Lanny Davis is a symbol for me of everything that’s wrong with the new establishment. A, It’s just as bad as the old establishment, in that it supports rightwing dictators in out of the way places, for cash; B, It’s a new establishment in that it’s permeated by the Israel lobby. Justin Elliott at Salon reports on CNN grilling Lanny Davis about his work for the Ivory Coast strongman Gbagbo:
The most interesting part of the combative interview comes at about 4 minutes in when anchor Hala Gorani cites Salon’s interview with Davis, in which he claimed that he would drop the Gbagbo account if there was evidence of human rights violations by the regime. Gorani then cited a United Nations findingthat there have in fact been many human rights vioations by forces loyal to Gbagbo.
In response, Davis stumblingly says he wants to know who wrote the UN report while also saying that he has read the report. He adds that the UN is sometimes unreliable on Israel.
Quotes from the video:
Does it constitute proof for you when you see a UN report?…
I would take very seriously that UN report. I’ve read it. I’d like to see the substantiation, I’d like to see who wrote it. I know that there have been UN reports concerning Israel that have been considered biased. I’d like to see who’s writing the report…
[Davis] is being paid $100,000 per month for the first three months of work for Gbagbo, according to the Am Law Daily. He’s earning far more for his representation of Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea who also has been accused of human rights violations. The legal tab is $1 million for a year’s work, the Am Law Daily says.
