what does Ahmad Ezz, Bahrain & Saudi Arabia have in common? Qorvis on Connecticut Ave. ...

"... Qorvis is one of several high-powered lobbyists that have helped the region's autocrats and monarchs win business and smooth relations with the U.S. Patton Boggs, which recently made headlines when President Obama sent of its lawyers, Frank Wisner, to negotiate with Egypt's recently-ousted former president Hosni Mubarak, has long worked with Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Previously, Patton Boggs represented Bahrain, a move that outraged the country's human rights activists who decry the Sunni royal family's discrimination against its Shiite minority. Soon after Patton Boggs was hired, Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, voiced concern over the lobbyist's role in the country. "This action shows us that the government has full intentions to continue with its policies of sectarian discrimination, marginalization and disenfranchisement of a large percentage of the population," he blogged. "Instead of putting money into tackling these problems on a local scale by addressing issues of poverty, the national housing shortage, unemployment and discrimination, the government has chosen to put money into a public relations venture, presumably to cover up these problems in the face of the international community."
Meanwhile, Qorvis has represented Egyptian steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz, a Mubarak ally targeted in Egypt's protests for using his government connections to corner the steel market and hike prices as much as 70 percent in recent years. On its website, Qorvis also touts its work for Saudi Arabia in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks: "Following the tragic events of September 11, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia selected Qorvis to neutralize negative media coverage it received nationwide after it was revealed that 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia."
Qorvis and Patton Boggs were both subpoenaed in 2002 by the House Committee on Government Reform, which was investigating reports of American children kidnapped and held in Saudi Arabia..."