A Law Firm Aimed To Turn VOA Into A Trump Propaganda Machine. Now It Faces Ethics Questions.

Former federal ethics officials are calling for an investigation of a powerhouse law firm that helped former Voice of America overseer and Steve Bannon crony Michael Pack identify and purge journalists who didnt sing Donald Trump s praises.

The firm, McGuireWoods, was paid as much as $3 million as part of a confidential no-bid federal contract to pore over employees records and social media communications. McGuireWoods compiled dossiers and created cases of alleged misconduct to justify Packs purge , according to a whistleblower complaint.

The aim of Packs efforts was to turn VOA into a propaganda machine to continually bolster Trumps image ahead of the presidential election, according to the complaint , which was revealed early this year.

McGuireWoods also investigated at least one organization, which was also a former client of the firm , National Public Radio reported. Thats an apparent breach of conflict of interest rules for any lawyer and law firm, several attorneys told NPR.

McGuireWoods last year represented the nonprofit Open Technology Fund in the organizations fight to get back government subsidies choked off by Pack and to battle a takeover coup by him . Weeks later McGuireWoods was investigating the organization its own former client for Pack, according to NPR.

I was speechless, Lara Turner, head of Open Technology Fund, which fights for internet freedom, told NPR. I had no idea that they would ever turn around and represent our actual adversary in a lawsuit, after an attorney ... asked me for internal documents for the case.

McGuireWoods own attorney Greg Guice, who had been providing Turner with legal advice, told NPR he was also shocked to learn that McGuireWoods was later working for Pack against Turners interests. Guice left the firm last year.

McGuireWoods refused requests to comment on the story to NPR. A spokesman said the company would not discuss its representation of clients.

Walter Shaub , former head of the Office of Government Ethics in the Obama and Trump administration, called this week for an investigation of McGuireWoods actions by both the new VOA leadership and the Virginia state bar immediately! (McGuireWoods headquarters are in Richmond.)

The new leaders of @USAGMgov must ask @StateOIG to investigate @McGuireWoodsLLP sole source contract under Michael Pack immediately!!!! @usagmceo @davidfolkenflik

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The new leaders of @USAGMgov must ask @StateOIG to investigate @McGuireWoodsLLP sole source contract under Michael Pack immediately!!!! @usagmceo @davidfolkenflik
Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) March 11, 2021

The law firms apparent representation of both clients facing off against one another is potentially a very serious matter, Richard Painter , who was the chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush s administration, told NPR. This needs to be investigated, he added. This needs to be looked into by the government and by the bar association.

Pack, a right-wing documentary producer, was installed last summer atop the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the agency that oversees the VOA, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia. He was recommended for the job by Bannon, the former White House strategist pardoned by Trump on charges of defrauding supporters of the ex-presidents promised border wall.

Pack booted veteran managers and reporters as part of his strategy to manipulate news coverage to support Trump, violating regulations prohibiting political appointees from doing so.

A federal judge late last year finally blocked Pack from breaching the editorial firewall and interfering with editorial decisions. Pack was quickly ousted early this year by the Biden administration.

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McGuireWoods and a second law firm, Caplin & Drysdale, were hired by Pack in apparent violation of federal contracting regulations without competitive bidding,

In Packs waning days, VOA White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara was summarily demoted after she tried to ask then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tough questions, triggering bipartisan congressional outrage. Widakuswara was back covering the White House days later .

Biden replaced Pack with VOA employee Kelu Chao, who immediately removed all organization board members picked by Pack.