| | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | | | With Daniel Lippman FARA FRIDAY: Federal prosecutors overseeing a series of high-profile cases into violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act fired back this week at a motion by a Hawaii businesswoman to disqualify one of the lead prosecutors in the case over allegations that the prosecutor, DOJ Public Integrity Section Principal Deputy Chief John Keller, had conspired with her then-attorney, prominent white collar lawyer Abbe Lowell, to coerce her to plead guilty to charges she did not commit. — The businesswoman, Nickie Lum Davis, pleaded guilty in August 2020 to aiding and abetting FARA violations by failing to publicly disclose a campaign to persuade the Trump administration to end a probe into the looting of a massive Malaysian investment fund, 1MDB, by a Malaysian businessman. — The scheme Davis admitted to also involved Elliott Broidy , a former RNC deputy finance chair, who pleaded guilty to a similar charge two months later but was pardoned by former President Donald Trump, as well as Prakazrel "Pras" Michel, a rapper and member of the hip-hop trio the Fugees who has yet to go on trial. As part of her guilty plea, Davis agreed to cooperate with the government and serve as a witness in their cases against Broidy and Michel. — Though Davis lobbied the White House for a pardon as well, her pleas went unanswered, and she has since sought — unsuccessfully — to have the case against her thrown out as a result of Broidy's pardon. Late last year, Davis' new legal team filed a legal ethics complaint against Keller and a bar complaint against Lowell. Now they are asking for the Justice Department's internal watchdog to investigate prosecutors' conduct in the case. — Lawyers for Davis accused Keller of acting unethically by negotiating her plea deal with her then-lawyer Abbe Lowell while Lowell was involved in a separate inquiry into what a judge called a "bribery for pardon" probe that included potential LDA violations. That inquiry was taking place around the same time as Davis' plea but was only revealed to the public months later, when a federal judge in D.C. unsealed an opinion she'd handed down one business day before Davis' plea. Davis later replaced Lowell on her legal team. — In court filings submitted last week, Davis attorneys Bill McCorriston and James Bryant expanded upon those allegations, charging that Lowell became aware "he was at least a person of interest to some type of DOJ investigation" as he was hashing out her plea deal. They have argued that Davis had not known the full extent of Lowell's potential conflicts of interest in representing her when she signed a waiver of those potential conflicts as part of her 2020 plea. — McCorriston and Bryant pointed to a POLITICO report that Keller was overseeing both matters, and that Lowell had retained a lawyer for the "bribery-for-pardon" issue in June, raising questions about when Lowell learned of the inquiry and giving Lowell what McCorriston and Bryant called "an obvious incentive to please the prosecutors who could potentially soon prosecute him in a different matter." — In a response filed on Wednesday, the government called Davis' claims "as readily disprovable as they are fantastic." Prosecutors said that during a review of Broidy's communications in late June 2020, investigators came across "communications involving Lowell … that exposed him to potential criminal liability." — Investigators then alerted a so-called filter team to determine whether any of that information was privileged, according to the government, and were immediately blocked from accessing the communications while they were reviewed. They asserted that "Keller never initiated an investigation of Lowell, and only the filter team was aware of the evidence giving rise to potential exposure for Lowell at the time of the plea." — That wasn't the only inquiry involving Lowell that cropped up during the time he represented Davis, according to prosecutors. During Davis' interviews with investigators, the government said that they learned Lowell may have represented several "foreign national subjects of unrelated national security investigations" Davis was asked about. — Around late August or early September 2019, prosecutors said they became aware that DOJ's FARA Unit "assessed that Lowell might have an obligation to register pursuant to FARA based on his former representation" with those foreign nationals. Prosecutors said they ceased contact with Lowell for nearly a year to avoid alerting Lowell to that inquiry, which ended with the FARA Unit deciding it had "insufficient information" to determine whether Lowell was obligated to register. — "While I am unable at this time to respond as I would like, the assertions regarding any inappropriate conduct on my part are no more accurate or fair now than when made earlier in the year," Lowell told PI, maintaining that "I complied with all of my ethical obligations in advising Ms. Davis." — Davis was set to be sentenced on June 2, but U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Kobayashi, an appointee of former President Barack Obama based in Honolulu, on Monday postponed indefinitely Davis' sentencing until after Davis' motion to disqualify is decided. Davis' legal team must reply to the government's response by Wednesday, and a hearing on the matter is set for May 18. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. TGIF, y'all. Send tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
