Citizens for America (CFA) was a United States conservative grass-roots organization founded by President Ronald Reagan's "Kitchen Cabinet" (principally Jaquelin H. Hume, CEO of Basic American Foods of San Francisco, and including Southern California car dealer Holmes Tuttle and others) to support President Reagan's national defense and economic initiatives. CFA called itself "President Reagan's Lobby" and was led first by drugstore magnate Lewis E. Lehrman and later by Gerald P. Carmen, who had served as administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations mission in Geneva, Switzerland. CFA was organized as an IRS 501 (C) (3) and (4) non-profit. Among the early employees was Jack Abramoff, who was later terminated for cause. History Citizens for America staged an unprecedented meeting of anti-Communist rebel leaders calling themselves "Armed Movements Fighting Against Soviet Expansionism", formed by Nicaraguan, Laotian, Angolan and Afghan (Mujahideen) rebels in June 1985 in Jamba, Angola, the UNITA headquarters of Angolan rebel Jonas Savimbi. The guerrilla leaders were presented with a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, and a letter from President Reagan supporting CFA was read, although the Reagan administration refused to officially support all of the guerrilla groups. Marc Holtzman (who later ran for governor of Colorado) served as CFA's first executive director. Under Holtzman's tenure, CFA focused on promoting the Reagan economic and national security agenda, including the strategic defense initiative. Holtzman resigned in early 1985 and was replaced by Abramoff, who had been director of College Republicans. Lehrman fired Abramoff after only nine months due to his mismanagement of the organization's $3 million budget and his hiring of friends. Abramoff was replaced by CFA's legal counsel Frank Trotta, who served as interim Executive Director until https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Wilson_(activist) came on as executive director. Wilson served for a year, after which attorney and writer Jack R. Stevens became the executive director. Stevens served for two years and was the organization's executive director in its final days under President Reagan. Trotta, Wilson and Stevens (who had earlier served as CFA's western regional director) were credited with restoring CFA's finances and reputation after Abramoff's brief but damaging tenure. CFA supported its grass-roots lobbying campaigns by hosting two fundraisers annually. The "Founder's Circle" required a contribution of $25,000 per year and included donors like Joseph and Holly Coors, Holmes Tuttle and Jack Hume. President Reagan hosted CFA donors and staff regularly at the