The Cohen Group
The Cohen Group is a Washington D.C. lobbying company headed by former U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen. Blurring the difference between "public service and private-sector work,"[1] the purpose of the firm is to enrich former government officials and generals by using them to secure new contracts for the military-industrial complex.
History
After more than 30 years in politics, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen was saddled with credit card debt. When the motorcades and military escorts ended in January 2001, his final financial disclosure form listed tens of thousands of dollars of charge-account debts at interest rates as high as about 25 percent. Within weeks of leaving office, he was living in a $3.5 million McLean mansion with a swimming pool, a cabana and a carriage house...As defense secretary, Cohen defended the F-22 fighter-jet program, a collaboration of Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney, when lawmakers tried to stop production.[2]"
Activities
The firm has assisted biotechnology, agriculture, and nuclear energy companies break into China. In India, where Nicholas Burns has met with senior officials on behalf of the Cohen Group, the firm has advised "top U.S. aerospace and defense primes with their entry into the Indian market." That means, according to one report, aiding the American weapons maker Lockheed Martin in selling the warplane F-35 to India.[1]
Fernando Cutz wrote a 2018 op-ed drooling over "privatization of Brazil's massive state-owned firms",[3] indicating that the firm is possibly involved.
At the hub of the Cohen network, the former secretary makes frequent appearances on CNN, where he is a commentator on world affairs,[2] without disclosing his clients in the military-industrial complex.
It "Secured public sector contracts worth billions of US dollars in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, including by building political and local partnership strategies, facilitating outreach, and providing superior business intelligence. For clients in the defense sector, relied upon extensive, in-depth knowledge of European Ministries of Defense to facilitate in-country introductions to senior officials to assess government defense priorities, funding, and partnership opportunities.'[4]
AAfter several lean years, it "got" the war in Ukraine, which was facilitated by its connections within the Joe Biden administration. In 2024, it sought "to step-up support for its clients, the major US defence groups, for their contracts in Ukraine financed by NATO states."[5]
People
People as of May 2025, plus some.[6]
From 2004 to 2005, Pete Buttigieg was conference director of the Cohen Group.[7]
Known members
8 of the 90 of the members already have pages here:
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| R. Nicholas Burns | US Ambassador to NATO 2001-2005, plenty of other deep state connected roles |
| Pete Buttigieg | US spook, Rhodes Scholar, US/2020 Presidential election/Candidate |
| Marc Grossman | Member of Sibel Edmonds' State Secrets Privilege Gallery, attended the 1998 and 2007 Bilderbergs. |
| James Loy | Coast Guard and Homeland Security boss who went over to Lockheed-Martin |
| James Mattis | “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” |
| P. Michael McKinley | Career US diplomat. Ambassador to a number of countries of deep state interest. Part of the organized resignation campaign against Donald Trump |
| George Robertson | Bilderberger, ex Secretary General of NATO with unknown deep political connections. |
| Curtis Scaparrotti | Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 2016-2019, Atlantic Council board member |
References
- ↑ a b https://prospect.org/power/most-admired-diplomat-gone-corporate-nicholas-burns-china-ambassador/
- ↑ a b https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna13012105
- ↑ https://americasquarterly.org/article/what-to-expect-from-the-trump-bolsonaro-bromance/
- ↑ https://cohengroup.net/what-we-do/regional-expertise/europe
- ↑ https://www.intelligenceonline.com/international-dealmaking/2024/04/18/cohen-group-works-to-boost-us-defence-groups-in-ukraine,110217101-art
- ↑ https://www.cohengroup.net/who-we-are
- ↑ https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/19/indiana-democrat-getting-buzz-dnc-race/97944656/
