With Daniel Lippman ALLEN OUT AT BROOKINGS: The fallout from an illegal foreign lobbying probe into former U.S. officials continued over the weekend, with former Marine Gen. John Allen announcing his resignation as president of the Brookings Institution amid a federal investigation into whether he violated FARA. — In a note to Brookings staff that did not explicitly mention the probe into whether he illegally lobbied U.S. officials on behalf of Qatar, Allen wrote on Sunday that "while I leave the institution with a heavy heart, I know it is best for all concerned in this moment." Ted Gayer will serve as acting president until a new interim president is named, Brookings said. — "The integrity and objectivity of Brookings's scholarship constitute the institution's principal assets, and Brookings seeks to maintain high ethical standards in all its operations. Our policies on research independence and integrity reflect these values," Glenn Hutchins and Suzanne Nora Johnson , the co-chairs of Brookings' board of trustees, wrote in a note announcing Allen's resignation. — Allen, a former four-star general who led U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan and then became president of the prestigious think tank in 2017, had been placed on leave by Brookings after the publication of court filings revealing that federal investigators had seized electronic data and accused Allen of making false statements in a wide-ranging probe. Allen has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and has previously denied working as a foreign agent of Qatar, whose government had previously been one of Brookings' top benefactors. — Prior to Allen's resignation, the allegations prompted concern from Capitol Hill on numerous fronts. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, wrote that "Americans must be able to trust that the officials that are chosen to represent them as diplomats, and to command the nation's military forces, are acting solely in the best interests of the United States, and are not compromised by conflicts of interest," and should be barred from trading on that trust to aid foreign governments after their public service ends. — Warren asked for more information on Allen's contacts with U.S. officials pertaining to Qatar, as well as "the extent to which former DoD or State officials may be working for foreign governments, and the efforts by DoD and the State Department to prevent these officials from violating the law or inappropriately or unethically aiding foreign governments." — Meanwhile, Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, pushed for an investigation into Brookings . Though Brookings said last week it "has strong policies in place to prohibit donors from directing research activities," and has insisted it is not under investigation, Bergman called that revelation "deeply concerning" given Allen's alleged use of his official Brookings email — Allen was a part-time senior fellow at the time — for some communications relating to Qatar, according to investigators. Bergman also highlighted instances in which, he asserted, Brookings' work aligned with the interests of the Qatari government. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Tips: coprysko@politico.com. Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. CUTTS DECAMPS FOR DENTONS: The Squire Patton Boggs-to-Dentons pipeline is still flowing. Matthew Cutts, who was a partner at the firm for close to a decade, will join Dentons' rapidly growing public policy practice as head of U.S. policy and government relations. He's the latest Squire Patton Boggs employee to leave for Dentons in recent months, following the departures of former Rep. Joe Crowley, Callie Fuselier, Patrick Kirby and Elaine Hillgrove. — In an interview, Cutts said that he couldn't turn down the opportunity Dentons presented. "It's a massive platform, the largest law firm in the world, so it's kind of client-rich, and with Dentons' … commitment to grow their policy shop, it just seemed like a really exciting opportunity," he told PI. — Cutts was part of the Breaux-Lott Leadership Group, the lobbying shop founded by former Sens. John Breaux and Trent Lott that was later acquired by Squire Patton Boggs. Breaux and Lott left Squire abruptly just before the 2020 election and are now partners at Crossroads Strategies, but Cutts stayed at Squire Patton Boggs. FLYING IN: The National Federation of Independent Business is kicking off its annual fly-in today, the trade group's first in-person since 2019. More than 100 small-business owners from across the country will meet with lawmakers to discuss several issues affecting their businesses, including inflation, labor shortages and supply chain problems, and will also press lawmakers to make permanent the small-business tax deduction. TheGROUP TO FUNDRAISE FOR GOP MEMBERS: TheGROUP D.C. , the lobbying firm whose ties to the Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers have fueled a business boom over the past year, is set to raise money for two Republican lawmakers later this summer, according to invitations obtained by PI. — The first fundraiser, on June 22, will benefit Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, with admission starting at $500 for individuals or $1,000 for PACs. The second event, on July 19, will benefit Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. Suggested contributions for that fundraiser start at $250 for individuals or $1,000 for PACs, but donors can be named a co-host for $1,000 per person or $5,000 per PAC. — Both fundraisers will be hosted by the firm's two Republican lobbyists, Stacy Barton and Dwayne Bolton, and come as the GOP appears poised to retake control of the House following November's midterms. The firm has several clients that regularly lobby on defense issues and would likely benefit from face time with Rogers — who could chair the powerful Armed Services Committee in a Republican majority — including Lockheed Martin, Siemens and Huntington Ingalls. — TheGROUP, which has deep ties to Washington's most powerful Democrats, including President Joe Biden, has hosted multiple members of House leadership for fundraisers this cycle, including Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Whip Jim Clyburn, Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark and caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries. The firm's client list has ballooned from about a dozen in 2019 to more than three dozen last year, while annual lobbying revenues more than doubled from $3.1 million in 2019 to $7.5 million in 2021.
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