Syria Files - Re: Jim Johnson and Professor Maxine Isaacs

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The Syria Files

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# The Syria Files

Thursday 5 July 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing the Syria Files – more than two million emails from Syrian political figures, ministries and associated companies, dating from August 2006 to March 2012. This extraordinary data set derives from 680 Syria-related entities or domain names, including those of the Ministries of Presidential Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Information, Transport and Culture. At this time Syria is undergoing a violent internal conflict that has killed between 6,000 and 15,000 people in the last 18 months. The Syria Files shine a light on the inner workings of the Syrian government and economy, but they also reveal how the West and Western companies say one thing and do another.

## Re: Jim Johnson and Professor Maxine Isaacs

Email-ID | 2120006
Date | 2010-05-19 02:53:23
From | b.shaaban@mopa.gov.sy
To | b.shaaban@mopa.gov.sy, MINDYK@brookings.edu

Dear Ambassador Indyk Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban thanks you for your email and says that she would love to meet with Mr. James Johnson and his wife, Mrs. Maxine Isaacs. Dr. Shaaban says she would like to host them for dinner on either of the following dates:
Tuesday 25th, Wednesday 26th, Thursday 27th Kindly let us know which option they prefer so that we can arrange accordingly. Below you can find numbers of Dr. Shaaban's office for your and their records: Direct land line: +963-11-3341716 Operator: +963-11-
3333334 Fax: +963-11-3341725 Best regards, Raghad Al-Mahrous Assistant of Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban On Fri 14/05/10 5:37 PM , Martin Indyk
brookings.edu> wrote: > Dear Bouthaina, > I hope this finds you well. > Some close friends of mine will be visiting Damascus from May 25-29, > for tourism. However, they are influential people in Washington and I > think that you and Walid would benefit
from meeting them and they > would certainly benefit from meeting both of you. > Jim was Chief of Staff to Vice President Walter Mondale in the > Carter Administration. He has also served as Chairman of the > Brookings Institution. I have appended his
resume so that you will > get a fuller picture. Put simply, he is very influential in the > Obama White House and in the Democratic Party. > His wife, Maxine Isaacs, is a professor at Harvard University's > Kennedy School of Government where she teaches
about the role of > women in foreign policy! So you can see why I thought immediately of > putting them in touch with you when they told me they were going to > visit Damascus. > I would be very grateful if you have the time to meet with them, and > to
introduce them to Walid. > With very best wishes, > Martin > JAMES A. JOHNSON (BORN DECEMBER 24, 1943) IS A UNITED STATES > DEMOCRATIC PARTY [1] POLITICAL FIGURE. HE WAS THE CAMPAIGN MANAGER > FOR WALTER MONDALE [2]\'S FAILED 1984 PRESIDENTIAL BID [3] AND
> CHAIRED THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION COMMITTEE FOR THE > PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN [4] OF JOHN KERRY [5]. HE WAS INVOLVED IN THE > VICE-PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION PROCESS FOR THE 2008 DEMOCRATIC > PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE SENATOR BARACK OBAMA [6]. > Johnson has
long been one of Washington's most prominent leaders, > holding leadership positions in business, the arts, and politics. > > Johnson began his career as a faculty member at Princeton University > [7][_citation needed [8]_], later moving on to the United
States > Senate [9] as a staff member and to the Dayton-Hudson Corporation > (now Target Corp.) as director of public affairs. He was executive > assistant to Vice President Walter Mondale during the entire Carter > Administration [10] (1977-1981). Later,
he founded and headed Public > Strategies, a private consulting firm, from 1981 to 1985 before > leaving for Lehman Brothers. > > From 1991 to 1998, he served as chairman and chief executive officer > of the Federal National Mortgage Association [11]
(Fannie Mae), the > quasi-public organization that guarantees mortgages for millions of > American homeowners. Previously, he was vice chairman of Fannie Mae > [12] (1990-1991) and a managing director with Lehman Brothers [13] > (1985-1990). An Office of
Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight [14] > (OFHEO) report[1] [15] from September 2004 found that, during > Johnson's tenure as CEO, Fannie Mae had improperly deferred $200 > million in expenses. This enabled top executives, including Johnson > and his
successor, Franklin Raines [16], to receive substantial > bonuses in 1998.[2] [17] A 2006 OFHEO report[3] [18] found that > Fannie Mae had substantially under-reported Johnson's compensation. > Originally reported as $6-7 million, Johnson actually
received > approximately $21 million. > > As of 2006, he is a vice chairman of the private banking firm > Perseus LLC [19], a position he has held since 2001. He is also a > board member at Goldman Sachs [20], Gannett Company, Inc. [21], a > media holding
