Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Blue Star amends FARA paperwork

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By Caitlin Oprysko

With Daniel Lippman

BLUE STAR AMENDS FARA PAPERWORK: After a pair of Republican senators raised questions last week about "inconsistencies" in Blue Star Strategies' recent retroactive FARA filings for the firm's work on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Burisma and a company executive, the firm filed an amendment late last week to correct the date originally provided for a meeting with a U.S. government official.

— According to the amendment filed with the Justice Department on Friday, Blue Star's initial filing "inadvertently indicated" that it had helped set up a meeting with State Department official Amos Hochstein in February 2016, when the meeting actually occurred on March 24 of that year. A second meeting disclosed in Blue Star Strategies' initial retroactive filing from earlier this month, with then-State official Catherine Novelli , "is correctly indicated as occurring in March 2016; specifically" on March 1, the filing says.

— The correction was filed days after Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who investigated Blue Star's work for Burisma as part of a probe into President Joe Biden's son Hunter, accused the firm's founders Karen Tramontano and Sally Painter in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland of filing "incomplete and misleading information with the Department of Justice."

— The senators pointed to testimony from Tramontano and Painter themselves that provided different dates for two meetings with Hochstein about accusations of corruption against the Burisma executive, Mykola Zlochevsky (also known as Nikolai). Tramontano and Painter told the committee that their first meeting with Hochstein took place in December 2015 and that a second meeting took place on March 24, 2016.

— The amended filing still does not include the December meeting with Hochstein, nor does it include at least nine other meetings between Tramontano or Painter and U.S. officials on Burisma's behalf that Blue Star Strategies disclosed as part of the GOP-led Senate inquiry.

DIRECTV ADDS 2 MORE: DirecTV continues to build out its lobbying operations after the satellite TV giant's separation from AT&T closed last year. Disclosures filed over the weekend show the company added Ogilvy Government Relations and Forbes-Tate Partners to its growing roster of outside lobbying firms in April.

— Both Ogilvy and Forbes Tate will lobby on retransmission consent reform, consumer privacy and media ownership, according to the filings. (Retransmission consent refers to the system by which broadcasters are paid for sharing their content with cable and satellite providers.)

— DirecTV has also brought on a team of lobbyists from Farragut Partners that includes former Rep. Ed Whitfield , and registered its own in-house lobbyist, Dan Walsh, in the past few months, according to lobbying disclosures.

Good afternoon and welcome to PI. What's going on out there? Reach out: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

 

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WILLIAMS & JENSEN LOBBYIST HEADS TO ACLI: Marti Thomas has joined the American Council of Life Insurers as vice president for taxation, trade and international issues. Thomas, a longtime aide to former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, was most recently a principal at Williams & Jensen, where she lobbied for clients including Pfizer, the Vanguard Group, Ripple Labs and the Reinsurance Association of America. She's also a Bockorny Group, Gephardt Government Affairs and Treasury alum.

APPLE'S GREEN CREDS CHALLENGED BY TRADE GROUP MEMBERSHIPS: "In 2009, Apple Inc. quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to protest the trade association's opposition to federal climate regulations. But a few years later, the consumer tech company that Forbes once called the world's 'most sustainable' joined the U.S. Chamber's Texas affiliate, which continues to fight climate action," E&E News' Corbin Hiar reports.

— "Apple's ties to the Texas Association of Business are detailed in a new report provided to E&E News by the Campaign for Accountability 's Tech Transparency Project. 'By supporting TAB, Apple has associated itself with climate views that undermine its public image as an environmental champion,' the watchdog group wrote in the report released today."

— "The report also highlights Apple's involvement with business groups in Europe and Japan that fought climate regulations; its membership in trade associations that oppose legislation to make electronic devices easier to repair; and its leading role at the Business Roundtable , which helped kill the 'Build Back Better' climate spending bill. The findings are based on Apple's 2020 list of trade association memberships, the most recent one that's publicly available. TAB and Apple didn't respond to requests for comment."

— "TAB's energy advocacy efforts appear to clash with Apple's stated climate commitments. The company says its global corporate operations have been carbon neutral since 2020, and it aims for its products to reach net-zero emissions by the end of the decade. Apple CEO Tim Cook has also said companies 'have a responsibility to lead on climate and sustainability.'"

— "But Apple's dealings with the U.S. Chamber and its Texas affiliate reveal an inconsistent commitment to addressing climate change, said Luke Metzger, the executive director of Environment Texas."

ZINKE PAC FACES SPENDING QUESTIONS: A fundraising group run by Ryan Zinke, the former congressman and Interior secretary dogged by ethics scandals, has raised millions of dollars — mostly from small donors — ostensibly to help elect Republican military veterans. "But the reality is different," Roll Call's John Donnelly writes.

— "A CQ Roll Call analysis has found that nearly a quarter of the 129 candidates who have gotten SEAL PAC money so far in the 2022 election cycle never served in the U.S. military. Nearly all of those nonveterans are GOP members of the House and Senate, a group that largely supports former President Donald Trump."

— "SEAL PAC's ads all strongly suggest the group raises money solely for Republicans who are military veterans. The group's 'mission,' its website says, is 'electing conservative veterans.' The site depicts numerous SEAL PAC-backed candidates — with military service affiliations noted for each and every one."

— "If SEAL PAC is using the U.S. military's positive public image as bait to secure donations for not just veterans but also entrenched nonveteran politicians, that is not the only ethical question that has arisen about the group. Concerns have also come up about how little money the group spends on candidates at all, as opposed to 'operating expenditures.' And both Zinke and SEAL PAC's executive director, Rob Catron, have been ensnared in allegations of wrongdoing."

