FIRST IN PI — TECH WATCHDOG SQUEEZES CRUZ OVER LAW PROFESSOR DONATIONS: A liberal tech watchdog group is calling on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to return years-old political contributions from former George Mason University law professor and FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright following sexual misconduct allegations against the former commissioner. — “As you may be aware, Wright has been accused of egregious sexual misconduct by former students and professional subordinates, who allege that he abused his authority to pressure them into sexual conduct,” Nicole Gill, the co-founder and executive director at Accountable Tech, wrote in a letter to Cruz today. — Last week, Law360 reported that two of Wright’s former students “felt they had no option but to continue engaging sexually with Wright or else risk serious damage to their careers.” According to Accountable Tech, Cruz is the sole federal officeholder that has received campaign contributions from Wright — one for $2,700 during Cruz’s last reelection campaign and two more to Cruz’s 2016 White House bid, with a third $2,700 contribution to that campaign reattributed to Wright’s spouse. — “As a past advocate against campus sexual assault and proponent of efforts to combat sexual assault in the military, you no doubt understand and appreciate of the severity of these allegations,” Gill’s letter said, contending that refunding the contributions would be “sending an important message that his alleged behavior is unacceptable.” LEO SEASON OVER?: “Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb is investigating judicial activist Leonard Leo and his network of nonprofit groups,” a person with direct knowledge of the probe tells our Heidi Przybyla. — “The scope of the investigation is unclear. But it comes after POLITICO reported in March that one of Leo’s nonprofits — registered as a charity — paid his for-profit company tens of millions of dollars in the two years since he joined the company.” — “A few weeks later, a progressive watchdog group filed a complaint with the D.C. attorney general and the IRS requesting a probe into what services were provided and whether Leo was in violation of laws against using charities for personal enrichment.” — “David B. Rivkin Jr., an attorney for the parties in the investigation, said in a statement that the complaint ‘is sloppy, deceptive and legally flawed and we are addressing this fully with the DC Attorney General’s office,’” while a spokesperson for Schwalb’s office declined to confirm or deny the existence of a probe. — “The news of the investigation comes as the nonprofit that was a subject of the complaint quietly relocated in recent weeks from the capital area to Texas, according to paperwork filed in Virginia and Texas. For nearly 20 years the nonprofit, now known as The 85 Fund, had been incorporated in Virginia.” ICYMI — WHITEHOUSE BILLS WOULD BOOST WIFE’S FIRM: “Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) has introduced several bills that could provide a windfall for a firm that employs his wife, raising potential conflict of interest concerns for the liberal Democrat,” The Washington Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross reports. — “Whitehouse’s wife, Sandra Whitehouse, has since 2022 served as ocean policy adviser for Running Tide … a startup that works to remove carbon dioxide from the ocean. Whitehouse, who serves on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and chairs the Senate Budget Committee, has introduced legislation that would steer taxpayer funds to companies in the carbon dioxide removal industry.” — One such bill is the Federal Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act from Whitehouse and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), “which would provide subsidies to companies that capture carbon dioxide from the air or seawater. Whitehouse said the bill calls for $3.5 billion in funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to ‘boost investment, create jobs, and help make the U.S. a global leader in the technology of carbon removal.’” — “Sandra Whitehouse touted Running Tide’s technology at an event last month to promote the Massachusetts Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act, a bill modeled on the federal legislation her husband proposed last year.” — Meanwhile the company “has lobbied extensively over the past two years, spending $300,000 on ‘issues related to carbon sequestration using deep water kelp,’ according to lobbying disclosures,” and its CEO Marty Odlin “called on Congress and the executive branch earlier this year to ‘mandate’ more spending on technologies to retrieve carbon dioxide from the ocean.”
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