Stephen Payne, the guy who tried to trade access to the WH for donations to the Bush library, was asked to resign.
GOP lobbyist quits DHS panel over influence peddling, foreign agent charges
By SHAUN WATERMAN, UPI Homeland and National Security Editor
Published: July 15, 2008 at 6:39 PM
WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- A GOP lobbyist and fundraiser with close ties to the White House has quit a Homeland Security Department advisory committee following allegations of influence peddling and quid pro quo donations to the Bush presidential library.
Department spokeswoman Laura Keehner confirmed to United Press International that Stephen Payne was asked to resign after being surreptitiously videotaped by a British newspaper apparently offering to arrange meetings with senior administration officials in return for a six-figure fee, including a quarter-million-dollar donation to the library.
"The department asked him to step down" from his post on the Secure Borders and Open Doors Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, Keehner said, declining to comment on the reasons.
Payne may got to jail for this crap:
But the story has also raised questions about Payne's apparent failure to register much of his work on behalf of foreign entities with the Justice Department, as required by the Foreign Agent Registration Act.
In a promotional brochure Payne provided to Dos, which he later said was a draft, and on a page of his Web site that was removed after the story broke, the lobbyist touted his work for several foreign entities, including the governments of Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan; and an Uzbek opposition leader called Muhammad Salih.
"I cannot envisage a set of circumstances where those activities would not be covered" by FARA, campaign finance lawyer and lobbying disclosure expert Brett Kappel told UPI, adding that failing to register as required was a felony punishable by up to five years in jail.
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