| | | | | |  | | By Theodoric Meyer | Presented by Facebook | With Daniel Lippman MONUMENT ADDS A DEMOCRAT: Monument Advocacy is bringing on a Democratic lobbyist ahead of Election Day. Larry Duncan, who previously ran his own firm, Potomac Policy Advisors , will join the firm on Monday as a partner. He'll bring clients with him including FLIR Systems, which makes thermal imaging cameras, and Google. Duncan is also a longtime former in-house lobbyist for Lockheed Martin. NEW DETAILS ON LOBBYING ON THE TAX OVERHAUL: ProPublica's Justin Elliott and I dug into the lobbying on the carried interest loophole during the passage of the Republican tax law, including a last-minute amendment from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) that proposed scrapping the tax break. One interesting tidbit: To head off efforts to get rid of carried interest entirely, the American Investment Council, the private equity industry's Washington trade group, proposed a concession that it hoped would mollify lawmakers who might be open to doing so. "AIC pitched House Republicans on modestly extending the amount of time that hedge funds, private equity firms and others must hold onto investments to qualify for the tax break, according to three people familiar with the matter." — "That's exactly what happened. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, proposed tweaking carried interest rather than eliminating it. The holding period would change from one year to three years — a change that tax experts say does little to close the loophole." | | | | A message from Facebook: A vote counted is a voice heard
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Explore the Voting Information Center now | | | Good afternoon, and welcome to PI. Days until Election Day: 5. Lobbying tips: tmeyer@politico.com. Transition tips: tmeyer@politico.com. You can also follow me on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer. MORE DETAILS ON TRUMP AND THE HALKBANK CASE: Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, travelled to Washington in 2019 "to discuss a particularly delicate case with Attorney General William P. Barr and some of his top aides: a criminal investigation into Halkbank, a state-owned Turkish bank suspected of violating U.S. sanctions law by funneling billions of dollars of gold and cash to Iran," The New York Times' Eric Lipton and Benjamin Weiser report. — "For months, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey had been pressing President Trump to quash the investigation, which threatened not only the bank but potentially members of Mr. Erdogan's family and political party. When Mr. Berman sat down with Mr. Barr, he was stunned to be presented with a settlement proposal that would give Mr. Erdogan a key concession." — "Mr. Barr pressed Mr. Berman to allow the bank to avoid an indictment by paying a fine and acknowledging some wrongdoing. In addition, the Justice Department would agree to end investigations and criminal cases involving Turkish and bank officials who were allied with Mr. Erdogan and suspected of participating in the sanctions-busting scheme. Mr. Berman didn't buy it." — "The bank had the right to try to negotiate a settlement. But his prosecutors were still investigating key individuals, including some with ties to Mr. Erdogan, and believed the scheme had helped finance Iran's nuclear weapons program. 'This is completely wrong,' Mr. Berman later told lawyers in the Justice Department, according to people who were briefed on the proposal and his response. 'You don't grant immunity to individuals unless you are getting something from them — and we wouldn't be here.'" DEMOCRATS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT POST-ELECTION AD BLACKOUTS: "When Facebook and Google announced plans to ban new political ads around the end of the election, they left one key thing out of the new policies: an end date," POLITICO's Elena Schneider and Zach Montellaro report. — "Now, as Facebook's pre-election blackout on new ads begins and a total post-election freeze on Google and Facebook ads looms, digital strategists in both parties are worried that ads on the biggest digital platforms may never come back — or, at the very least, they'll be down so long that they paralyze campaigns in major races set to stretch beyond Nov. 3. … Democrats, in particular, are concerned that the undefined timeline for restarting online ads could hamper efforts to raise money and voter awareness around potential Senate runoffs in Georgia and Mississippi in January."
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BROADCASTERS FEEL PANDEMIC'S FINANCIAL PAIN: The National Association of Broadcasters' board of directors "on Tuesday voted unanimously to levy a one-time financial assessment on its members , a sign of growing economic pain affecting a longtime Washington trade group in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic," POLITICO's John Hendel reports. "Each member of the association will pay an assessment 'equal to each member's annual membership dues and payable over three years,' Jordan Wertlieb, the president of Hearst Television who chairs the board, wrote in an email to members obtained by POLITICO."
