| | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | | | With Daniel Lippman PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off Monday and Tuesday for the Fourth of July but will be back in your inboxes Wednesday, July 5. FARA FRIDAY: Political firms tapped with helping Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund fend off escalating scrutiny over the Public Investment Fund’s deal to join forces with the PGA Tour will rake in millions from the fund to do so, according to documents filed with the Justice Department this week. — The spending surge includes PIF’s decision to retain Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck for help responding to a panoply of congressional investigations into the new golf alliance, which stunned the golf and political worlds alike and followed months of bitter — and public — feuding between the PIF-financed LIV Golf league and the PGA Tour. — Brownstein’s contract with the wealth fund is worth $1.3 million over the next year, according to a copy filed with the Justice Department on Thursday (that’s on top of the separate, $1.8 million-per-year contract Brownstein currently has with the Kingdom’s Washington embassy). — PIF has also hiked its payments to a different firm working to defend the LIV-PGA deal from a smarting Congress, the CEO consultancy Teneo. Teneo has worked for the fund since 2021 to “help position PIF as a sophisticated global investment organization,” filings show, but the firm worked on a plan called “Project Wedge” that eventually became LIV Golf, and recently tapped a slate of political heavyweights to work on the PGA deal in particular. — A copy of the updated contract filed this week shows the firm just renewed its agreement with PIF through the end of this year but upped its fees to $4.3 million — a 60 percent increase over the $2.7 million PIF paid Teneo last year. — All told, the uptick in spending means PIF is set to shell out an additional $2.9 million between the new and updated contracts, underscoring the importance of the golf deal as Riyadh seeks to rehab the kingdom’s marred image on the global stage. — Congressional inquiries into the deal continue to pile up, however, with Senate antitrust subcommittee heads Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) firing off a letter to executives at the PGA Tour and LIV Golf on Thursday to express “serious competition concerns” with the deal — the specifics of which are still being hashed out. — Ahead of next month’s hearing on the agreement in front of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the lawmakers asked the Tour and LIV to turn over any documents related to the deal, including any documents about the golf leagues’ agreement or pertaining to antitrust that the leagues have provided to DOJ. Klobuchar and Lee also asked the leagues to tell them whether the combined entity intends to remain tax-exempt. TGIF and welcome to PI. This newsletter runs on tips, and my inbox is always open: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | | | | | A message from All* Above All: What is abortion justice? Abortion justice means care is available to all in our communities without hurdles, shame, or judgment—and that everyone can get abortion care when they need it, without going broke. It means freedom to control our bodies, lives, and futures. It supports economic security and ensures our dignity, humanity, and freedom. Legal abortion is critical, but it takes more to ensure care is available to everyone who needs it—and that’s why we need bold solutions for lasting change. Learn more. | | | A VERY META CONFLICT: “An ethics official owned Meta Platforms stock when she recommended that Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan recuse herself from a case involving the company, spurring a demand for an inquiry,” The Wall Street Journal’s Brody Mullins and Rebecca Ballhaus report. — “Lorielle Pankey, the FTC’s designated agency ethics official, in an August 2022 memo said Khan’s past statements opposing acquisitions by Meta raised questions about her ability to be impartial as the FTC reviewed the company’s planned acquisition of a virtual reality app developer.” At the time, “Pankey owned between $15,001 and $50,000 in Meta stock in a joint account, and still owns it, according to FTC officials and her public financial disclosures.” — Progressive watchdog group Revolving Door Project called Thursday for the agency’s inspector general “to determine whether Pankey violated the agency’s ethics rules, noting that Pankey’s recommendation sided with Meta, which had petitioned the agency for Khan to recuse herself.” — “‘Was Pankey’s subjective judgment influenced by the fact that the company in which she owns stock has put significant resources into calling for Chair Khan’s recusal?’ the group asked in its letter this week.” — Pankey told the Journal that government ethics officials previously determined that her investments did not pose a legal conflict of interest as it pertained to her advising other government employees about potential conflicts. “In the course of my FTC duties, I take all reasonable steps to ensure full compliance, never coming close to the line of a violation,” Pankey told the Journal. “Any suggestion otherwise is categorically false.” — Still, “ethics experts said that while Pankey’s investment didn’t violate the criminal conflict-of-interest law, it was at odds with federal regulations that direct officials to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.” TELECOM LOBBYIST JUMPS TO SHUMAKER: Chris Salemme is joining Shumaker Advisors as senior vice president of federal affairs. Salemme had previously been with his own firm, Salemme Strategies, since August, and before that worked in government affairs for the telecom equipment company Airspan Networks. — Before that, he spent nearly 15 years working in-house for CTIA-The Wireless Association, which represents the wireless industry, where he led the trade group’s engagement with Democrats in Congress. Salemme’s hiring will amount to a reunion of sorts with his old employer, which retained Shumaker Advisors back in February.
