| | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by Freight Rail Works | DOJ SUES WYNN TO COMPEL FARA REGISTRATION: The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against casino magnate Steve Wynn in a bid to force the onetime RNC finance chair to register as a foreign agent of the Chinese government in connection with a 2017 effort to secure the extradition of a Chinese billionaire living in the U.S. — In a rare civil complaint filed on Tuesday in federal court in Washington, the department said it had determined as far back as 2018 that Wynn had an obligation to register under FARA, but that despite ordering him to do so three separate times, Wynn never registered. DOJ is seeking an injunction from the court to force him to comply with the statute, which would be just the second time in three decades a court has done so (in the previous instance, in 2019, RM Broadcasting was forced to register its work for a Russian state-owned media outlet after DOJ countersued). — It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that DOJ is taking such a drastic step. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that the department had informed Wynn that it had determined he needed to register and that it was "preparing to go to court to force him to comply," but it's also "a natural consequence and follow-on to what the department has been saying it intends to do with regard to FARA" enforcement, said Josh Rosenstein, a lawyer at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock who advises clients on FARA compliance. — David Laufman, who previously ran the FARA Unit and is now at the law firm Wiggin and Dana, told PI that in his view, "the department's been exceedingly generous to" Wynn by giving him multiple chances to register — though Wynn's attorneys have told news outlets that they disagree, and plan to fight the determination in court. — "It's clear that the department reached the end of its rope, felt like they had given him every opportunity to to become compliant and determined that it was now appropriate to dust off a legal authority that had not been used in over 30 years by affirmatively seeking civil injunctive relief," Laufman said. He and Rosenstein agreed that the allegations, as laid out in the suit, make a strong case for registration. — Still, FARA lawyers don't expect such lawsuits to become a common occurrence even with DOJ stepping up its enforcement of the statute, mostly because the majority of cases don't make it to that point. "It's rarely necessary, because most parties who receive a determination by the department that they have an obligation to register proceed to do so," noted Laufman. — Rosenstein added that, generally, "my clients would prefer not to reach the point where the department has made a determination that they need to register at all." At that point, he advises them typically that "it is preferable to register than it would be to face criminal or civil enforcement." — Still, there are benefits to this method of seeking compliance, from the lower bar for winning relief to sidestepping "the political realities that the department faced when bringing really successful charges against prior dependents where those charges were wiped clean with pardons," Rosenstein said, alluding to allies of Donald Trump who were pardoned by the then-president after pleading guilty to FARA violations. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. What's going on out there? Send K Street tips, gossip and musings: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
| | A message from Freight Rail Works: America could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 million tons a year if we shipped more freight by rail — and that's only the beginning. We're collaborating with experts, research universities and government agencies to develop more environmentally friendly ways to power locomotives. Learn what we're doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as we enter a more sustainable era of freight rail. | | | SENATE TO VOTE ON SMALL-BUSINESS COVID BILL: Restaurants, gyms, minor league sports teams and allies of other small businesses hit hard by the pandemic are making their final pitches for federal Covid relief ahead of a key vote in the Senate on Thursday. The chamber will vote on motion to proceed a $48 billion package from Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), which the pair sought to rally votes for earlier this week as its prospects for success remain up in the air. — "This bill is the product of months of bipartisan negotiation and incorporates funding priorities supported by members on both sides of the aisle," Cardin and Wicker said in a letter to other senators Monday, even as they conceded that the bill would be mostly deficit-funded — a chief complaint of Republicans weary of additional government spending. "While we understand that there is a desire to see the legislation fully offset, the situation for these industries is too dire to ignore any longer," they wrote. — In a letter to Cardin and Wicker sent today, the National Restaurant Association made the case for awarding a final round of aid by noting that the pandemic aid program started for restaurants last year "worked as planned, helping restaurants stay in business and serve their communities." — "In fact, 92% of RRF recipients said the grant helped them pay expenses or debt that had accumulated since the beginning of the pandemic," according to the trade group's research, its top lobbyist, Sean Kennedy, wrote. But the meager amount of funds allocated for the program initially "unfairly pitted restaurants against