WHAT HUNTER DID FOR BURISMA: The New York Times’ Ken Vogel reports that “Hunter Biden sought assistance from the U.S. government for a potentially lucrative energy project in Italy while his father was vice president, according to newly released records and interviews.” — “The records, which the Biden administration had withheld for years, indicate that Hunter Biden wrote at least one letter to the U.S. ambassador to Italy in 2016 seeking assistance for the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, where he was a board member. Embassy officials appear to have been uneasy with the request from the son of the sitting vice president on behalf of a foreign company.” — Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for the younger Biden, insisted that his outreach was “a ‘proper request,’” and a White House spokesperson “said the president was not aware when he was vice president that his son was reaching out to the U.S. Embassy in Italy on behalf of Burisma.” — The timing of the documents’ release late last month — which came after the Times sued the State Department in 2022 for its lack of responsiveness to their public records request involving Hunter Biden’s business dealings with a Romanian developer — is sure to raise eyebrows. — “Hunter Biden has not been charged” with violating FARA, but in court filings last week for his upcoming tax evasion trial, “prosecutors indicated that they did not intend to add a FARA charge, but noted that they had evidence that Mr. Biden had reached out to the State Department on behalf of a different foreign client,” the Romanian developer. — Still, the Times points to a number of factors that make it “unlikely that the department could have timed the release of potentially damaging records to President Biden’s decision to drop out of the race, since that news was closely held until the last minute.” MEANWHILE, IN THE STATES: “The vacation rental industry has stepped up efforts to influence U.S. lawmakers to keep more cities from enacting restrictions on short-term rentals in response to concerns about housing availability and quality of life,” per Reuters’ Doyinsola Oladipo. — “Growth in short-term rental supply has slowed in 17 of North America's largest 30 cities in 2024, according to KeyData, a vacation rental analytics firm. In response, Booking Holdings, Expedia Group's VRBO and smaller operators are spending more on lobbying to head off local restrictions that limit supply.” — “Numerous cities around North America, including New York, Los Angeles and Montreal, have curbed the growth of rental properties, responding to complaints from residents who say short-term rentals make housing less affordable and hurt the quality of neighborhood life.” — “‘We're really eager to work with those local lawmakers to understand what their priorities are, but there are some opportunities to strive for stability and consistency in state law,’ said Richard de Sam Lazaro, senior director of government affairs at Expedia.” — “In the first half of 2024, vacation rental companies spent $1.4 million on lobbying, up 13% from the year-ago period as they step up efforts in states like Florida, Colorado, and Arizona. Detractors believe they will continue to spend more money. ‘That's the tip of the iceberg compared to how much staff they have and who they are employing to be so-called organizers,’ said Murray Cox, a housing activist who founded Inside Airbnb, a data platform that tracks vacation rentals.” SOFTBANK’S CONKLIN RETIRING: Brian Conklin, the head of global government affairs and managing partner at SoftBank Group will retire from the Japanese investment giant next month and hang up his lobbying hat altogether, Conklin said in a post on LinkedIn. Jeff Dressler will take over as interim head of government affairs. — Conklin joined SoftBank in 2019 as one of the company’s first hires for its new Washington office, and before that was a senior vice president for government and industry relations at USAA and a top aide to former President George W. Bush. He was elevated to lead SoftBank’s global lobbying operation in 2020 after Ziad Ojakli was hired away to lead the lobbying team at Boeing. WALZ’S RECORD WITH BUSINESS: “Six years before Tim Walz was tapped to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, he was busy running for governor of Minnesota. Shortly before Election Day, Walz huddled with dozens of business leaders at a luxurious hotel off the shores of Gull Lake,” per CNBC’s Brian Schwartz. — “Eric Gibson, then president of Ultra Machining Company, recalled asking Walz whether the Democrat believed that high corporate and state taxes hurt workers. ‘We’re not taxing people,’ Walz replied, according to Gibson. ‘We’re taxing businesses.’ For Geoff Baker, ‘it was a bit of an “oh s—” moment,’ he recalled to CNBC, confirming Gibson’s account. ‘That’s not what I wanted to hear,’ said Baker, president of McFarland Truck Lines.” — “Minnesota currently taxes corporate income at 9.8%. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation says that’s the highest corporate tax rate of any state in the nation. Walz’s approach to corporate and other business related taxes hasn’t changed noticeably since that meeting on Gull Lake.” NEW DRIVER AT LYFT’S D.C. OFFICE: Jerry Golden has decamped from Eventbrite, where he was global head of public policy and government affairs, to join Lyft as the rideshare company’s next chief policy officer. Jeremy Bird, who previously served in that role following the departure of former Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, is moving on to become Lyft’s executive vice president of driver experience.
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