| | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | With Daniel Lippman CROW GAVE BIG TO SENATE JUDICIARY REPUBLICANS: Sitting members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have raked in more than $400,000 from Republican megadonor and businessman Harlan Crow over their congressional careers, according to campaign finance reports. The Dallas billionaire has come under scrutiny after ProPublica reported on Thursday that Crow treated Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to numerous luxury vacations over the past two decades without disclosing the trips. — Crow, who has contributed to efforts to move the federal judiciary further to the right and hosted conservative judicial powerbrokers at least one retreat attended by Thomas, emphasized that gifts and trips with his longtime friend were in no way intended to influence Thomas’ decisionmaking on the bench, and both he and Thomas have denied any impropriety. — The revelations immediately renewed calls from Democratic lawmakers for stronger ethics rules for Supreme Court justices, but the response from Republicans has been markedly more muted. At the same time, the campaigns of many of the Republicans on the Senate panel with jurisdiction over the courts and judicial confirmations have benefitted from Crow’s largesse over the years, campaign finance disclosures show. — Since 2001, Crow has contributed more than $429,000 to current members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, donating to PACs associated with every Republican on the panel save for Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). — The vast majority has gone to Crow’s home state senator John Cornyn, whose various committees received $290,000 from Crow. Of that amount, $42,600 went to Cornyn’s primary campaign account or leadership PAC directly, with the rest going to fellow Senate Republicans or the conference’s campaign arm. — The next largest beneficiaries on the committee of Crow’s political contributions have been Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Cotton’s campaign committee and leadership PAC have accepted $23,700 from Crow over the years, while Cruz’s Senate and presidential campaigns and leadership PAC have brought in $23,500 from Crow. — Crow has given $23,300 to various PACs affiliated with Grassley, the panel’s former top Republican. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has raised $19,500 from Crow, while a joint fundraising committee affiliated with current ranking member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) received $17,800 from Crow and Graham’s campaign committee received $2,800 from the billionaire. — Crow has given less to other members of the committee, donating $8,300 to Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), $13,400 to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and $6,400 to Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) over the course of 16 years. Past members of the committee have taken $44,200 in contributions from Crow, including almost $11,000 each for Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). TGIF and welcome to PI. Send lobbying tips and let me know with whom your D.C. bagel allegiance lies: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
| | | | 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. | | | | | NEW BUSINESS: CTIA has added yet another new outside lobbying firm, the sixth such disclosure so far this year for the wireless industry trade association. The trade group in February retained a team at Resolution Public Affairs that includes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s former legislative director, Heather McHugh, according to a newly filed disclosure. — As lawmakers work to craft a wireless spectrum package, so far this CTIA has brought on former House Energy and Commerce Chair Greg Walden in addition to hiring former aides to the new chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s telecom subcommittee and the new ranking member on Senate Commerce at the end of last year. — Meanwhile, Pfizer has hired GOP lobbying firm CGCN Group to lobby on general health care and pharmaceuticals policy. The firm is among a handful of K Street shops tight with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and former McCarthy aide John Stipicevic will be one of the seven lobbyists on the account, according to a disclosure filing. — The U.S. subsidiary of Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS has added new lobbyists as well. Cornerstone Government Affairs will lobby for JBS USA on issues related to sustainability in food and agriculture production and labor issues related to the industry, and the team working on the account includes Laverne Hubert and Hunt Shipman, former aides on the House and Senate agriculture committees, respectively. JBS parent company J&F Investimentos recently added new lobbying firepower as well by hiring Miller Strategies, the firm run by McCarthy confidant Jeff Miller. DOJ ATTORNEY DETAILS FOREIGN LOBBYING WORK: “A former U.S. Department of Justice attorney told a jury on Thursday that he simultaneously worked on behalf of hip-hop artist Pras Michel, as part of an illegal foreign influence campaign to persuade the Trump administration to return a dissident to China,” per Reuters’ Sarah Lynch. — “George Higginbotham testified that he made money on the side while working at the Justice Department by offering legal advice to Michel, a long-time friend. His duties included facilitating some of Michel's dealings with Jho Low, a businessman whom prosecutors say embezzled billions of dollars from Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.” — “Higginbotham said he felt uncomfortable when Michel asked him to pass along a message to the Chinese embassy in 2017 that the Trump administration was working on their request to extradite dissident Guo Wengui. But he did so anyway, telling the jury he let his friendship with Michel cloud his judgment.” — “‘This could get me in a lot of trouble,’ he told the jury he recalled thinking, adding that his actions were ‘definitely outside of official lines.’ Higginbotham, who pleaded guilty in 2018 for his role in the foreign influence campaign, testified that Justice Department investigators later found out about his meeting and questioned him.” — “A few months later, he agreed to fly to Hong Kong for a follow-up meeting with Low, after Michel assured him he ‘would never have to worry about DOJ again.’ ‘Unfortunately, that is clearly not the case,’ Higginbotham added.”
| | | | GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World, will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat. | | | | | ANNALS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE: The New York Post’s Lydia Moynihan reports that “insiders” suspect Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) opposition to banning TikTok might have something to do with “the money of a major GOP donor who has $33 billion on the line” — though Paul denies the suggestion. — Paul, “who has made his career partly as a China hawk – surprised colleagues on the Senate floor last week when he blocked Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley’s hopes for fast-tracked legislation to ban TikTok. … Sources claim credit for Paul’s impassioned speech should go to GOP mega-donor Jeffrey Yass,” the chief executive of Susquehanna Financial Group who has dropped more than $10 million backing Paul since 2020. — “His fund also owns a 15% stake in TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, that’s worth an estimated $33 billion. While Susquehanna investors generally benefit from the ByteDance stake, Yass is the majority owner, according to ProPublica.” — “‘My opposition to censorship and my unwavering support for the First Amendment are consistent, deeply held libertarian beliefs,’ Sen. Paul told The Post in a statement. ‘Anyone who asserts that my positions are mercantile hasn’t been paying attention.’ A spokesperson for Yass declined to comment. A source close to Yass notes he has been a long standing supporter of libertarian causes — and that those commitments predate any concerns about banning TikTok.” — Other conservative groups with ties to Yass have weighed in against a ban as well: “Last month, David McIntosh, president of the right-leaning Club for Growth, penned an op-ed, ‘Banning TikTok sounds tempting. Here’s why it’s all wrong,’ in which he argued a ban was being backed by Big Tech and would restrict freedom. Club for Growth has received nearly $3 million from Yass in the last five years alone, according to election filings.” — A fellow at the Cato Institute, where Yass is on the executive advisory council, recently echoed some of Paul’s concerns in an op-ed for USA Today, while a vice president at FreedomWorks — which received a $15,000 donation from Yass — called a TikTok ban “dangerous” in another recent op-ed.
| | | — Katie Boyd has joined CGCN’s strategic communications team as managing director. She was most recently communications director for former Sen. Roy Blunt. — Jen Wlach is launching the new communications consulting firm Maven Media Strategies, which provides strategic advising and media relations services to clients across all sectors. She is a former partner at Mercury, where she helped lead their media and thought leadership practices, and is also an ABC News alum. — Lawrence Montreuil is now director of government and external affairs at the Cato Institute. He previously was legislative director at the American Legion. — Seth Levey is now head of U.S. government relations and corporate affairs at Glencore. He previously was head of public policy and sustainability at thredUP, and is an Equinor, ExxonMobil and KKR alum. — Julien Rashid will be public affairs manager at Illumina. He previously was U.S. policy and advocacy officer at the Global Health Technologies Coalition. — SBS Comms has added Jocelynn Stidham as account director and Creighton Vance as director of media strategy. — Leigh Ann Fairly has joined Arnold & Porter as a senior policy specialist. She was previously a membership director at the National Association of Manufacturers. — Alex Lasry will be co-treasurer of the Democratic Governors Association alongside Catherine McLean. Lasry is senior vice president of the Milwaukee Bucks and is a former Wisconsin Senate candidate.
| | 2023 Senators Classic Committee (Rep. Jim Banks, Sens. John Barrasso, Marsha Blackburn, Katie Britt, Ted Budd, Shelley Moore Capito, Ted Cruz, Deb Fischer, John Hoeven, Markwayne Mullin, Pete Ricketts,Roger Wicker)
MISSISSIPPI VICTORY (Republican National Committee, Mississippi Republican Party)
| | DW PAC (Super PAC)
FREEDOM COSTS PAC (Super PAC)
| | New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS | | Actum I, LLC: City Of Baltimore
Alpine Group Partners, LLC.: Schottel, Inc.
Cgcn Group, LLC (Formerly Known As Clark Geduldig Cranford & Nielsen, LLC): Pfizer, Inc.
Cgcn Group, LLC (Formerly Known As Clark Geduldig Cranford & Nielsen, LLC): Relx Inc.
Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Jbs USa Food Company
Ehrlich & Associates: Milk Innovation Group (Informal Coalition)
Foley Hoag LLP: Obvia Pharmaceuticals
Health And Medicine Counsel, LLC: Platelet Disorder Support Association
Invariant LLC: Carrot Fertility
J.Sullivan Advocacy: Blue Origin, LLC
Kerry O'Brien: National Domestic Workers Alliance
Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, LLC: Breakthrough Energy Action
Liebman & Associates, Inc.: Jacobs Engineering
National Stewardship Action Council: National Stewardship Action Council
Public Strategies Washington, Inc.: Graphic Packaging International
Public Strategies Washington, Inc.: Teledyne Flir
Public Strategies Washington, Inc.: Zero Emissions Transportation Association (Zeta)
Rasky Partners, Inc.: Tzedek Association
Rasky Partners, Inc.: Williamsport Regional Airport
Resolution Public Affairs, LLC: Ctia The Wireless Assocation
Strategies 360: Compass Health
W&E Networks LLC: Nantero Inc.
W&E Networks LLC: Silicon Heartland Holdings, LLC
Williams And Jensen, Pllc: Kiko Strategies On Behalf Of Aclu
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Bernstein Strategy Group: Fgh Holdings On Behalf Of Pearson Inc.
Health And Medicine Counsel, LLC: American Liver Foundation
Invariant LLC: Moth+Flame Inc
K&L Gates, LLP: Trans Astronautica Corporation D/B/A Transastra
K&L Gates, LLP: Turing Inc.
K&L Gates, LLP: World View Enterprises, Inc.
Masa Group, LLC: Casa
Mww Group: American Health Associates, Inc.
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP: Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP: Rplus Energies
Ogilvy Government Relations: Baker Hughes Company
Republic Consulting, LLC: The Procter And Gamble Company
Squire Patton Boggs: Association Of American Railroads
Squire Patton Boggs: Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
Squire Patton Boggs: Danone North America
Squire Patton Boggs: North Carolina Biotechnology Center
Squire Patton Boggs: Sandata Technologies Inc.
The Normandy Group, LLC: 100X Development Foundation
Vantage Point Strategies LLC: Photodigm, Inc.
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