| | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by Tyson Foods | With Daniel Lippman JHO LOW, FUGEES RAPPER HIT WITH ILLEGAL LOBBYING CHARGES: The Justice Department this morning announced that a federal grand jury in D.C. had tacked on charges of illegal lobbying and money laundering to existing campaign finance charges against Malaysian businessperson Jho Low and rapper Pras Michel, accusing the pair of orchestrating a back-channel effort to persuade the Trump administration to drop an investigation into Low and send a Chinese dissident back to China. — GOP megadonor Elliott Broidy and Hawaiian businesswoman Nickie Lum Davis pleaded guilty last summer to felony charges for FARA violations in connection with the scheme to get former President Donald Trump to drop a probe into Low's development company 1MDB, which is at the center of an international bribery scandal. They also sought to persuade the administration to extradite Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui , an effort DOJ said was directed by China's vice minister of public security. Neither campaign was successful, and Trump pardoned Broidy on his final day in office in January, though Davis also spent $100,000 on an unfruitful lobbying effort for a pardon. — Low, a fugitive who is believed to be hiding out in China, and Michel, a rapper most known for his time with the '90s group the Fugees, have already been under indictment since 2019 for allegedly concealing the source of illegal foreign contributions to former President Barack Obama 's reelection campaign; Michel has pleaded not guilty to those charges. The indictment returned Thursday by the grand jury also charges Michel with witness tampering and conspiracy to make false statements to banks. — Last month POLITICO reported that Low and Michel's alleged co-conspirators Broidy and Davis shook up their legal teams "prompted, at least in part, by a mysterious court ruling partially unsealed last December and by news reports that identified some of the key players in it, sources familiar with the matter said." Happy Friday and welcome to PI. Send your finest K Street tips and gossip: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. | | | | A message from Tyson Foods: Leading global protein company, Tyson Foods announced its ambition to achieve net-zero emissions globally by 2050. "Achieving net zero emissions has to be more than just words. It must be done together, rooted in science, so that we can truly make an impact," said John R. Tyson, Chief Sustainability Officer, Tyson Foods. Learn more about the company's primary focus areas to get there here. | | | SBA SCRAMBLES TO FIX GRANT PROGRAM FOR VENUES: The Small Business Association has shaken up the team of officials overseeing its troubled pandemic aid program for live entertainment venues and has told operators to expect grant approvals as part of the program enacted in December to ramp up beginning next week. — The program had been led "by the SBA's Office of Disaster Assistance, which is also responsible for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program — another rescue effort that was plagued by operational problems that crimped the delivery of aid during the pandemic," POLITICO's Zach Warmbrodt reports. Now SBA is "bringing in additional support from the Office of Capital Access, which is responsible for the nearly $1 trillion Paycheck Protection Program and the $28.6 billion restaurant grant program," the operation of which the industry has been largely complimentary of. — The venue program has been marred by issues since April, when its application portal crashed and was down for weeks. "Since then, businesses have reported major problems with the agency's vetting process, including erroneous notices turning away applicants because they showed up as dead during an SBA review," and the agency announced earlier this week that it had only signed off on $128 million in grants to 90 applicants out of 14,000 applications seeking $11.4 billion. "The SBA realizes the critical need to increase processing speed for Shuttered Venues applicants," agency spokesperson Carol Wilkerson said. "The current pace of awards is not reflective of the high standards that we strive to meet." — Audrey Fix Schaefer, a spokesperson for the National Independent Venue Association , one of several live entertainment groups that wrote to lawmakers this week to complain about the beleaguered aid program, told PI in an email that SBA has said grant applicants should expect to see approvals ramp up beginning on Monday. "Desperate fingers are tightly crossed that this is so," she added. TAFT ADDS 2 ENERGY HANDS: Law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister's newly launched lobbying shop, Taft Advisors, has hired Becky Sczudlo and Cory Horton as vice presidents, adding energy prowess to its public affairs practice as it continues to ramp up staffing in its reopened Washington office. Sczudlo previously spent almost two decades with natural gas and electric provider NiSource , where she served as vice president of federal affairs. Horton is a House Homeland Security and Bennie Thompson alum and most recently was a director of government affairs for utility Entergy. E-COMMERCE VS. BRICK AND MORTAR: Amazon and other online marketplaces like eBay, Poshmark and Etsy "are waging a lobbying war to scuttle bills pushed by brick-and-mortar retailers who want to require their online rivals to disclose more information about third-party sellers," Axios' Ashley Harding McGill reports. — The online retailers, who are part of dueling coalitions comprising big box stores such as Walmart, CVS, Target and Home Depot, notched a win this week when the Senate passed its China-centric competition package without including the INFORM Act, which would compel e-commerce sites to verify the identity of third party sellers in an effort to deter the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods. — Amazon and its peers have sought to defeat the bill both at the federal level and in statehouses across the country, arguing the transparency requirements pose privacy and safety concerns for sellers, while brick-and-mortar retailers have complained that stolen and counterfeit goods showing up online has become an even worse problem as the industry has been hit hard during the pandemic. | | | | DON'T MISS THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO will feature a special edition of our Future Pulse newsletter at the 2021 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators who are turning lessons learned from the past year into a healthier, more resilient and more equitable