Was Heritage Foundation Chief on the Take?

In fallout from the Tom DeLay investigation, Tom Edsall, in today's Washington Post reports that payments to a Hong Kong based consulting firm co-founded by Ed Feulner, Heritage's president, led to a change in thinking about Malaysia at the Washington think-tank. The story appears to be based on documents from the Jack Abramoff Indian tribes investigation:

For years, the Heritage Foundation sharply criticized the autocratic rule of former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, denouncing his anti-Semitism, his jailing of political opponents and his 'anti-free market currency controls.'

Then, late in the summer of 2001, the conservative nonprofit Washington think tank began to change its assessment: Heritage financed an Aug. 30-Sept. 4, 2001, trip to Malaysia for three House members and their spouses. Heritage put on briefings for the congressional delegation titled 'Malaysia: Standing Up for Democracy' and 'U.S. and Malaysia: Ways to Cooperate in Order to Influence Peace and Stability in Southeast Asia.'

Is think-tank work funding-driven across the political spectrum? You betcha. On the other hand, this story is interesting because it implies personal business ventures affected policy priorities for a non-profit.