Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, represents a mainly rural district centered around Waco, a city with a population of 150,000. His interest in NSO Group, the controversial Israeli spyware company that was sanctioned by the U.S. for its involvement in human rights violations, is unclear.
However, between February and July, Sessions and his team had eight meetings with lobbyists representing NSO.
One of the meetings was for a “briefing on Bureau of Industry and Security Status” – the Department of Commerce office that blacklisted NSO in November 2021. Other discussions included topics such as “news articles reporting on NSO technology and the war in Gaza” and “NSO VISA issue,” as indicated in documents filed with the Foreign Agents Registrations Act (FARA) at the end of August.
In July, on the same day that lobbyists from the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, a prominent D.C. firm, met with Sessions to discuss “NSO technology and human rights policies,” one of its lawyers and former House member from Texas, Greg Laughlin, made a $1,000 donation to “Pete Sessions for Congress.” Laughlin, who is a registered lobbyist for NSO, also contributed to the campaigns of other Texas Republicans who met with NSO, including Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
“This absolutely looks like part of NSO Group lobbyists ongoing efforts to reverse the firm’s blacklisting.”
Amid Israel’s war efforts and the potential return of a Trump administration, NSO is intensifying its outreach to members of Congress, predominantly Republicans, in an attempt to reverse its blacklisting. NSO’s Pegasus spyware has been used by authoritarian governments to hack into the devices of dissidents, journalists, and human rights activists, enabling serious abuses.
The company’s push for delisting began during the Israeli war in Gaza last year, as NSO sought to convince Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that its technology could benefit the U.S. government.
Ben Freeman, director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute, noted, “This absolutely looks like part of NSO Group lobbyists ongoing efforts to reverse the firm’s blacklisting.” He added that Republicans might be a more receptive target than Democrats due to the latter’s increasing disillusionment with Israel.
In a statement to The Intercept, Sessions spokesperson Matt Myams mentioned, “Former Congressman Greg Laughlin has known and politically supported Congressman Sessions for many years. During that time, they have discussed a wide variety of topics, including general questions about how certain immigration laws work.” NSO Group declined to comment.
NSO has spent over $1.8 million on lobbying this year, according to FARA documents. Besides Pillsbury, D.C.-based Chartwell Strategy Group and Los Angeles lobbying firm Paul Hastings have also focused their efforts on connecting primarily with Republican lawmakers on behalf of NSO.
While NSO is working to rebuild its reputation in the U.S., other companies like Candiru, another Israeli spyware firm blacklisted alongside NSO, have lost their U.S. contracts and terminated their Washington lobbying contracts.
NSO’s continued efforts, using Israel’s war as leverage, have been criticized as an attempt to “crisis-wash” its record.
NSO in Court
While NSO argues in Washington that it complies with U.S. requirements to prevent rights abuses using its software, in California, the company faces accusations of blatantly defying a federal court order.
Earlier this month, WhatsApp and Meta, its parent company, requested the judge in their case against NSO to award them a total win as a penalty for NSO’s violations of discovery requirements.
In NSO’s response filed on October 16, the company denied any violation of orders and criticized WhatsApp’s termination request as “ludicrous.”
WhatsApp accused NSO of willful discovery violations that skewed key issues in the case, making a fair trial impossible.
NSO had previously sought a protective order under Israeli law to avoid the discovery process, which was denied. During a hearing in February, the court warned NSO that sanctions would be imposed if they failed to meet their discovery obligations.
Stephanie Krent, an attorney at Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, noted that NSO had been resisting discovery efforts to prolong the early stages of litigation.
The next hearing in the WhatsApp case is scheduled for November 7.
WhatsApp reiterated their focus on protecting users and emphasized their belief that NSO’s actions violated U.S. law.
In addition to the WhatsApp case, NSO is facing serious allegations in U.S. litigation.
Apple recently requested the dismissal of a three-year hacking suit against NSO in San Francisco, citing difficulties in obtaining critical files due to actions by Israeli government officials.
Meanwhile, the High Court in London allowed a case against Saudi Arabia for its use of Pegasus to move forward, following a report submitted by human rights defenders who were hacked with the spyware on British soil.
Yahya Assiri, a Saudi human rights activist, can now proceed with his claim against Saudi Arabia for using Pegasus and another spyware product while he was living in the U.K.
Assiri emphasized the importance of accountability in deterring violators and called for an end to justifications for human rights violations.
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