future. Covid-19 threatened our health and well-being, while simultaneously leading to extraordinary coordination to improve pandemic preparedness, disease prevention, diversity in clinical trials, mental health resources, food access and more. SUBSCRIBE TODAY to receive exclusive coverage from June 22-23. | | | | | WHAT JASON MILLER IS UP TO: "Longtime senior Donald Trump adviser Jason Miller is taking over as chief executive officer of a tech startup company that could be used by the former president," POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt and Meridith McGraw report. "Miller's company is currently developing a social media platform that is being considered for use by Trump. People familiar with the discussions stress that no final decision has been made by the former president about which platform he will use." — "Conservatives have been seeking out a new social media platform since Trump's removal from Twitter and Facebook," which the latter announced last week will uphold the former president's ban until at least 2023. "Miller has spent recent days in conversation with top right-leaning figures about his new project," with additional hires possible soon. Miller, who has served as a spokesperson for Trump since the president left office in January, and has been an aide since the 2016 campaign, will remain with the Trump team, though not in a "full-time, day-to-day role." — "Last week, Trump removed the blog portion of his website, which posted widely circulated statements, over frustration with its reception. Regardless, Trump's comments are widely shared and he has liked his current system of dictating statements to aides and emailing them to a distribution list." ICYMI THURSDAY — INSIDE DONORS' LOBBYING FOR AMBASSADOR POSTS: "Four months into the Joe Biden administration, it's hard for the president's top aides to scroll through their inboxes without finding dozens of unsolicited letters of introduction and recommendations pinged in from increasingly agitated corners of East Hampton, Beverly Hills, and Miami Beach," New York Magazine's Gabriel Debenedetti writes. — "Inside the emails — described to New York by multiple Democrats familiar with the deluge over the past few weeks — are résumés, memos, and pitches from donors, celebrities, and occasional influencers. They don't all say it explicitly, but most of them want the same thing: some sort of overseas posting." — "'Ambassadorships are the closest things we have to somebody being declared a lord or a lady,' explained one Biden-friendly former elected official turned top lobbyist whose phone won't stop ringing with wannabe ambassadors on the line. 'It's a title, but it's tombstone shit for a lot of people. It's in their New York Times obituary, which is especially attractive for somebody who hasn't served in government.'" | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | | | | — Charlie Moskowitz has been named vice president for policy and government affairs at SecurityScorecard. He was previously an executive at Signal Group and served as Democratic policy director for the Senate Homeland Security Committee under Claire McCaskill. — N Street Village chief executive Schroeder Stribling is leaving the D.C. housing nonprofit after 18 years to become president and CEO of Mental Health America. She'll take over for Paul Gionfriddo, who is retiring. — The Commerce Department has made a slate of comms hires: Jenny Kaplan is the now senior adviser for private sector engagement, Caitlin Legacki is senior adviser for strategic communications and Scott Mulhauser is senior adviser to Secretary Gina Raimondo focusing on her work on the administration's "Build Back Better" agenda. Kaplan was most recently at the Greater Washington Partnership, Legacki was most recently at House Majority PAC and Mulhauser is on leave from Bully Pulpit Interactive. | | | None. | | | |   | | | | | | CheckYourVote (PAC)
The President Donald J. Trump Legacy PAC (Super PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | Alston & Bird LLP: American Benefits Council
Avisa Partners US, Inc.: Mclane Company Inc.
Bose Public Affairs Group: Global Campaign For Education- US
Boundary Stone Partners: Glidepath, LLC
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Washington Media Group Obo Tipco Asphalt Public Company Limited
Dentons US LLP: Brightmark
Dentons US LLP: Buckhead Business Improvement District
Dentons US LLP: City Of Indianapolis
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP: Shedd Aquarium
Focus Dc LLC: Appharvest, Inc.
Holland & Knight LLP: Woodside Ranch, LLC
Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): Albert J. Dwoskin
Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: Grup Immobiliari Cierco
Mr. Landon Fulmer: Three Crosses Regional Hospital
Potomac Partners Dc: Caloptima
Prime Policy Group: Puerto Rico House Of Representatives
Salt Point Strategies: Navigators Global LLC On Behalf Of Cbrs Alliance
Sc Partners LLC: Northland Power Inc.
Squire Patton Boggs: Bartlett Maritime Corp.
The Keelen Group, LLC: Community Restoration Alliance
The Livingston Group, LLC: Adam Terry & Co. LLC (On Behalf Of City Of Alexandria La)
The Livingston Group, LLC: Adam Terry & Co. LLC (On Behalf Of City Of Jonesboro Ar)
The Livingston Group, LLC: Adam Terry & Co. LLC (On Behalf Of City Of Ruston La)
The Livingston Group, LLC: Adam Terry & Co. LLC (On Behalf Of Grambling State University)
The Normandy Group, LLC: Criterion Systems
Transatlantic Services, LLC: Vs Lobbying | | | | A message from Tyson Foods: Tyson Foods announced its ambition to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally by 2050. The move to net zero is an expansion of the company's current science-based target of achieving a 30% GHG emissions reduction by 2030.
"Achieving net zero emissions has to be more than just words. It must be done together, rooted in science, so that we can truly make an impact." said John R. Tyson, Chief Sustainability Officer, Tyson Foods.
As a first step, the company will be focusing in on key areas including:
• Updating baseline emissions target to align with the Paris Agreement by 2023.
• Establishing a pathway to using 50% renewable energy in the U.S. by 2030.
• Expanding land stewardship targets and grazing lands program by 2025.
• Eliminating deforestation risk globally by 2030.
Learn more about how the company plans to get there here. | | | | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.: Ebay
Von Batten-Montague-York: Tigray Center For Information And Communication | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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