|
Institutional
Affiliations
Committee
for the Liberation of Iraq: Member (2)
Project
for the New American Century: Signatory, letter on new defense
strategy (2003) (4)
Government
Service
U.S. Department
of Defense: Former Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy;
Member of George W. Bush Transition Team; Special Assistant to Donald
Rumsfeld (1)
Pentagon's
Deterrence Concepts Advisory Panel: Member (6)
Pentagon's
Defense Policy Board: Member (3)
National
Nuclear Security Administration: Member of Advisory Committee
(1)
U.S. Senator
Trent Lott: Advisor (1999-2001) (1)
U.S. Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence: Deputy Staff Director and
Budget Director (1997-1999) (1)
House Armed
Services Committee: Professional Staff Member (1991-1997) (1)
Corporate
Connections/Business Interests
Boeing:
Lobbyist (5)
Northrop
Grumman Corp.: Lobbyist (5)
TRW:
Lobbyist (5)
Johnston
and Associates: Partner (1)
Education
University
of California, Los Angeles: B.A. in political science (1)
Georgetown
University: M.A. in government; Certificate in National Security
Studies (1)
|
Highlights
& Quotes
Described
as Donald Rumsfeld's
"righthand man" by the Weekly Standard's Robert
Kagan and William
Kristol, Chris Williams, has been at the center of several key
rightwing-led initiatives in recent years. He was a member of the
Pentagon's Deterrence
Concepts Advisory Panel, a panel headed by ultrahawk Keith
Payne that was tasked with implementing the Bush
administration's Nuclear Posture Review; he supported a sign-on
letter from the Project for the New American Century calling for
increased defense spending; and he was a member of the Committee
for the Liberation of Iraq.
Williams's
dual roles as a lobbyist for defense contractors and member of the
Pentagon's Defense Policy Board has prompted criticism from observers.
According to the Center for Public Integrity: "Chris Williams
is one of four registered lobbyists to serve on the board, and the
only one to lobby for defense companies. Williams, who served as
a special assistant for policy matters to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld
after having been in a similar capacity for Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.),
joined Johnston & Associates after leaving the Pentagon. Although
the firm had represented Lockheed Martin prior to Williams' arrival,
the firm picked up two large defense contractors as clients once
Williams was on board: Boeing, TRW and Northrop Grumman, for which
the firm earned a total of more than $220,000. The firm lobbied
exclusively on defense appropriations and related authorization
bills for its new clients. Johnston & Associates is more often
employed by energy companies; its founder, J. Bennett Johnston,
is a former Democratic senator from Louisiana who chaired the Energy
Committee." (5)
|
