Former Buck chief lobbying for app developers’ group

From: POLITICO Influence - Monday Apr 25,2022 09:19 pm
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By Caitlin Oprysko

With Daniel Lippman  

NEW BUSINESS: As Apple stares down intensifying antitrust scrutiny from Congress — and boosts its lobbying expenditures to a record level during the first three months of this year accordingly — an advocacy group antagonizing the company has tapped a top aide to one of Big Tech’s most vocal opponents on the Hill, according to a disclosure filed last week.

—The Coalition for App Fairness — which was founded in 2020 by video game studio Epic, streaming giant Spotify, geotag company Tile, dating app conglomerate Match and others — hired Garrett Ventry as a subcontractor to Forbes Tate Partners to lobby on the Open App Markets Act, which would claw back the control that companies like Apple and Google have over their app stores.

— Up until the end of last year, Ventry was chief of staff to Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), the Republican leader of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, who is a cosponsor of the Open App Markets Act and has become a key voice in his conference’s push to rein in tech companies. Lobbying disclosures show Ventry began lobbying for the coalition in February, a day before the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill in a markup that prompted lobbying overtures from Apple CEO Tim Cook himself.

— A filing shows Ventry, who has not previously registered to lobby, was paid $30,000 to lobby the House and Senate on the Open App Markets Act last quarter, while the coalition paid a total of $60,000 to Forbes Tate and Ridge Policy Group. The coalition reported dropping $200,000 on lobbying last year.  

Good afternoon and welcome to PI. What’s going on out there? Let me know: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

 

JOIN US ON 4/29 FOR A WOMEN RULE DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN TECH : Women, particularly women of color and women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, have historically been locked out of the tech world. But this new tech revolution could be an opportunity for women to get in on the ground floor of a new chapter. Join POLITICO for an in-depth panel discussion on the future of women in tech and how to make sure women are both participating in this fast-moving era and have access to all it offers. REGISTER FOR THE CHANCE TO JOIN US IN-PERSON.

 
 

BIG TOBACCO LAUNCHES LOBBYING BLITZ TO BLOCK MENTHOL BAN: The Los Angeles TimesEmily Baumgaertner, Ben Stockton and Ryan Lindsay have an interesting look out today at tobacco companies’ efforts to stoke fear in Black communities as a tactic to water down or block restrictions on menthol cigarettes — proposals for which are pending across the country and at the federal level. “About 150 cities and counties have placed some sort of restriction on the sale of menthol cigarettes, most issuing an outright ban,” the Times writes, as has the state of Massachusetts.

— The investigation comes as FDA is working on a nationwide ban on menthols, a proposal that drew interest from dozens of groups meeting with the White House, per The Associated Press.

— Reynolds American, whose Newport cigarettes are the top-selling menthol brand, “has hired a team of Black lobbyists and consultants, including former congressman Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), and sponsored the organization led by civil rights activist and MSNBC political show host the Rev. Al Sharpton. Those figures have in turn stoked fears among Black communities about what the bans could mean,” the L.A. Times reports.

— The paper’s investigation also found that “individuals and organizations working on Reynolds’ behalf have failed to properly declare their links to the company. Lobbyists for the company in Denver successfully killed a bill that would have banned menthol cigarettes. And in Los Angeles, protesters were paid to attend a rally organized by a group with close ties to the company.”

STELLAR HIRES FORMER AIDE TO SMALL BUSINESS CHAIR: Stellar Development Foundation , the nonprofit organization behind blockchain firm Stellar, has hired Adam Minehardt as its head of federal government relations.

— Minehardt was previously director of federal affairs at Citigroup. Before that he served as chief of staff to Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), the chair of the House Small Business Committee, who held a hearing in 2020 on the benefits of digital currencies for small businesses but in a hearing on stablecoins earlier this year “asked a Treasury Department official if Congress could help ‘go after crypto investors trying to use Puerto Rico as a tax shelter,’”according to Decrypt.

— Stellar was one of the many crypto firms that hired its first federal lobbyists in the past few years. Its lobbying spending skyrocketed last summer as the industry sought changes to a tax provision in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, from $30,000 in Q1 2021 to $530,000 in the final three quarters of the year.

— It currently retains a team of lobbyists at Cypress Advocacy that includes former deputy White House chief of staff Rick Dearborn and former House Financial Services staffers.

CONSERVATIVE WATCHDOG SUES FEC OVER LIBERAL DONOR’S CITIZENSHIP: “A government watchdog group is urging the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in a lawsuit filed on Monday to take action on a complaint against a Swiss billionaire who has funneled money to Democratic causes,” The Hill’s Brett Samuels reports.

