Turkmeniscam: How Washington Lobbyists Fought to Flack for a Stalinist Dictatorship

by Ken Silverstein

“As I have often said, I would represent the devil himself for the right price–it’s not personal, just business.”
–a Washington, D.C., lobbyist

For nearly as long as there have been politicians in the United States, there have been lobbyists haunting the halls of Congress–shaking hands, bearing gifts, and brandishing agendas. Everyone knows how the back-scratching game of money, power, and PR is played. For a good enough offer, there are those who will gladly dive into the dirtiest political waters. The real question is: Just how low will they sink? Veteran investigative journalist Ken Silverstein made it his mission to find out–and “Turkmeniscam” was born.

On assignment for Harper’s magazine, and armed with a fistful of fake business cards, Silverstein went deep undercover as a corporate henchman with money to burn and a problem to solve: transforming the former Soviet-bloc nation Turkmenistan–branded “one of the worst totalitarian systems in the world”–into a Capitol Hill-friendly commodity. Even in the notoriously ethics-challenged world of Washington’s professional lobbying industry, could “Kenneth Case” (Silverstein’s fat-cat alter ego) find a team of D.C. spin doctors willing to whitewash the regime of a megalomaniac dictator with an unpronounceable name and an unspeakable reputation? Would the Beltway’s best and brightest image-mongers shill for a country condemned for its mind-boggling history of corruption, brutality, and civil rights abuse?

Who would dare tread in the ignoble footsteps of Ivy Lee, the pioneering PR guru who sought to make the Nazis look nice? And who would stoop to unprecedented new lows to conquer Congress and compromise the red, white, and blue for the sake of the almighty green? As Ken Silverstein discovers in this mordantly funny, disturbingly enlightening, jaw-dropping exploration of the dark side, the real question is: Who wouldn’t?


Praise for The Radioactive Boy Scout

“Alarming . . . The story fascinates from start to finish.”
–Outside

“An astounding story . . . [Silverstein] has a novelist’s eye for meaningful detail and a historian’s touch for context.”
–The San Diego Union-Tribune

“[Silverstein] does a fabulous job of letting David [Hahn’s] surrealistic story tell itself. . . . But what’s truly amazing is how far Hahn actually got in the construction of his crude nuclear reactor.”
–The Columbus Dispatch

“Enthralling . . . [The Radioactive Boy Scout] has the quirky pleasures of a Don DeLillo novel or an Errol Morris documentary. . . . An engaging portrait of a person whose life on America’s fringe also says something about mainstream America.”
–Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Amazing . . . unsettling . . . should come with a warning: Don’t buy [this book] for any obsessive kids in the family. It might give them ideas.”
–Rocky Mountain News


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Ken Silverstein is an American investigative journalist. He has worked for Racket, Racket Teen, Harper’s Magazine, The Intercept and the Los Angeles Times. He resides in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[Elliot Ratzman]

Call this “Lobbyist Like Me.” Investigative journalist Silverstein poses as a rep of the bizarre dictatorship of Turkmenistan. In DC, he approaches a number of bipartisan lobbying firms who gladly meet to discuss how the dictatorship can improve its PR image, even win congressional funding. This is not a new story, but it’s a healthy reminder that principles easily give way to the profit motive. This started as a funny article in Harpers yet Silverstein seems to run out of things to say after a hundred pages, thinning out this short book with a review of the rogues’ gallery of oil or anti-Soviet dictatorships that have enjoyed audiences at the White House or the counsel of Washington insiders. Still, we should pay attention to the corrupting influences of “the bottom line” that enables bipartisan help sell evil regimes to the public. It’s not clear what to do with our outrage, but we should be mindful of the doublespeak and appreciate the depth and breadth of this systematic amorality.

[Stop]

Read the STOP SMILING interview with Turkmeniscam author Ken Silverstein:

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF INFLUENCE PEDDLING

(This interview originally appeared in the STOP SMILING DC Issue)

Last year, Harper’s Magazine Washington Editor Ken Silverstein went undercover as a London-based consultant with the fictional Maldon Group to help the notoriously oppressive government of Turkmenistan win over Capitol Hill. He contacted a number of top lobbying firms, whose representatives fell over themselves trying to secure a contract to burnish the dictatorship’s image in DC. “Even the best-endowed regimes need help navigating the shoals of Washington,” Silverstein observed, “and it is their great fortune that, for the right price, countless lobbyists are willing to steer even the foulest of ships.”

His new book, Turkmeniscam: How Washington Lobbyists Fought to Flack for a Stalinist Dictatorship, evolved from the Harper’s article “Their Men in Washington,” which garnered acclaim for exposing the time-honored tradition of depravity among the Beltway lobbying elite, but also drew the ire of many commentators and journalists who criticized Silverstein for deceiving the subjects of the article and failing to operate in good faith. Turkmeniscam’s publication, however, should serve as a rebuke to these critics: It is a rare first-hand account of a political culture in which iniquity has become banal to the point of absurdity, and the blood-money of a murderous despot is as good as anyone else’s.

Read the interview...

[Kathleen]

A truly eye-opening and unbelievable look into the real world of lobbyists and Washington. You will be truly disheartened to know what really goes on behind the doors of our representatives, senators, and out in the open in the restaurants and corporate offices of our country. The reporter who wrote the story about his undercover operation as a corporate henchman with "money to burn" who interviewed well-known lobbyists in Washington to whitewash the regime of a megalomaniac dictator was decried by the lobbying groups, but also by his fellow journalists. Undercover work has long been known to be the only way to get the real story and in this case, it was truly the only way. I disagree whole heartedly with journalists who say he was unethical. The only reason it isn't being done more often now is that ABC was sued following the famous Food Lion case, where Food Lion was found to be selling cheese that had been gnawed on by rats as well as spoiled meat and fish that had been doused with bleach to cover up the rancid smell, after lying on their resumes to get jobs at Food Lion to get the story. "In other words, the fact that their reporting was accurate was no longer a defense." The media is increasingly conservative and have become rock stars in their own right, with bank accounts and IRAs to protect, and are part of the power structure now. Journalists are now in bed with the political establishment. I applaud Ken Silverstein.

[Meri]

In 2007, Ken Silverstein adopted the disguise of a spokesperson for a shady investment group seeking to further Turkmenistan's interests in the US. Turkmenistan, a Stalinist dictatorship with a bad reputation for human rights violations, has energy resources that make it a feasible project for American lobbyists, who are no strangers to selling dirty regimes to American lawmakers and the public. Silverstein captures some shocking dialogue from lobbyists, though his descriptions of how K street worked--before and after the post-Abramoff reforms--provide ugly enough context that they seem kind of tame. This book needed to be written, but it's hard to swallow for anyone with a modicum of faith in our political system.

[Maphead]

While just a shade under 200 pages this is a short book. Nevertheless, I saw it as three books in one. There's the main part, that is the undercover sting operation conducted by Silverstein pretending to represent a shadowy group of foreign investors looking to enhance the image of Turkmenistan. The author also includes a brief history of lobbying, in addition to weighing in on the then current state of investigative journalism.
Published 10 years ago and unfortunately still relevant. Overall, not a bad book.

[E1234]

A decent bit of investigative reporting developed into quite a weak book.

[Jacob]

This book is awesome and hilarious.

[Nick Cleveland-Stout]

A creative and necessary investigation, the world needs more journalists like Ken

[Tampines House]

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