US Lobbyists Aimed to Smear Occupy Wall Street

A top US lobbying firm tied to the financial industry pitched a $850,000 plan to smear the Occupy Wall Street movement and discredit sympathetic politicians, MSNBC television reported Saturday.

A memo written on the letterhead of well-known Washington lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford urged the American Bankers Association (ABA), a client, to conduct "opposition research" on Occupy Wall Street in order to construct "negative narratives" about the protests and its political backers.

Warning that the movement could lead to weakened support for Wall Street among both Democratic and Republican politicians, the four-page memo targeted specific states where the outcome of 2012 elections could have a major impact on the financial sector.

If Democrats make the OWS movement's anti-capitalist message a centerpiece of their campaigns, "this would mean more than just short-term political discomfort for Wall Street," said the memo posted on MSNBC's website.