Matt Ortega

In August 2003, the governing body set up by the U.S. — the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) — awarded Blackwater a $21 million contract to provide security for CPA head, Paul Bremer, and other CPA officials in Iraq. (According to the linked UPI report, Blackwater USA has received “$505 million in contracts since 2000, primarily with the State Department.”)

On March 31, 2004 in Fallujah, four contractors were killed, and in the aftermath, the company hired the Alexander Strategy Group (ASG) to conduct damage control and improve its image. ASG is notorious for its involvement in the K-Street Project in Washington, D.C. Alexander Strategy spokesman Chris Bertinelli was quoted by the Capitol Hill newspaper, The Hill, saying, “They did not go out looking for the publicity and did not ask for everything that happened to them. We want to do everything we can to educate [the media and Congress] about what Blackwater does.”

It was founded by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s (R-Texas) chief of staff, Ed Buckham and Tony Rudy, former DeLay staffer and lobbyist with Abramoff who recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy in March 2006. Other GOP players were DeLay’s wife, Christine, who worked for ASG for four years, from 1998 until 2002. Paul Behrends, a personal friend of Erik, was the chief lobbyist at ASG and he worked as the former national security advisor to Rep. Rohrabacher while Prince was a defense advisor.

From the announcement of his hiring:

Washington, D.C. ” March 27, 2006: Government relations firm C&M Capitolink LLC, a subsidiary of the international law firm Crowell & Moring LLP, is pleased to announce the addition of new partners Patrick J. Donnelly, Ph.D. and Paul D. Behrends. Donnelly joins from his position as executive vice president and chief operating officer of CropLife America , the largest trade association for the pesticide industry, and previous leadership positions in the chemical industry. Behrends, a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, brings 15 years of senior public policy expertise from experience on Capitol Hill and in the private sector as a government relations professional. These additions signal continued strategic growth at Capitolink, which has nearly doubled in size in the last two years.[...]

Behrends has served both on Capitol Hill and in the private sector as a government relations professional, focusing on international policy and security matters. His government work has included serving as senior advisor for International Relations and National Security Affairs for Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). [emphasis added]

Among the Alexander Strategy clientele, prior to formally shutting down in January 2006, were AT&T, Enron, Fannie Mae and R.J. Reynolds, among others. In 2004, ASG reported $8.8 million in lobbying income for the year, and $16,894,500 from 1998 through 2004.