| | | | A message from ACT|The App Association: Open and fair competition in the digital marketplace drives our members' success, but the proposals in the Open App Markets Act will hinder our small business members' opportunity for continued prosperity. https://actonline.org/2022/04/04/give-small-developers-a-chance-not-higher-barriers-to-entry/ | | | WALDEN REGISTERS TO LOBBY: Former Rep. Greg Walden, the onetime head of the House GOP's campaign arm and former chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has registered to lobby for the first time since leaving office last year. After opting not to run for reelection in 2020, Walden formed the consulting firm Alpine Advisors as an outcrop of the lobbying firm Alpine Group Partners, telling PI at the time that "there'll be enough opportunity" in the strategic advising space without needing to seek out registrable lobbying work. — This week, Alpine Advisors registered to lobby on behalf of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation, the marijuana legalization advocacy group that Walden co-chairs. Walden also lobbied for several of Alpine Group's clients, according to first quarter disclosure filings. Walden lobbied his former colleagues on energy transition, hydrogen and carbon sequestration issues on behalf of Tallgrass Energy Partners but was also part of a team that lobbied on behalf of the Dutch chipmaker ASML on the China competitiveness package being negotiated now in a conference committee, which would provide $52 billion to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. K STREET'S BILLION DOLLAR QUARTER: "This year is on track for record lobbying spending after lobbyists collectively clocked the biggest first quarter haul in history – with more than $1 billion disclosed during the first quarter of 2022 alone," OpenSecrets' Anna Massoglia reports. — "At this point in 2021, 10,503 lobbyists had brought in less than $929 million across all industries. The federal budget was the most lobbied issue from January through March, with 3,394 clients paying for lobbying on the issue. Health issues were also heavily lobbied, with 2,068 clients. Lobbying related to health continues to dominate spending as recovery from the coronavirus pandemic continues." — "The health sector accounted for about $187 million in this year's first quarter and $689 million over the course of 2021. Of the 3,130 lobbyists working for the health sector last year, nearly half – 47.8% – had taken a swing in the revolving door as former government employees. Within the sector, the pharmaceuticals and health products industry continues to be a top lobbying spender as various companies fight drug pricing regulations, grapple with supply chain issues and seek approval for vaccinations."
| | | | INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | PI SPORTS BLINK: The heads of some of the country's most powerful amateur sports bodies were in Washington on Thursday, with commissioners George Kliavkoff of the Pac-12 and Greg Sankey of the Southeastern Conference joining with U.S. Olympic Committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland and senators from both parties, and their staff, on the need for federal legislation governing name, image and likeness regulations for college athletes. A patchwork of state NIL rules and deep-pocketed donors have prompted concerns from both the NCAA and lawmakers alike about the current system, but legislation on the federal level has been marred in partisan disputes including over whether student athletes should be classified as employees — a possibility the commissioners sought to stave off. — Kliavkoff and Sankey met with Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), as well as senior staff for GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), himself a former Auburn University football coach. — "The Pac-12 greatly appreciates the opportunity to engage in productive conversations with US senators in an effort to create NIL legislation that protects our student-athletes while allowing them to maximize their opportunities," Kliavkoff said in a statement, adding that, "at the same time, we had the opportunity to discuss the very serious negative implications for student-athletes should they be classified as employees." — In a statement, Blackburn praised the recent news that NCAA Mark Emmert would soon retire, telling PI that "for far too long, the NCAA has refused to allow student-athletes to benefit from the use of their name, image, likeness" and calling Emmert's departure "one of many necessary structural changes that will enable the NCAA to support our student-athletes."