— “Americans for Public Trust filed the lawsuit in district court in Washington, D.C., alleging the FEC has been slow to act on its May 2021 complaint against Hansjörg Wyss. The watchdog group cited various media interviews and a government filing indicating Wyss is not a U.S. citizen, which would make donating to political candidates or political action committees illegal.”

— “Americans for Public Trust cited a 2021 Securities and Exchange Commission filing in which Wyss listed his citizenship as a ‘citizen of Switzerland’ as well as a 2021 interview with Swiss news outlet Blick to argue that Wyss can’t donate to U.S. political candidates. The group also cited a 2014 speech in which Wyss said he only carries a Swiss passport, not a U.S. passport or green card.”

— “The lawsuit alleges that Wyss used two nonprofit organizations, the Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund, to contribute millions of dollars to the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund, two so-called dark money groups that fund liberal causes through operations like The Hub Project and Demand Justice.

CRYPTO COMPANIES SNAP UP LAWYERS: “The cryptocurrency industry is ramping up efforts to recruit more legal talent as it faces increased regulatory pressure while looking to be accepted by and become part of mainstream finance,” The Wall Street Journal’s Mengqi Sun reports.

— “Crypto exchanges and companies are poaching attorneys left and right, from both law firms and other crypto companies, bringing them in-house to help navigate an evolving regulatory landscape while helping to curb outside legal expenses, industry participants said. Law firms, which are sometimes losing their partners to in-house positions, are also building up their crypto practices to maintain that valuable expertise.”

— “The increased demand for lawyers also marks a turning point for crypto, whose early supporters often expressed skepticism of regulation. The industry has been expanding rapidly with hopes of attracting more mainstream investment opportunities and many are embracing the stance that they want regulatory clarity.”

 

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Jobs Report

Karen Keller is joining Airlines for America as chief of staff. She previously was COO at PLUS Communications and is a George W. Bush White House alum.

Hogan Lovells has added Elizabeth “Liz” Boison as a partner in its international trade and investment practice; Damon Lewis as a partner in the intellectual property, media and technology practice; and David Fritz as a senior director in the communications, internet and media practice. Boison is a DOJ Bank Integrity Unit and National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and FinCEN alum; Lewis is an Oracle and NSA alum; and Fritz is a Nokia alum.

— Mayor Frank Scott Jr. of Little Rock, Ark., will be the new president of the African American Mayors Association, which represents the nation’s Black mayors.

Paul Scott has been named European managing partner at Brunswick Group. He succeeds Janos Goenczoel, who is becoming a senior adviser.

Sam Wright will be a managing director at Husch Blackwell Strategies. He previously was an associate at Targeted Victory.

Jack Arriaga is now managing federal relations for the city of Portland, Ore. He previously was senior legislative assistant for Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.).

New Joint Fundraisers

Adrian Smith Victory Fund (Rep. Adrian Smith, Concerned Americans for Freedom & Opportunity PAC (CAFO PAC), NRCC)
Dr Asif Mahmood Victory Fund (Dr Asif Mahmood Victory Fund, California Democratic Party)

New PACs

BETTER FOR ILLINOIS PAC (PAC)
Equitable Housing NW (PAC)
MISSING VOICES. MISSING VOTES (Hybrid PAC)
NEW DEM PARTY (Super PAC)
Public Wise PAC (PAC)
Rapisure PAC (PAC)

New Lobbying Registrations

Capitol Integration: Defense Unicorns

Capitol Legislative Strategies LLC: Alliance Data

Cook Inlet Spill Prevention And Response, Inc.: Cook Inlet Spill Prevention And Response, Inc.

Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Dream Corps

Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Equitable Housing Access Partnership, Inc.

Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Reform Alliance

Edenred North America Inc.: Edenred North America Inc.

Environmental Resources Management, Inc.: Bp America Inc.

Federal Hall Policy Advisors, LLC: Defi Education Fund

Lne Group: Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center For Economic Development (Neohced)

Murray, Montgomery & O'Donnell: City Of Las Cruces

Pauley Management Inc.: Aviation Safety Resources-Pioneer

Petersen Group: City Of Duluth

Smith Dawson & Andrews: Village Of Niles, Il

Vantage Knight, Inc.: Vicinity Energy, LLC

New Lobbying Terminations

Babbage Cofounder: Sourcehov

Blue Star Strategies LLC: Qpartners, LLC

Capitol Legislative Strategies LLC: Hunter Douglas

Capitol Legislative Strategies LLC: Renaissance Technologies LLC

Envision Strategy: Boloro Global Limited

O'Keeffe Shahmoradi Strategies, LLC: Skinny Labs, Inc. Dba Spin

O'Keeffe Shahmoradi Strategies, LLC: Wptp Brevard Holdings, LLC

Tobenkin Group: Houston Parks Board

 

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