WARNER HUDDLES WITH CHIPMAKERS: More than a dozen CEOs and senior executives from the microchip industry are set to meet with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) today to discuss the industry's priorities as lawmakers work to hash out the differences between the House and Senate's China competitiveness bills, Brendan Bordelon reported this morning in Morning Tech.

— The Silicon Valley confab was being organized by the Semiconductor Industry Association , whose members include top chipmakers and which has pushed relentlessly for federal assistance in addressing a global chip shortage. While the meeting will undoubtedly touch on the $52 billion in manufacturing and research subsidies for the industry that is the centerpiece of both China bills, the trade group is also "eager to discuss shoehorning into the final package a 25-percent microchip investment tax credit," Brandon reports.

— "Congressional leadership has so far resisted pressure from the industry's friends on the Hill to include those credits in conference, citing worries that a new tax title would make it even harder to reconcile the sprawling bills."

— Warner, whose state is home to a large Micron factory, is a co-sponsor of the FABS Act, which would give chip companies a 25 percent tax credit to build manufacturing facilities in the U.S. But "Warner was noncommittal when asked in March about the need for a chip tax credit in the final competitiveness bill. At a May 12 conference meeting, Warner did suggest a tax title was needed — but, he added, lawmakers 'may have to wrestle with this a little bit.'"

MINE SAFETY COMMISSION HIT WITH ETHICS ACCUSATIONS: "A Republican commissioner on a federal mine safety agency sought advice on personnel matters from a closely held collection of outside advisers that appears to have included at least one coal industry executive," according to documents obtained by POLITICO's Matthew Choi.

— "The revelations prompted the commission's Democratic chair to request a review by an outside inspector general, alleging what appeared to be a violation of federal ethics rules. The disclosures come as the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent agency, is mired in partisan infighting among its members and numerous other allegations of financial malfeasance that have attracted the attention of federal investigators."

 

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

 
 
Jobs Report

Laurie Holmes is joining Kia's Washington office as senior manager for government and regulatory affairs. She previously worked at CalStart and the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association.

Sophia Zaller is now a CityCoins Fellow with the Stacks Open Internet Foundation. She will continue in her current role as a senior underwriter at Relm Insurance Ltd, a licensed commercial insurance carrier serving the cryptocurrency industry.

Samuel Gregg has been named a distinguished fellow in political economy and a senior research faculty member of the American Institute for Economic Research. He most recently was research director at the Acton Institute, where he spent 21 years.

Lippi Doshi has joined the Gates Foundation as a senior program officer of program advocacy and communications in family planning and maternal, newborn and child health, Morning Pulse reports. She was previously a senior adviser in communications on the USAID Covid-19 task Force.

Vote.org is adding 14 people to its staff, including new COO Kaitlyn Unger, communications director Nick Morrow and program manager Belinda C. Chiu.

Chris Kuzmuk is joining Bristol Myers Squibb as executive director for intercontinental, Japan, and Canada international policy and government affairs. He previously was associate vice president for Asia at PhRMA.

Tom Bush will be a senior adviser at Cambridge Global Advisors. He most recently was executive assistant administrator for the TSA, and is a CBP alum.

New Joint Fundraisers

Emilia Sykes Ohio Victory Fund (Emilia Sykes for Congress, Ohio Democratic Party)
Ohio Arizona Victory Fund (Rep. Tim Ryan, Sen. Mark Kelly )
Resiliency Fund (Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar)

New PACs

Ban Assault Weapons Now (Super PAC)
Citizens for Better Government Accountability PAC (Hybrid PAC)
Conservative Champions PAC (Super PAC)
Electing Republicans INdiana PAC (Leadership PAC: Erin Houchin)
FLORIDA LEADERSHIP PAC (Super PAC)
Professional Dental Alliance (PDA) PAC (PAC)

New Lobbying Registrations

Brevia Ltd: Aci Worldwide
Bridge Public Affairs, LLC: First International Resources On Behalf Of Saito Tech Ltd.
Commonwealth Strategic Partners, LLC: Ravn
Commonwealth Strategic Partners, LLC: The Landline Company
Forbes-Tate: Directv, LLC
Forbes-Tate: National Pest Management Association
Fti Government Affairs: American Chemistry Council
Fti Government Affairs: American Securities Association
Fti Government Affairs: Cemex, Inc.
Fti Government Affairs: Zentek
Jennifer Mcgillicuddy: African Development Bank
Ogilvy Government Relations: Directv, LLC
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: Alabama A&M University
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: Harris-Stowe State University
Squire Patton Boggs: The Modular Building Institute
Thorn Run Partners: Stryker Corporation
Tuell Law, P.C.: Owens Valley Indian Water Commission
Woolf Strategic Solutions Group: Enough Is Enough
Woolf Strategic Solutions Group: Safe House Project

New Lobbying Terminations

American Defense International, Inc.: Affinity Inc.
American Defense International, Inc.: Neomatrix Therapeutics
American Defense International, Inc.: Texas A&M
Cohen & Gresser LLP: Alliance For Longevity Initiatives
Cohen & Gresser LLP: Mercury Public Affairs LLC On Behalf Of Denbury Inc.
Cordone Consulting LLC: The Sierra Club
Jstrategy, LLC: Freedom For All Americans
Mcallister & Quinn, LLC: Paid Leave For The United States (Pl+US)
Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: American Public University System
Miller & Chevalier Chartered: Hexcel Corporation
M.J. Bradley & Associates, LLC: Bp Corporation North America
Perry Bayliss Government Relations, LLC: Neustar
Rolka Loube Saltzer LLC, Dba Rolka Loube: Rolka Loube Saltzer LLC, Dba Rolka Loube
Sustainable Strategies Dc: Headwaters Community Housing Trust

 

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