I wrote about former Republican Congressman Jim Leach (Iowa) last year. He was a Republican for Barack Obama.  . He was rewarded by being named Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

E-mail correspondence between Mr. Parsi and Mr. Zarif show Mr. Parsi suggesting that the Iranian diplomat meet with members of Congress.

"Happy to hear that you will meet with [Rep. Wayne] Gilchrest and potentially [Rep. James] Leach. There are many more that are interested in a meeting, including many respectable Democrats," Mr. Parsi wrote in an Oct. 25, 2006, e-mail.

Mr. Gilchrest, a Maryland Republican who left office in 2009, said he remembered meeting with Mr. Parsi but did not consider him a major player in his efforts to meet Iranian officials.

"Trita was one person that we would use as a source of information. But I would not say we viewed Trita as a lobbyist," Mr. Gilchrest said. "He was a small part of our circle who wanted to meet with Iranians."

A spokeswoman for Mr. Leach, an Iowa Republican who left office in 2007 and now serves as chairman of the National Endowment for Humanities, said, "Hundreds of people attempt to make appointments with members of Congress every week. Chairman Leach has no memory of Trita Parsi or the National Iranian American Council."