— While NAB is a Washington heavyweight, the pandemic is squeezing the trade group "and has already prompted 'cuts to executive compensation, significant budget reductions and instituting a hiring freeze,' Wertlieb wrote. The broadcast group canceled its annual NAB Show, a huge gathering that he said accounted for 70 percent of the association's operating budget. He also cautioned of 'expected decline in future convention revenues as the result of COVID-19.'" It's not the only Washington trade group hurting; others resorted to layoffs earlier this year, as POLITICO has reported. 'WE VIEW THIS AS A FAMILY ENDEAVOR': "Less than three months after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was sworn in, his son, Nick, reached out to thank State Department officials for a private tour they had given him and his mother, Susan Pompeo, of the agency's in-house museum," NBC News' Josh Lederman reports. "'I also want to reinforce my willingness to help your mission in any way I can,' Nick Pompeo wrote. 'We view this as a family endeavor, so if you think there is any place I can add value, don't hesitate to reach out.' He also had an ask: Could he or the software company for which he was a sales executive be involved in a coming 'data hackathon' event the State Department was planning?" — "In an email, he asked for details about dates, times, volunteer opportunities and 'how I or anyone at my company could help.' The State Department said Pompeo's company didn't join the hackathon, an educational event focused on computer programming skills. But the request, which was included in hundreds of pages of emails obtained by NBC News, sheds light on how the Pompeos have repeatedly blurred the lines between official government business and domestic or personal matters." | | | |   | | | ANNALS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE: "Hackers stole $2.3 million from the Wisconsin Republican Party's account that was being used to help reelect President Donald Trump in the key battleground state, the party's chairman told The Associated Press on Thursday," the AP's Scott Bauer reports. "The party noticed the suspicious activity on Oct. 22 and contacted the FBI on Friday, said Republican Party Chairman Andrew Hitt. Hitt said the FBI is investigating. FBI spokesman Leonard Peace did not immediately return a message seeking comment." Hitt said the stolen money would have been used in the final days of the campaign to make snap spending decisions based on the state of the race. | | | — The Internet Association has hired Christina Martin as senior vice president for communications and public affairs. She previously started Rosehill Strategic and worked as a consultant. Before that, she served as executive vice president at the Corn Refiners Association. — Invariant has hired Lawren Geer to work with the firm's health care clients and Lyle Yoder to work with tax and financial services clients. Geer previously worked for the American Society of Clinical Oncology and Yoder was previously an aide to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). — Forbes Tate Partners has added Caitlin Gallagher as a senior director on its insights team and Eric Kim and Taliesin Gabriel as senior analysts on its research and policy analysis team. Gallagher previously worked for Purple Strategies. Kim was previously the National Republican Congressional Committee's deputy political director. Gabriel previously worked at a boutique litigation firm.
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| | | 2nd to None Anna Paulina Luna, Aliscia Andrews, and Diana Harshbarger Victory Fund (2nd to None PAC, Anna Paulina Luna for Congress, Andrews for Congress, Diana for Congress) | | | Data Driven Platforms (PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | American Defense International, Inc.: Calviri, Inc.
American Defense International, Inc.: Oragenics, Inc.
Artemis Policy Group LLC: Child Neurology Foundation
Ben Nighthorse Consultants, Inc.: Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma
ChristianaCare: ChristianaCare
Frinzi & Associates: Konstantin Bas
FTI Government Affairs: Ocular Science/OSRX
Jenner & Block LLP: Global Trading Systems, LLC
McAllister & Quinn, LLC: HOYA Corporation USA, LSI Division
McAllister & Quinn, LLC: The High Technology Foundation
Niskanen Center For Public Policy: Niskanen Center For Public Policy
The Vogel Group: Basalt Engineering LLC | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Command Solutions, LLC: Advanced Biocide Technologies, Inc.
Envision Strategy: Cayuga Medical Center
HBW Resources: Anbaric Development Partners, LLC
HBW Resources: Ontario Teachers Pension Plan
Mr. Raymond E. Bye: Nhu Energy, Inc. | | | | A message from Facebook: Explore Facebook's Voting Information Center
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