Foreign Agents

Foreign Agent by Casey Michel

Warning! As you read this book you will become angry. It does not matter if your politics are to the Right or to the Left. It is a book about how American greed along with amoral politics creates an American world where foreign dictators and corrupt companies can buy American talent to whitewash their image with the American public and of course our elected officials.
The book begins with Ivy Lee who used his skill to clean up a Rockefeller failure where Rockefeller’s security guard shot and killed 30 miners working at one of his mines. By the time Ivy was done it was the miner’s fault. America was not big enough or had enough money for Ivy so he took his talents to Europe where he made Mussolini and the Fascists, Stalin and the Communists and finally Hitler and the Nazis look presentable to the American public.
From there he focuses on the modern-day charlatan Paul Manafort who started working with despots in Africa before transferring his “talent” to Ukraine and finally Donald Trump.
But as Mr. Michel documents it is not just individuals in the US that take this money it is also Universities and think tanks that will polish the reputations of these dictators for money.
How can they do this ? The US laws are either non-existent, weak or not policed. It is clear why the laws are weak or do not exist as too many of the congressmen are either already accepting money from the lobbyists or hope to leave congress for more lucrative pastures after leaving office.
The book is well written, fair and has over 800 footnotes. As I started, this book will not be a read that leaves you seeing a brighter future ahead for America.

Casey Michel has a very well-researched and troubling book. He does give a number of bipartisan examples. However, he seems to have somewhat of a political lean to it and he reserves the biggest exposure to Paul Manafort. (maybe he deserves it?) Don't take that to mean that it is a hit piece, but he seems to go a little bit out of his way to take shots at Donald Trump. He does counterpoint that with some comments about Bill, and especially Hillary, Clinton, but he keeps coming back to Trump. Still, there is a lot of troubling information in this book about the influence foreign governments have on the American government and its policies and expenditures. Michel traces this back to the mid 1800s and the purchase of Alaska. He brings it into today, adding an epilogue outlining the arrest of Robert Menendez and his gold bars. Generally a well-written book. It seems to be a call for someone to do something about the influence that these foreign actors have on us. He makes a pretty good case.

Foreign agents lifts the curtain on lobbying for the United States foreign lobbying industry. This group has influenced policy and given power to dictatorships without the knowledge of the general public. A behind the scenes look at foreign lobbying and the threat to democracy.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. This book delves into the world of lobbyists who are not from the US. It talks about things that are done behind the scenes that we never hear about. A good read.

I received a free copy of, Foreign Agents, by Casey Michael. from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Foreign Agents, or foreign lobbyists, have way to much control and power, with the American government, and the average American citizen is unaware. This book sheds a light on foreign lobbyists and there plans to end American Democracy, once and for all. This book really riled me up. I learned a lot, I had no clue about foreign agents and their hold over our government and policies.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book that looks at the history of foreign lobbyists in America, the trouble, they have caused, the lives ruined and how it is only going to get worse.

To paraphrase an odd line from both a book and movie, Money means never having to say you are sorry. Though occasionally even money needs to clean itself up, put on a new pair of clothes, as close to the common person as possible, and change the image a bit. Maybe give money to a school, or be called a a true friend of freedom from a political think tank, or get some arms from the United States to deal with that pesky protest asking for food that makes noon day naps so tough to take. Thankfully there are people whose morals never ask where the money is coming from and sometimes lack the intelligence to wonder why a junior senator from a dairy state is given so much money and chances to be on tv. To facilitate these deals, are lobbyists and agents whose only prerequisite is when does the money clear, and it there are lot of it. Nothing else matters. Foreign Agents: How American Lobbyists and Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around the World by investigative journalist Casey Michel is both an important book to understand our current state of affairs, and a depressing book as it shows that nothing is going to change, for the spigot of cash to politicians is just too much of a flood to contain. '''

Influencing politicians started almost as soon as the ink was dry on the the Constitution, though it was started with the best of intentions. William Hull of Virginia traveled to the new Capitol with a mission, and an idea. Hull wanted to see how much the Constitution allowed him as a citizen to petition lawmakers for the good of Veterans of the War of Independence. Most of the men had been promised an amount of money, but for many reasons had never received it. Hull tried, but was more stopped by the fact the new nation really was broke, and couldn't pay any of its debts. However the idea of petitioning lawmakers was born. President Grant called these men lobbyists as they waited in his favorite hotel bar, waiting to beg things from him when he stopped for a tipple. The book covers the American backing of Belgiums claims to the Congo, which caused a genocide in the Congo that many Americans do not know. Senate investigations in the 1930's showed that Nazi's were trying to influence American politics, leading to a plan to limit foreign agents, a plan that was well meaning, but underserved. More incidents are explained, the duplicity of American universities, and politicians who have risen far above what their skill set is are also discussed. And of course the previous administration, which was awash in foreign cash, and foreign election aid. One that will only get worse if he returns again.

A book that is both breathtaking at it's look at history, and depressing as Americans know very little about how their governments are for sale on almost every level. Some of the amounts that people sell themselves for are such a pittance, one is almost embarrassed, and the fact that they don't care is far more depressing. Michel knows this subject well, and never bores or wags his finger too much at us for allowing this. The writing is very good, well sourced, and remarkably similar no matter what era it takes place in. History repeats, as does corruption and stupidity. The modern day discussions are very interesting as we literally saw most of this unfold, and yet most of these people are still walking around, pardoned, and going back to the same wells for cash and ways of doing business. And nothing changes.

I recommend this book to people who want to know why protesters are being beaten on college campuses, or why our government spends more overseas than it does in Flint cleaning the water. Much of why America is looked at sideways but a lot of people can be explained here. Our way of backing the worse people for jus about every job, as long as somehow, someway there is a few dollars in it just constantly amazes me. To quote another famous book, so it goes.

This book makes me so angry and in a good way. I’ve seen the revolving door work in DC, I’ve seen how much access to lobbyists have - the rich and the powerful always have. But to see just how amoral these foreign agents can be - and how money has infiltrated the academic institutions, think tanks, echo chambers. it was breathtakingly laid out in this book. We need people to read this book and harness their anger for change. It can be done