Georgia’s UN Ambassador says FARA records reveal lobbyists’ coordinated disinformation campaign against Georgia

In a recent hearing before the Georgian Parliament’s Temporary Investigative Commission, David Bakradze, the former State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and now the country's Ambassador to the UN, revealed that official documents uploaded to the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) website clearly show organised efforts to disseminate pre-prepared anti-Georgian narratives to American politicians.

In his remarks, Bakradze stated that the documents openly list meeting dates, participants, and - most importantly - the topics being pushed.

He explained that the Embassy of Georgia in Washington had to actively combat and refute the disinformation disseminated by lobbyists.

“The reason I call them ‘pre-prepared’ is because, even within the listed discussion points or information-sharing agendas, it was explicitly mentioned that the content was about a pro-Russian, anti-American state, governed by an anti-democratic regime”, the official said,

“There was no room for debate or exchange - it was an orchestrated delivery of negative narratives. At that time, lobbyists like Michael Tichnell and Randy Scheunemann, who had longstanding and influential relationships in Washington, used their access to spread these messages. Considering their traditional connections, in July, August, and September 2020 there was a flurry of meetings in the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Appropriations, Finance, and Helsinki Committees. These meetings circulated information about the electoral process, media environment, and democratic development in Georgia”, he continued.

Despite the intensity of the campaign, Bakradze highlighted that the Georgian Embassy managed to mitigate its effects.

“Ultimately, over these four years, we were able to ensure high-level engagement. Senior US officials visited Georgia - including Secretaries of State and Defence, the National Security Advisor, and the Vice President - who had the opportunity to see Georgia’s commitment to deepening bilateral relations”, he concluded.