The chairman of the South Dakota Republican Party has a separate job that pays him $10,000 a month to inform government officials, the public and the media about Saudia Arabia, but when he was asked to talk about it this week, he declined.
The Rapid City Journal left a phone message with Dan Lederman seeking an interview about his work on behalf of the Saudi Arabian embassy. In an email reply, he turned down the interview request but invited written questions. The Journal sent him 10 questions by email, and he replied with a two-sentence statement.
The statement referenced LS2group, which is short for the Larson Shannahan Slifka Group, of Des Moines, Iowa. The company has an agreement with the Saudi Arabian embassy, and Lederman, a senior adviser for LS2group, is one of the company officials assigned to work on the embassy’s behalf.
“LS2group will provide strategic and government affairs counsel, public relations, and communications services to the Embassy of Saudi Arabia,” the statement said. “LS2group meets and files all disclosures as required by law and takes that responsibility seriously.”
Besides working with LS2group, Lederman is involved in his family’s Lederman Bail Bonds business. He lives in Dakota Dunes.