group, KB Home [22], a home construction firm, Target > Corporation [23], Temple-Inland [24], and a former director of > UnitedHealth Group [25]. > > Johnson has also served as chairman of both the Kennedy Center for > the Arts [26] (1996-2004) and the
Brookings Institution [27] > (1994-2003). He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and > Sciences [28], the American Friends of Bilderberg [29], the Council > on Foreign Relations [30], and the Trilateral Commission [31]. > > On May 22, 2008,
Democratic Party officials confidentially divulged > that Obama had asked Johnson "to lead the process" for selecting > Obama's running mate.[4] [32] On June 4, 2008, Obama announced the > formation of a three-person committee to vet vice presidential >
candidates, including Johnson.[5] [33] However, Johnson soon became a > source of controversy when it was reported that he had received loans > directly from Angelo Mozilo [34], the CEO of Countrywide Financial > [35], a company implicated in the U.S.
subprime mortgage crisis > [36].[6] [37] Although he was not accused of any wrongdoing and was > initially defended by Obama on the grounds that he was simply an > unpaid volunteer, Johnson announced he would step down from the > vice-presidential vetting
position on June 11, 2008, in order to > avoid being a distraction to Obama's campaign.[7] [38] > > Johnson is a strong Obama supporter who has personally donated the > maximum $4,600 to his 2008 Presidential campaign, as well as $1,000 > to Obama's
Senate campaign in 2004.[8] [39] In addition to personal > donations, Johnson is a bundler [40] for the Obama campaign, raising > between $200,000 and $500,000.[9] [41] He has also participated in > Obama campaign efforts to recruit former Clinton
supporters.[10] [42] > > > > > Links: > ------ > [1] > http://webmail.mopa.gov.sy/HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/UNITED_STATES_DEMOC > RATIC_PARTY[2] > http://webmail.mopa.gov.sy/HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/WALTER_MONDALE > [3] > http://
webmail.mopa.gov.sy/HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/U.S._PRESIDENTIAL_E > LECTION,_1984[4] > http://webmail.mopa.gov.sy/HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/PRESIDENTIAL_CAMPAI > GN_OF_JOHN_KERRY[5] > http://webmail.mopa.gov.sy/HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/
JOHN_KERRY > [6] > http://webmail.mopa.gov.sy/HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/BARACK_OBAMA > [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princeton_University > [8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed > [9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
United_States_Senate > [10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter > [11] > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_National_Mortgage_Association > [12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannie_Mae > [13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehman_Brothers > [14] >
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Federal_Housing_Enterprise_Oversight > [15] > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Johnson_(businessman)#cite_note-0#cit > e_note-0[16] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Raines > [17] > http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/James_A._Johnson_(businessman)#cite_note-1#cit > e_note-1[18] > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Johnson_(businessman)#cite_note-2#cit > e_note-2[19] > http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Perseus_LLC&action=edit&r > edlink=1[20]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldman_Sachs > [21] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gannett_Company,_Inc. > [22] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KB_Home > [23] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Corporation > [24] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple-Inland >
[25] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UnitedHealth_Group > [26] > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts > [27] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookings_Institution > [28] > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences > [29] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Friends_of_Bilderberg > [30] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_on_Foreign_Relations > [31] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilateral_Commission > [32] > http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Johnson_(businessman)#cite_note-3#cit > e_note-3[33] > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Johnson_(businessman)#cite_note-4#cit > e_note-4[34] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelo_Mozilo > [35] http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Countrywide_Financial > [36] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis > [37] > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Johnson_(businessman)#cite_note-5#cit > e_note-5[38] > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Johnson_
(businessman)#cite_note-6#cit > e_note-6[39] > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Johnson_(businessman)#cite_note-7#cit > e_note-7[40] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundler > [41] > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Johnson_(businessman)#cite_note-
8#cit > e_note-8[42] > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Johnson_(businessman)#cite_note-9#cit > e_note-9 >