INSIDE NO LABELS: Daniel has a fascinating piece out today that offers a behind-the-scenes look at turmoil within No Labels , the centrist group working on a $70 million project to lay the groundwork for a unity ticket presidential campaign in 2024. — "Interviews with 14 former employees—including five who left in the last few months—and four other people familiar with No Labels reveals a cutthroat culture, one where staffers are routinely fired or pushed out, have little trust in management, and believe the workplace environment can be difficult for minority and female colleagues." — "Former aides say that staff turnover and bad relations with management make executing on projects more difficult. One former employee said she suffered a panic attack under the intense pressure from her superiors. These staffers add that the image No Labels projects of an institution striving to reform the country's rigidly partisan political system hides what one former aide said is a 'toxic' culture." — "In the defense of both [CEO Nancy] Jacobson and the organization, No Labels organized several lengthy Zoom calls featuring roughly a dozen senior officials on each. During those calls, they defended Jacobson's management of No Labels, saying it is driven by mission and not ego. They noted that she is loath to accept public praise and rarely appears at society events in Washington." — "They also insisted that staff complaints, including by those seeking remuneration for the nature of their departure from the group, were simply the product of aggrieved ex-workers. They expressed a missionary zeal for the organization and made the case that the taxing workload is justified by the goals. But the group's leaders also conceded that their office culture is demanding. Those who bought in thrived, they said. Those who didn't, faltered." SCAM PAC OPERATOR TO PLEAD GUILTY: Matt Tunstall, the prolific operator of a network of scam PACs accused of bilking unwitting donors of more than $3.5 million during the 2016 elections, is set to plead guilty to his role in the scheme later this month, according to new court filings. — Tunstall and two associates were arrested last November and charged with multiple counts including wire fraud, false statements and money laundering related to two PACs they ran during the 2016 election — though Tunstall has been linked to numerous other PACs that raised millions but spent little on the politicians they purported to support. Instead, Tunstall appeared to use the funds to finance a lavish lifestyle for himself , according to prosecutors. — Both of Tunstall's associates, Kyle Davies and Robert Reyes Jr., pleaded guilty in the case earlier this year and are set for sentencing in March. While it appeared as though Tunstall might head to trial, today prosecutors filed new documents in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas setting in motion a guilty plea for Tunstall at a hearing on Dec. 20. FLYING IN: The NDAA left out another major piece of legislation looking to hitch a ride to the president's desk during the lame duck — the bipartisan bill to overhaul the Electoral Count Act. The nonpartisan advocacy group Business for America is on the Hill today and tomorrow to push for movement on the measure before the House changes hands next year. — Business leaders from Salesforce, Cummins, Hannon Armstrong, PepsiCo, Marriott, Bitwise Industries and the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce are set to meet with Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Manchin about the bill. — Etsy CEO Josh Silverman and COO Raina Moskowitz were also on the Hill today to meet with lawmakers to discuss "issues impacting micro businesses," according to a spokesperson. The online marketplace is a supporter of the INFORM Consumers Act, and is also part of a push to revise tax reporting requirements that were slipped into last year's Covid relief bill . They'll also discuss caregiving issues like paid leave, the child tax credit, and expanding child care support. ANNALS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Nearly two dozen Democratic senators this week urged President Joe Biden to act unilaterally to require federal contractors to disclose their political spending — including contributions to dark money groups — citing the hundreds of millions of anonymous dollars that flooded this year's elections. — "American taxpayers have a right to know whether and how government contractors are spending money to elect lawmakers who can influence the procurement and awarding of government contracts," the senators, led by Dianne Feinstein of California and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, wrote. — "Federal contractors spend substantial sums in elections," they said, adding that corporate PAC spending is dwarfed by that of super PACs that can accept unlimited contributions from anonymous donors. "The White House should not hesitate to cast a bright light on secret political spending and its corrupting effects wherever possible." — Federal contractors are already banned from political donations that come from the contractors' treasuries. But there is no restriction on contributions to nonprofit groups, even if those nonprofits spend money to influence elections. — The senators' letter echoes calls from House Democrats and the Congressional Progressive Caucus earlier this year amid the party's struggles to pass campaign finance reform legislation. It also comes amid increased enforcement of the federal contractor ban by the FEC, according to an analysis this week from the political law group at Holland & Knight. — The firm "reviewed a total of 17 enforcement matters resolved over the past five years involving credible allegations that respondents violated the Federal Contractor Ban," and found that of those, 12 of the matters were resolved in 2022 alone. Holland & Knight also uncovered several trends in the enforcement record, which it laid out in a blog post . SPOTTED at an event last night to christen ACG Advocacy's new Capitol Hill office, per a PI tipster: Rock climbers Chris Schulte and Colette McInerney, who are in town to push for continued access to federal lands for the climbing community; ACG's Sean Byrne , Shawn Smeallie and Chris Israel, and REI Cooperative Action Fund's Marc Berejka.
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