Ronny Jackson

Synopsis

Pakistan secured a major rare earths deal with US firms. Former physician to Donald Trump, Ronny Jackson, played a key role. He met Pakistani officials and discussed the deal. This occurred during Operation Sindoor. A $500 million deal was finalized in September. Jackson has been involved in Trump's mining interests. This highlights a new avenue for Pakistan's engagement in Washington.

New Delhi: Pakistan seems to have got an in with US President Donald Trump through his former but trusted personal physician Ronny Jackson, who worked closely with Pakistani authorities to firm up a critical mines and rare earths deal during Operation Sindoor.

Filings by two of Pakistan's hired lobbyists - Javelin Advisors LLC and Conscience Point Consulting - with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) show that Jackson had an in-person meeting on the rare earths deal with Pakistani authorities on May 1, just over a week after the Pahalgam terror attack.

He then had a telephonic conversation on May 6 on possible India-Pakistan conflict as New Delhi commenced Operation Sindoor on the intervening night of May 6-7. Later, a call was made on May 16 after hostilities stopped to set up a dinner meeting to probably take forward the deal.

These meetings and conversations gathered pace through the month with a crucial phone call on May 28, followed by an email containing the draft MoU on the deal. Or as Javelin's own submission of purpose reads: 'Delivery of Proposed MoU'.

Two days later, Jackson had another call plus text messages through Javelin on 'Rare earths development and proposed MoU'. The document floated through the US system for next few months, with a $500 m deal getting done in September between US Strategic Metals and Pakistan's Frontier Works Organisation.

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Now, who is Ronny Jackson? He has been fronting Trump's mining interests in Congo and Rwanda. He held important meetings with leaderships on both sides, which helped work out the Congo-Rwanda peace deal in June that was signed in Trump's presence. The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels control the largest coltan and tungsten mining areas in Congo, which is where the US wanted control.

But there's more to Jackson. He is a retired Navy doctor who was posted in the White House Medical Unit since the days of George W Bush. He was physician to Barack Obama and also hit headlines for treating a girl bitten by one of Obama's dogs.

Then, he stayed on to be Trump's physician during his first term, which is when he pivoted decisively into the Trump camp. He won Trump's loyalty when through a lengthy press conference he endorsed Trump's health, even lauded his "good genes" and came under criticism for claiming that had Trump taken a healthier diet, he could have gone on to live for 200 years.

Just last month at the White House Hanukkah reception, Trump singled out Jackson from the crowd and, as per reports, said: "He was my White House doctor. Ronny was asked, who's the healthiest of all? Was it Barack Hussein Obama? Was it Sleepy Joe Biden (Jackson served him when he was Obama's V-P)? Or was it Donald Trump? And he said, 'Trump was by far the healthiest'...I love him."

Trump had given Jackson the special title of assistant to President and chief medical advisor in his first term and wanted him as Secretary of Veteran Affairs in 2018. But the latter had to withdraw his name following reservations by some members of the Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs. He retired from the Navy in 2019 as Rear Admiral and got a chance to contest from a Texas constituency in 2020 on a Republican ticket and won.

Jackson was reportedly present on Capitol Hill in the January 6 rally against the 2020 results, was said to be part of the attack on the Congress and was subject to probe.

The Biden administration had him investigated for undisciplined behaviour during his time in the Navy and demoted him to Captain. But Trump has restored his rank now.

At one point, Jackson had introduced a bill during Biden's term for removing Pakistan's major non-Nato ally status. But, like with Trump, the winds appear to have shifted for Jackson too, who now seems to be a key contact to pursue Pakistan's case for Javelin Advisors LLC, run by Keith Schiller, who was also deputy assistant to Trump and George Sorial, former executive vice-President of The Trump Organization.

The entire Pakistan lobbying effort has been put together by Robert Seiden of Seiden Law LLP, who has stakes in Javelin Advisors and has sub-contracted Conscience Point Consulting.

Interestingly, according to FARA filings, the two other lawmakers targeted during Operation Sindoor were also from Texas and ex-Navy officers, Dan Renshaw and Morgan Luttrell. The former even did a podcast in May on the danger of the Indo-Pak military situation escalating into a nuclear conflict, a line Rawalpindi wanted to stress in Washington.

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