each other in a battle where Congress ultimately chose the winners and losers," he argued. — More than 30 businesses and trade associations, led by the Independent Restaurant Coalition, made a similar point in their own letter to senators today, warning that the lack of funds means "nearly 200,000 small businesses have been left behind and now four out of five of these restaurants and bars are in danger of closing permanently, threatening all of the livelihoods they support." — In an interview, International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association President and CEO Liz Clark was clear that the industry views Thursday's vote as its last chance for pandemic aid. "We're cautiously optimistic, hoping that Congress finally does the right thing," she said from the Hill, where IHRSA has been conducting a fly-in. "This is an opportunity ... for Congress to do right, you know? So much relief was given to so many other industries. And this would be the opportunity for that." AIRLINES REVIVE PUSH TO LOOSEN PILOT TRAINING RULES: "Some aviation interests have begun lobbying for changes to the rule that requires anyone flying a commercial airplane have at least 1,500 hours of flight time, in the process mobilizing the families of the victims of the plane crash that helped put the requirement into place more than a decade ago," POLITICO's Oriana Pawlyk reports. — "Lobbying to loosen that standard has cropped up and died back ever since Congress created the law in 2010, following probes into a Colgan Air regional jet crash near Buffalo, N.Y. in 2009 that killed 49 people. And with the next FAA reauthorization bill in sight and flight demand surging after two years of pandemic lockdowns, efforts to change those standards have begun afresh." — "Last month, Republic Airways filed a request for an exemption with the FAA, asking that it be allowed to halve the hours requirement for its own pilot force. And other aviation groups have begun pushing lawmakers to allow pilots to count more simulator time toward the requirement." — "Entreaties to weaken the 1,500 hour standard aren't likely to find many fans among Democrats, especially those who are focused on aviation policy. … But that calculus could be different if Republicans gain control of Congress after the midterm elections."
| | | | 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. | | | | | FLYING IN: The Energy Marketers of America (formerly known as the Petroleum Marketers Association of America), which represents energy marketers of motor and heating fuel products, is holding its first in-person fly-in since 2019. More than 200 energy marketers representing 47 state associations are set to meet with lawmakers and staff to address truck driver shortages and fuel prices. Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) addressed the group during its opening session on Tuesday. — AXPC , which represents American oil and gas producers, is wrapping up its fly-in today, which included a virtual meeting with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. Over the past two days, the trade group has met with Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Angus King (I-Maine) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and more than a dozen House members to promote the "importance of domestic energy production to meet economic, security, and climate needs," the group said. IF YOU MISSED IT TUESDAY: In case there wasn't enough news on the foreign lobbying front, The New York Times' David Kirkpatrick and Mark Mazzetti report that "Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a businessman and longtime friend who acted as an informal adviser to former President Donald J. Trump, sought money from the United Arab Emirates in early 2017 for an investment fund that would seek both to boost Mr. Trump's agenda and to benefit from his policies, federal prosecutors said in a court filing on Tuesday." — "Prosecutors cited the effort in a superseding indictment in a case in which they charged Mr. Barrack last July with acting as an unregistered agent for the United Arab Emirates, conspiring with the Emiratis to influence the Trump campaign and the White House, and lying to investigators." — "The new indictment cited the proposed fund as evidence that Mr. Barrack sought to profit from his advocacy for the Emiratis with Mr. Trump and his circle. The indictment quoted emails and text messages from April 2017 stating that while traveling in the Middle East, Mr. Barrack could 'pitch' the idea in a meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed , the Emirati ruler, whose title then was the crown prince of Abu Dhabi." — "There is no evidence that the proposed pro-Trump venture ever materialized or that Mr. Barrack had the meeting with the crown prince. But the indictment noted that in the following months, Emirati sovereign wealth funds invested a total of $374 million in two deals sponsored by the giant real estate company Mr. Barrack led, now known as DigitalBridge Group and formerly known as Colony Capital." SPOTTED on Tuesday night at a party to celebrate the promotion of Invariant GOP health care lobbyist Chris Gillott, who was recently named a principal at the firm: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Saat Alety of Allstate, Ralph Tyler of TriNet, Pranay Udutha of QuantumScape, Mandi Miller of Palantir, Leah Evangelista of the Children's Hospital Association, Chad Heflin of the International Air Transport Association, Bill Cody of the Federal Maritime Commission and Invariant's Katie Wise, Ben Klein, Carolyn Coda, Dena Baron Smith, Joey Smith and Heather Podesta.
