SPOILS

U.S. Lobbyists Rush for Libya Cash

Hope to help rebels unfreeze Gaddafi assets.

With Gaddafi seemingly on the way out, American lobbying firms are scrambling to dump his regime and to get in the rebels' good graces. Several American groups disclosed this summer that they had been paid millions to puff up Gaddafi's image, while others went to work for the Transitional National Council, the rebel leadership now recognized as Libya's government by many Western nations. At least two firms, Patton Boggs and Harbour Group, are giving the rebels cut-rate deals on their services as they work to free up billions in Gaddafi assets that had previously been frozen—hoping, of course, to establishing a relationship that will pay billions in the future. Meanwhile, American and European corporations are jockeying for access to Libya's oil wealth once the conflict ends.