Discord hires first lobbyists

From: POLITICO Influence - Friday Jun 03,2022 09:15 pm
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By Caitlin Oprysko

With Daniel Lippman

DISCORD HIRES FIRST LOBBYISTS: The popular online text, video and voice chat app Discord has hired its first federal lobbyists. Monument Advocacy’s Stewart Verdery, Ashley Hoy, Andrew Howell, Joseph Hoefer and Jeff Gary will lobby on privacy and content moderation issues for the platform, which initially found a huge base among gamers but exploded in popularity during the pandemic.

— The platform, which says it has hundreds of millions of users, last year said it had raised $500 million in its latest round of funding, and CNBC reported that the company was valued at $15 billion. Its popularity reportedly drew interest from Microsoft, though talks to buy the company ended without a deal.

— The chat platform has made more negative headlines in the wake of the racist mass shooting in a Buffalo grocery store, when the company confirmed that the alleged gunman had posted racist screeds and detailed his plans in a private “diary” on the app that he invited others to view before the shooting began.

— Discordsaid in a blog post that it “denounce[s] white supremacy and actions that stem from it in the strongest possible terms” and is cooperating with law enforcement. Disclosures show Monument’s work for the company began weeks prior to the shooting.

— In February, Discord rolled out what Verge reported was Discord’s first big policy update aimed at targeting “groups or individuals that participate in organized violence, spread harmful anti-vaccination material, or harass other Discord users with hate speech.” The hire also came as a bipartisan group of lawmakers worked to craft a federal data privacy bill, the draft text of which was unveiled today.

— “Discord wants to make sure policymakers in Washington, D.C. understand how the service works, our efforts to keep users safe, and our company’s plans for the future,” a spokesperson for the company said.

STIVERS REGISTERS TO LOBBY: Former Rep. Steve Stivers, who resigned from the House last year to take the helm of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce , has registered to lobby for the business group. The registration comes shortly after the Ohio Republican’s one-year “cooling off” period barring him from lobbying his former colleagues expired. It’s the first time the Ohio Chamber has registered to lobby at the federal level, according to disclosures.

— Stivers and Justin Barnes will lobby on the United States Innovation and Competition Act, the Senate-passed China competition bill, as well as the CHIPS Act, the bill within that package containing $52 billion in subsidies to help boost U.S. manufacturing of semiconductors. Barnes is a former aide to Stivers and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich who now leads the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation.

Happy Friday and welcome to PI. Got a lobbying tip? Get in touch: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

 

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EVERYTOWN TEES UP SIX-FIGURE AD BLITZ: “As bipartisan negotiations heat up on Capitol Hill following mass shootings in Texas and New York, the nation’s leading gun violence prevention group on Friday launched an ad campaign across a dozen states urging senators to reach an agreement on a range of firearms measures,” POLITICO’s Chris Cadelago reports.

— “Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund’s weeklong $400,000 advertising campaign focuses on lawmakers in the battleground states of North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, as well as those in Alaska, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.”

— “The ‘don’t look away’ ad campaign, which will start appearing over the weekend across local newspapers, billboards and digital platforms, come amid bipartisan Senate negotiations over relatively modest gun safety changes. While they do not name specific lawmakers, the ads are running in states where advocates are trying to pressure participating Republican officials to take action — from Sen. John Cornyn of Texas to Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The blitz “follows escalating calls from President Joe Biden to Congress against squandering another opportunity to take action.”

FARA FRIDAY: “A former high-ranking U.S. ambassador is demanding federal prosecutors explain why he’s facing criminal charges for illegal foreign lobbying on behalf of Qatar while a retired four-star general who worked with him on the effort is not,” per The Associated Press’ Alan Suderman and Jim Mustian.

— “The dispute involving two Washington power players has highlighted the often-ambiguous boundaries of foreign lobbying laws as well as what prosecutors say were high-level, behind-the-scenes influence dealings with the wealthy Persian Gulf country.”

— “Richard G. Olson, former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, is scheduled to attend a plea hearing Friday on federal charges that include improperly helping Qatar influence U.S. policy in 2017 — when a diplomatic crisis erupted between the gas-rich monarchy and its neighbors over the country’s alleged ties to terror groups and other issues.”