| | | | A message from All* Above All:   | | | MEANWHILE, IN CALIFORNIA: After last year’s botched presale for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour “fueled criticism from federal and state politicians about Ticketmaster’s dominance in the live music industry … California lawmakers are taking on the entertainment juggernaut,” The Los Angeles Times’ Queenie Wong reports. — But “stiff pushback from Ticketmaster has already prompted lawmakers to water down legislation aimed at loosening what critics see as its monopoly grip on ticket sales.” — “Ticketmaster is lobbying for its own solution, a bill aimed at cracking down on scalpers,” part of a long-running rivalry between primary ticket marketplaces like Ticketmaster and secondary marketplaces like StubHub. “Both companies fear lawmakers could give their competitor an advantage and are lobbying to maintain their dominance,” the Times writes. — One proposal in the state would have “barred primary ticket providers like Ticketmaster from restricting the resale of tickets,” but after its parent company Live Nation opposed the bill, its sponsor removed the provision. “Unfortunately, Ticketmaster and others have a huge lobbying arm … so the bill did get pared down,” Assemblymember Laura Friedman told the paper. — Another bill Friedman co-authored would bar “a primary ticket seller like Ticketmaster from including an exclusivity clause in contracts with California entertainment venues,” but a co-sponsor “said he expects the bill to die in the Assembly amid lobbying behind closed doors. Ticketmaster hasn’t spoken publicly about the bill, but venue managers told lawmakers they oppose the legislation, stating that partnering with ticket sellers exclusively helps them better ensure tickets are valid.” FLY-IN INTERVIEW FOX HOST RATTLES BIG ‘I’: The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America has apologized after CNN’s Oliver Darcy reported on crude comments that Fox News host Jesse Watters made in April about Vice President Kamala Harris in an on-stage interview with the group’s outgoing president and CEO, Bob Rusbuldt, that sparked discomfort among staff and members of the trade group. — It's unclear exactly what was said. But as a result, Rusbuldt, who was set to retire as head of the trade group later this summer, was forced to “relinquish his operational duties immediately” following the incident, the association said in a statement, calling it “disappointing to see Mr. Rusbuldt end his 37-year career at the Big ‘I’ in this way.” — According to CNN, the discussion between Watters and Rusbuldt continued following the remark, which people familiar with the matter said “prompted some laughs, but also outrage,” including among attendees who “walked out of the room and conveyed to the trade association that they were appalled at the behavior exhibited by Watters.” — Rusbuldt reportedly apologized at the diversity-focused luncheon, while a spokesperson for Fox told CNN that Watters’ appearance had been well-received and that he had “no recollection” of such an incident. — But the trade group has been conducting damage control ever since. “The Big ‘I’ strives to be a fair, open, and inclusive organization and we do not condone racist, sexist, or homophobic statements or behavior,” the group said Thursday, adding that it “deeply” regretted that the comment took place during its annual fly-in in Washington “that is intended to celebrate our organization and its membership.” — “Much more distressing, however, is the hurt and discomfort so many of our members, partners and staff experienced as a result of his remarks,” the association said, going on to add that “we have been working with our DEI team internally and externally since the event on ways to foster a more inclusive and respectful culture and ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”
| | | | — José Morales is now senior campaign director for democracy at the Hub Project. He most recently was chief of staff for Stacey Abrams’ Georgia gubernatorial campaign and managed Fair Fight Action’s national advocacy campaign for voting reform. — Tom Moore is now a senior fellow on the democracy team at the Center for American Progress. He was previously chief of staff for FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub. — Prianka Sharma is joining the American Road & Transportation Builders Association as vice president and counsel for regulatory affairs, Morning Transportation reports. She comes from the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, where she served as assistant chief counsel for agriculture, energy and natural resources policy. — Brent Fisk is joining California Life Sciences as senior vice president of government relations and external affairs. He was most recently executive director of federal government affairs and policy at Horizon Therapeutics. — Abby Kaericher has rejoined Hall Render as of counsel after serving as the associate general counsel and vice president of legislation at the Federation of American Hospitals.
| | | | A message from All* Above All: Our fundamental rights are at stake. We won’t settle for compromises or crumbs from politicians and the courts—it’s time for abortion justice.
Restoring legal abortion is critical—but it takes more to ensure people can get the care they need. It's time for bold solutions that ensure that anyone can get abortion care when they need it, without going broke and without barriers because of who we are or where we are from.
We need abortion justice NOW. Learn more and join us. | | | | | Congress NJ (Reps. Tom Kean Jr., Chris Smith, Jeff Van Drew, TKJ PAC, Citizens Strengthening Our Message in the House, South Jersey United in Trust (SJUIT) PAC)
| | AARON CHERRY COMITTE (PAC) Constitutional Conservatives of Texas (Super PAC) Now4reparations (PAC)
| | New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS | | 1607 Strategies, LLC: Pharmaceutical Care Management Association
Boundary Stone Partners: Ecobat Solutions Arizona, Inc.
Capitol Integration: Arnold Magnetic Technologies
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: American Airlines
Forbes-Tate: Project Ai
Gray Global Advisors, LLC: 2U
Kelsay Strategies LLC: United States Telecom Association
Mehlman Consulting, Inc.: Protective Life Corporation
Public Strategies Washington, Inc.: Schaeffler Group USa Inc.
Strategic Policy Advisors: Rule Of Law Society Iv Inc
The Livingston Group, LLC: Workhorse Group, Inc.
The Vogel Group: Omnilert
Troutman Pepper Strategies, LLC (Fkatroutman Sanders Public Affairs Group, LLC): Gb2G, Inc. D/B/A Allswell
Young People'S Alliance: Young People'S Alliance
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Invariant LLC: Advantek Waste Management Services LLC
Mcpherson Group LLP: 1-800-Doctors, Inc.
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