HAMILTON PLACE REBRANDS: Hamilton Place Strategies has merged with half a dozen political intelligence, media monitoring, research and strategic consulting shops to become Penta , which is billing itself as "the world's first comprehensive stakeholder solutions firm." The rebrand merges Hamilton Place Strategies, the public affairs consultancy founded by top advisers to former President George W. Bush, with Ballast Research, Flag Media Analytics, alva, Gotham Research Group and Decode_M. — Matt McDonald, a longtime partner at Hamilton Place, will serve as president of the new outlet, while GOP strategist Kevin Madden is returning from Arnold Ventures to serve as a senior partner at Penta alongside Tony Fratto, Alberto Lopez-Valenzuela and Mike Berland. Mike Gottlieb will stay in his current role as president of Ballast Research, while Beth Comstock and Alex Jutkowitz will serve as board advisers to the newly combined entity. — The merger comes more than a year after the private equity firm Falfurrias Capital Partners bought a majority stake in Hamilton Place, an investment that Penta said will enable the new mega-firm to continue to make acquisitions to "expand the firm's global reach." WYNN FARA SUIT COULD HEAD TO TRIAL: Federal prosecutors and attorneys for casino magnate and GOP megadonor Steve Wynn are girding for the likelihood that the government's civil lawsuit seeking to compel Wynn to register retroactively as a foreign agent could wind up going to trial. — In a status update filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Wynn's attorneys and lawyers for the Justice Department were asked to address "whether there is a realistic possibility of settling this case," a development both sides said they agreed "is unlikely." — That means the suit against Wynn, the department's first in more than three decades, is increasingly likely to head to a jury unless the court grants Wynn's motion to toss the case. DOJ sued Wynn, a former RNC finance chair, in May over his alleged failure 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. — The department said at the time 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. — Wynn's attorneys have moved to dismiss the case, arguing in Tuesday's filing that Wynn had been "fully transparent in his dealings with the Trump Administration, and acted in the interests of the United States at all times" in relaying "a diplomatic offer" from the Chinese government that Trump ultimately rejected; they reiterated that Wynn "respectfully disagreed with the government's interpretation of FARA and declined to register" when ordered to do so. RECALIBRATING FOR THE LAME DUCK: "Supporters of a landmark antitrust bill gathered over beer and soft pretzels at Cafe Berlin on Capitol Hill last week to muster energy for one last push to rein in the dominance of giant technology companies," Bloomberg's Emily Birnbaum and Anna Edgerton report. — "Recognizing that the measure won't come up for a vote before the Nov. 8 midterms, the group set its sights on how to try and jam the legislation through the brief 'lame duck' period after the elections. That's a tight window before January, when a new Congress convenes that will likely be hostile to the effort." — "The invitation to the Oktoberfest-themed event was hosted by groups funded by eBay Inc. founder and tech critic Pierre Omidyar's foundation, and billed it as 'an opportunity to gather strength for one final legislative push.'" — The gathering drew visits from some big-name supporters, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who "held court on the sidewalk, according to several attendees who asked not to be identified discussing details of the private event. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter -- the government's top antitrust enforcers -- stopped by after testifying in the Senate that day. Dozens of other officials and activists were also there." — Other supporters of the bill to prevent tech companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon from favoring their own products on their platforms, such as streaming device maker Roku, "have held meetings in recent weeks with lawmakers and their staffs to shore up backing for the measure" amid resistance from Democratic leadership to put the bill up for a vote and fierce lobbying from Silicon Valley heavyweights. BUSINESS GROUPS SUE OVER BANKING DISCRIMINATION GUIDANCE: "Business groups sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over a recent move by the agency to combat potential discrimination in banking services, as legal battles between industry and Biden administration regulators are beginning to intensify," Paul Kiernan reports for The Wall Street Journal. — "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Bankers Association and four other trade groups Wednesday asked a federal court in Texas to stop the CFPB from looking for discriminatory behavior when conducting routine examinations of financial firms." — "They said the agency overstepped its authority when it indicated in March that discrimination in offering financial services could trigger liability under a law that prohibits 'unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices' in consumer finance. The agency implemented the policy through changes to its examination manual rather than by proposing a rule and seeking public comment, a process plaintiffs say it should have followed." FLYING IN: The American Academy of Physician Associates is set to hold its annual fly-in tomorrow. The trade group is slated to meet with Reps. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Himes as well as Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and others, with whom participants plan to discuss a pair of bills that would allow injured federal workers to seek treatment from health care providers like physician assistants under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act and allow providers like PAs to order and supervise cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation for Medicare patients. SPOTTED at a kickoff event for the Congressional Black Caucus' annual legislative conference hosted by Black Men on the Hill, per a tipster: John Christie of the Smith-Free Group, Moyer McCoy of Philip Morris International, RaShawn Mitchell of Rich Feuer Anderson, Brian Greer and Brandon Garrett of Empire Consulting Group, Don Calloway of Enviva, Kwabena Nsiah of theGROUP, Dana Thompson of Fulcrum Public Affairs, Virgil Miller of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Ben Branch of the International Franchise Association, Didier Barjon of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's office, Ahmed Elsayed of Rep. Tony Cardenas' (D-Calif.) office, Jean Roseme of Rep. Frederica Wilson's (D-Fla.) office, Christopher Cox of Rep. Yvette Clarke's (D-N.Y.) office, Mike McQuerry of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick's (D-Fla.) office, De'Marcus Finnell of Rep. G.K. Butterfield's office (D-N.C.), Brian Duckworth, Chloe Brown and Maya Valentine of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office, Nd Ubezonu of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn's office, Michael Reed of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, Isabel Sanchez of Rep. Raul Ruiz's (D-Calif.) office, Jessica Vallejo of Microsoft, Jesse Barba of Chegg, Keenan Austin Reed of Alpine Group Partners, Michael Pauls of USTelecom | The Broadband Association, Yvesner Zamar of the Williams Group, Arthur Sidney of Forbes Tate Partners and Alex Beckles.
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