Rafizi: PMO hires ex-Trump aide as lobbyist for US$250k

Following a report published in a US-based news portal, PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli conducted a series of checks to determine if Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had engaged the services of a former aide to President Donald Trump for lobbying purposes.
The Pandan lawmaker claimed that US Department of Justice's (DOJ) records showed that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had purportedly engaged Healy Baumgardner-Nardone for a fee of US$250,000 (RM1.125 million) on May 19.
According to the document, Baumgardner's was to provide government relations and public relations services to her client.
Rafizi said the nature of Baumgardner's services begged the question as to why the Malaysian government needed to engage someone who was formerly part of Trump's circle to lobby the US government.
He questioned what case required a paid lobbyist and urged Najib to explain to the public if the lobbyist, which involves payments of over RM1 million, was involved in cases involving the prime minister's personal interest and asked who would be paying the fee to the lobbying company.