| | | | A message from Freight Rail Works:   | | | | | | — Joel Rubin is now the vice president for global policy and public affairs at the National Peace Corps Association. He most recently was the executive director of the American Jewish Congress and is also an Obama State Department alum. — Jamie Singer is now a managing director in FTI Consulting's cybersecurity and data privacy comms group. She previously was executive vice president and director of data security, privacy and crisis comms at Resolute Strategic Services. — Geoff Lane has rejoined the Developers Alliance as head of U.S. policy, leading advocacy on the Hill and in agencies and serving as primary liaison with the U.S. tech policy community. Lane was previously in senior roles at SEMI and CompTIA. — Joe Kochan is the new executive director at the National Spectrum Consortium. He was most recently co-founder and CEO of US Ignite, and previously worked as a federal program officer for NTIA. — Grant Spellmeyer will become the new ACA Connects chairman. He was previously vice president of government affairs at U.S. Cellular Corp. — Peebles Kidder Bergin & Robinson has hired Xavier Barraza as senior associate and lobbyist. Barraza is co-founder of 7Gen Leaders, a super PAC that supported now-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland 's congressional run, and is a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs alum. — Rachael Jamison has joined the American Wood Council as vice president of markets and sustainability. — BlueLabs has hired Sadia Iqbal as vice president of the insights division and promoted Eric Hernandez to chief of staff to the CEO. Iqbal was most recently vice president of data and analytics at 270 Strategies and is an Obama campaign, White House and DNC alum.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | None.
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| | New Lobbying Registrations | | Avenue Solutions: Cornerstone Government Affairs (On Behalf Of Rusp Coalition)
Bromelkamp Government Relations, LLC: Enfos, Inc.
Drummond Woodsum Strategic Consulting LLC: K & L Gates, LLP On Behalf Of Trucklabs, Inc.
Harvey Run Strategies LLC: Consolidated Rail Corporation
J M Burkman & Associates: Adding To Inc.
J M Burkman & Associates: Danisa Group LLC
J M Burkman & Associates: Leslie Revel Transportation
J M Burkman & Associates: Liberty Builders
K&L Gates, LLP: Immunome Inc.
Lobbyit.Com: Agriculture Fairness Alliance
Lobbyit.Com: Weathertech
Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: Evofem Biosciences
Penn Strategies: Pocono Township, Monroe County
Planet Labs Pbc: Planet Labs Pbc
Subject Matter (Fka Elmendorf Ryan): Chamber Of Progress
Subject Matter (Fka Elmendorf Ryan): The Majority Group, On Behalf Of The Connected Commerce Council
The Ferguson Group: Ward & Smith On Behalf Of The Town Of Topsail Beach
Thorn Run Partners: Pacific Medical, Inc.
Tiber Creek Group: Marklogic
Tiber Creek Group: Shopify
Winning Strategies Washington: Kean University
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Cura Strategies: Mdxhealth
Emmett Strategies LLC: Parry Labs LLC
Greater America LLC: City Of Palmdale
| | A message from Freight Rail Works: Even as America's freight railroads work 24/7 to keep our supply chains moving, the industry continues to take the lead on sustainability and emissions reduction. Rail moves more freight than any other method of transportation, yet only accounts for 1.9% of related greenhouse gas emissions — and our industry is working hard to get that number even lower. Every year, we continue to invest our own capital into making our equipment and infrastructure more sustainable, while teaming up with governments, universities and other experts to develop innovative ways to further reduce environmental impact. Learn how freight rail is helping the U.S. move toward a low-emission future. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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