— “Olson has argued he’s entitled to learn why prosecutors aren’t also bringing charges against someone he says he worked side by side with on Qatar: retired Marine Gen. John Allen, who led U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan before being tapped in late 2017 to lead the influential Brookings Institution think tank.”

— “Allen has denied ever working as a Qatari agent and said his efforts on Qatar in 2017 were motivated to prevent a war from breaking out in the Gulf that would put U.S. troops at risk. A statement from his spokesman to The Associated Press on Thursday said Allen has ‘voluntarily cooperated with the government’s investigation.’”

— “Olson’s lawyers said in court papers that since 2020 he has been seeking to get a lighter sentencing recommendation by extensively cooperating with prosecutors ‘with the express goal’ of bringing charges against Allen. … But federal prosecutor Evan Turgeon said at a hearing last week that the government has not ‘made a prosecutorial decision as to other persons’ and disputed how Olson’s attorney characterized past discussions.”

HOW WE GOT HERE: Facebook had moved beyond needing Sheryl Sandberg’s star power well before she announced her departure this week,” our Emily Birnbaum writes. “The social media titan has transformed in recent years into a slick political operation focused on crisis management — a far cry from the nominally apolitical, grow-at-any-cost corporation that Sandberg once led.”

— “The last time Sandberg publicly made the rounds on Capitol Hill was 2019 — dozens of controversies ago for the embattled company now known as Meta. Over the past two years, the company’s public face in government capitals has instead been Nick Clegg, former deputy prime minister of the U.K., who is now Meta’s president of global affairs. He has served as a de facto messenger-in-chief, defending the company’s political reputation in interviews, blog posts and conversations with policymakers.”

— “While Clegg isn’t in control of Meta’s operational side like Sandberg was, that may be part of his appeal — creating some distance between his persona and the company he represents. Clegg himself has leaned into his position as an ‘outsider’ to push the message that he is trustworthy,” meanwhile “Sandberg has been sidelined from the company’s lobbying and public relations work since soon after the 2016 presidential election when Congress zeroed in on Facebook’s role in providing a platform to Russian misinformation.”

— “‘In the tech golden era, early on, members of Congress were falling over themselves to come up to campus or to see Sheryl when she came,’ said Katie Harbath, who worked at Facebook’s D.C. office for more than a decade as a Republican lobbyist before leaving last year. ‘Things really started to turn’ for Facebook in 2016, she added.”

— Founder Mark Zuckerberg , meanwhile, “has remained an often problematic spokesperson for the company,” and “since joining Facebook, Clegg has taken some of that heat off Zuckerberg. Clegg has fired off blog posts, statements and appeared in media appearances painting Facebook as a company that is doing its best to tackle complex issues and protect its users.”

CRYPTO READIES FOR ITS MOMENT: “The most highly anticipated legislation in the history of cryptocurrency is about to make its debut, after months of hype drummed up by Sens. Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand,” POLITICO’s Sam Sutton reports.

— “The campaign has fueled a lobbying bonanza on the part of digital asset startups, venture capitalists and consumer watchdogs. They want to put their stamp on a sweeping bill that Hill aides and industry insiders believe will set the tone for how Congress writes the rules for crypto in the coming years, even if it likely stands no chance of becoming law in the form that Lummis and Gillibrand plan to release Tuesday.”

— “‘This is the starting point for discussions about what the law should look like,’ said Miles Jennings, crypto general counsel and head of decentralization at Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture firm that's a major investor and lobbying force in the world of digital assets. ‘I think that is one of the reasons we're excited about it.’”

— “The contents of the bill will likely shed light on who holds sway in the ever-expanding universe of crypto lobbying. It's already been the source of clashes between the industry's growing set of trade associations backed by competing digital asset startups. Aides from both lawmakers’ offices say they’ve been swamped by incoming suggestions on how to approach everything from crypto exchange regulations to tax policy.”

