The Lobbyists Watching Egypt's Back

Until a popular revolt put his control of Egypt in jeopardy, President Hosni Mubarak had kept a tight grip on power and billions of dollars in U.S. aid flowing with few strings attached, in part by retaining three of Washington's most high-powered lobbyists.

Since Egypt hired the lobbyists in 2007, Congress softened a condition on the foreign aid, added in 2005 over Mubarak's objections, that barred his government from choosing which pro-democracy groups should receive $20 million of Egypt's $1.8 billion in U.S. aid. That restriction became harder to enforce in 2009 when Congress barred all foreign governments from determining who could get such grants. U.S. pro-democracy programs in Egypt ultimately had little effect, a 2009 Agency for International Development audit concluded, because of a "lack of cooperation" by the Egyptian government.