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | — Kim Knackstedt is now senior fellow on the disability economic justice team at The Century Foundation. She most recently was director of disability policy for the Domestic Policy Council at the White House. — Waxman Strategies has promoted Kahaari Kenyatta to director in the health policy practice. — Khalid Pitts is now vice president of policy, advocacy and coalitions at the Rockefeller Foundation. He previously was national political director at the Sierra Club and president and board chair of USAction, and is co-owner of Cork Wine Bar & Market. — Jay Truesdale is joining Veracity Worldwide as CEO. He most recently was an associate partner at McKinsey , and is a State Department alum and a Navy vet. — Steve Minarik is now director of legislative affairs at Textron. He most recently was manager for Washington operations at Bell Flight. — James Conway has joined the lobbying and policy team at Thompson Coburn as a legislative assistant specializing in education and energy issues. He most recently served as a legislative correspondent to Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass). — Mark Schuermann has joined HSBC USA as U.S. head of public affairs. The bank also hired Dan Taylor as senior vice president of federal government relations. Schuermann joins HSBC from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, where he was head of federal government and international affairs. Taylor most recently served as the financial services policy adviser to Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.). — Ted Stiger has been promoted to chief external affairs and policy officer at the Rural Community Assistance Partnership. He was previously senior director of government affairs and policy at the organization. — Nicole Russell is now executive director of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools. She was most recently deputy director of government relations at the National Military Family Association.
| | | | A message from ACT|The App Association:   | | | | | | None.
| | | Florida Trust (Super PAC)
Summit Utilities, Inc. Political Action Committee (Summit PAC) (PAC)
| | New Lobbying Registrations | | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Port Of Corpus Christi Authority
Alpine Advisors: Coalition For Cannabis Policy, Education And Regulation
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP: San Francisco General Hospital Foundation
Cgcn Group, LLC (Formerly Known As Clark Geduldig Cranford & Nielsen, LLC): Exelon Corporation
Ott Bielitzki & O'Neill Pllc: Gruppo Icm S.P.A.
Riverside Strategic Solutions, LLC: City Of Gardner, Ks
Ryan Costello Strategies: Signature Science, LLC
Sivon Natter & Wechsler, P.C. (Fka Barnett Sivon & Natter, P.C.): Ameriprise Financial
Strategies 360: Western States College Of Construction
Tarplin, Downs & Young, LLC: Flagship Pioneering
The Ferguson Group: Texas Alliance Of Energy Producers
Venable LLP: Cerebral Palsy Foundation
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Capstone National Partners: At&T
Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca: Aqua Conscience, Inc.
Dogwood Strategies: Smile Direct Club
Galbut Beabeau, Pc: Vantage Retirement Plans, L.L.C.
Gotham Government Relations: Logic Technology Development LLC
Hodgkins Consulting, LLC: American Psychological Association Services, Inc.
Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP: Bioflyte, Inc.
Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP: Rt Aerostat Systems, Inc.
Lobbyit.Com: Ocg Fiber
Madison Government Affairs: Alluvionic Inc.
Maine Street Solutions, LLC: Era Coalition
Mayer Brown LLP: Coinbase Inc.
Pace, LLP: California Farm Bureau Federation
Riverside Strategic Solutions, LLC: Novoaglobal, Inc
US Policy Strategies: Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Wexford Solutions LLC: Omnicell 340B (Fka: Psg LLC)
Wexford Solutions LLC: Rxstrategies
Wexford Solutions LLC: Rxstrategies
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale And Dorr LLP: Informal Coalition Of Trade Credit Insurers
| | | | A message from ACT|The App Association: When the largest sellers on the app stores, with multi-billion-dollar valuations, come to Congress with proposals to reshape the mobile marketplace to suit their needs, policymakers should be rather skeptical. We urge Congress not to sacrifice consumers' most important privacy and security protections–and with them, the competitive prospects of small app companies–in order to further advantage the app stores' biggest winners. https://actonline.org/2022/04/04/give-small-developers-a-chance-not-higher-barriers-to-entry/ | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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