month).
Under the Fee Agreement the Kingdom is paying Brownstein $100,000 per month for a minimum of four months “to act as policy counsel . . . in connection with legislative issues of importance to the U.S. – Saudi Arabia bilateral relationship.”
The representation according to The Hill is to reverse the rights of the victims of 9/11 just granted under the Justice of Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) to sue the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its alleged complicity in the 9/11 attack. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia.
The Brownstein firm is not just any law firm in Denver. It was started in 1968 by 
Norm Brownstein, Jack Hyatt and Steve Farber fresh out of the University of Colorado Law School. Both Brownstein and Farber grew up from highly humble beginnings on the west side of Denver. The firm has grown into the second largest firm in Colorado and the second largest lobbying firm in Washington, D.C. The firm has over 250 attorneys and has offices in 11 cities across the United States.
Nationally the firm is known for its political connections and locally for its philanthropic activities. It represents The Denver Post, Mayor Michael Hancock, and Governor John Hickenlooper. Both Brownstein and Farber are highly active in the Jewish community in Denver, and in the Cherry Creek Valley.
But Brownstein himself has not escaped scandal in recent years. His son Drew “Bo” Brownstein was forced to pay a $4.7 million fine in June 2012 by the Securities and Exchange Commission for insider stock trading for securities purchased in h
is and his father’s names. He was later sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson, but Norm himself managed to escape any punishment.
What is so alarming to many is the fact that the Brownstein firm came to prominence as a lobbying powerhouse in Washington, D.C., due to its strong connections with the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). It is a highly powerful group that lobbies for pro-Israel policies to Congress and the Executive branch.
JASTA was passed over the veto of President Barrack Obama on September 28 by a 97 to 1 vote with the only dissenting vote being Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, and passed the House by a 348 to 77 vote. It is expected to be the only veto overridden during Obama’s eight years in the Presidency.
Notwithstanding the overwhelming votes in the Senate and the House it has been speculated that after the November 8 election and during the lame duck session, a way would be found to amend and render the legislation moot. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hired at least 13 other lobbying firms to get the legislation reversed including such other heavyweights as the Podesta Group and Patton Boggs.
Under the Fee Agreement the lobbying would be headed up by Alfred Mottur, Marc Lampkin and two non-lawyers. Mottur and Lampkin are among the 2016 top Washington, D.C., “hired gun” lobbyists as ranked by The Hill. Mottur works the
Democratic side of Capitol Hill having been a senior staffer for Senator Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC). Conversely, Lampkin is called a part of “Team Boehner” named after the recently retired Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, as well as having been Deputy Campaign Manager for the George W. Bush for President Campaign.
Mottur called into the Peter Boyles Show on 710 KNUS and somewhat quixotically attempted to assert that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had hired him to protect U.S. servicemen abroad from possible lawsuits. Retired Army veteran George Athanasopoulous who served four tours in Iraq as an infantryman was in studio when Mottur called. He later called Mottur’s dissembling on air who and what he was hired to lobby for “comical if it wasn’t so tragic.”
He went on to note, “He was destroyed on air by Peter [Boyles]. I don’t know how anyone would want the Brownstein firm to legally represent them knowing that they were registered foreign agents for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia working to screw over the 9/11 families. Mr. Brownstein and Mr. Farber should be ashamed of themselves.”