— “It's one of several crypto bills that lawmakers have begun to draft as companies jockey for influence,” meanwhile “crypto skeptics warn that the frenzy around the bill is part of an intensifying push by crypto firms to convince lawmakers to shield them from regulations that apply to traditional finance.”

 

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Jobs Report

Rayna Farrell is joining Bechtel to lead their global communications and marketing. She previously was deputy head of communications at the Business Roundtable.

Tim House is the new interim president and CEO for the Wireless Infrastructure Association, following the departure of current President and CEO Jonathan Adelstein. House was previously WIA’s executive vice president.

Adam Gagen is now global head of government affairs for fintech company Revolut where he will be engaging policymakers and regulators in all major jurisdictions. He most recently was vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa government affairs at American Express.

Neil Sroka is now thought leadership communications officer for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation . He previously was communications director of Paid Leave for the U.S. and is a Democracy for America alum.

Mahen Gunaratna has started as chief public affairs officer and senior vice president at Everytown for Gun Safety. He most recently was comms director for N.J. Gov Phil Murphy.

Adrielle Wiese Churchill is joining Strategic Marketing Innovations as a vice president in the defense and national security practice area. She was most recently a vice president at American Global Strategies and is a National Security Council, Pentagon and Steve Womack alum.

— The Computer and Communications Industry Association has made several new hires, including Jonathan McHale as vice president of digital trade, Amir Nasr as trade policy manager, Sara Young as communications manager and Kara Mazachek as economic research manager. McHale most recently led telecommunications and digital trade policy at USTR, Nasr was most recently a broadband policy analyst at the Open Technology Institute, Young was most recently a project coordinator at the Internet Society and Mazachek was most recently an economic research analyst at the International Trade Administration.

Jessica Floyd is now director at SKDK. She most recently was business and finance correspondent at theGrio.

Jai Chabria and Taylor Van Kirk are joining MAD Global. They both come from J.D. Vance’s campaign, where Chabria is chief strategist and Van Kirk is communications director.

Keri Li is now a senior marketing manager at FTI Consulting for the strategic communications segment. She previously was a senior business development manager at Squire Patton Boggs.

Katherine Pantangco is joining Stanford Health Care’s government affairs team. She previously was an associate director for the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Kristin M. Davis, who is most famous for being the former "Manhattan Madam," announced on Facebook that she has signed Rudy Giuliani as a client for her PR firm Think Right PR.

Kandis Boyd is joining EPA as director of its Chesapeake Bay Program. She previously worked as a strategic adviser in the National Science Foundation's Office of Equity and Civil Rights.

Mandy Gunasekara is joining the Independent Women’s Forum as a senior policy analyst. She was chief of staff at EPA during the Trump administration.

New Joint Fundraisers

Dan Sanchez Victory Fund (Dan Sanchez for Congress, Texas Democratic Party)
Krimson Barnes Booker Senate Victory Fund (Krimson Political Action Council LLC, Mandela Barnes for Wisconsin, Booker for Kentucky)

New PACs

Conservative Warriors PAC (Super PAC)
Democratic Colorado (Super PAC)
Service & Integrity PAC (Super PAC)
SHOW ME VALUES PAC (Super PAC)

New Lobbying Registrations

Alta Crest LLC: Energy Exploration Technologies, Inc.
Card & Associates, LLC: Bluestar Strategies In Support Of Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coal
Hilltop Advocacy: National Low Income Housing Coalition
Kite Tail Strategy: Skillful Communications
Liebman & Associates, Inc.: Xcel Energy
Michelle Nawar: Bolton-St. Johns LLC On Behalf Of Blade Air Mobility, Inc.
Monument Advocacy: Discord
Ohio Chamber Of Commerce: Ohio Chamber Of Commerce

New Lobbying Terminations

Corley Consulting, LLC: Lightstone Investments LLC
Fulcrum Public Affairs LLC: Career Education Colleges And Universities
Illinois Tool Works Inc.: Illinois Tool Works Inc
Masiello, Martucci, & Associates: Greenman-Pederson, Inc.
Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): Skaroreh Katenuaka Nation, Tuscarora Nation Of Indians
O'Brien, Gentry & Scott, LLC: Satelles, Inc.

 

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