MUELLER VET, LAW FIRM EXIT HACKING CASE FOLLOWING CONFLICT COMPLAINT: Prominent law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and partner Zainab Ahmad are withdrawing from a hard-fought lawsuit over the hacking of former RNC finance official Elliott Broidy’s emails and texts, Josh reports. The abrupt change of counsel came after Broidy’s attorneys complained that the former counterterrorism prosecutor’s role as a deputy on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of foreign influence on the Trump presidential campaign amounted to a conflict of interest. — In a letter filed in Manhattan federal court last month, Broidy's lawyer Daniel Benson complained that Ahmad had “confidential government information concerning Mr. Broidy that could be used to Mr. Broidy’s material disadvantage in this case.” Benson said Broidy’s attorneys raised the issue with the defense team about two years ago, but were rebuffed. — However, last month, Benson submitted to the court a formal declaration from Mueller probe convict Rick Gates, saying that in 2018 Ahmad was among the Mueller office prosecutors who questioned him about the hacking of Broidy and about information contained in those messages. Gates' attorney Tom Green backed up his client’s account. — Gates also said in his declaration he told the Mueller team he suspected the hacking was the work of “agents of the State of Qatar.” The Manhattan suit against Global Risk Advisors, founder and former CIA officer Kevin Chalker and others is one of a series of lawsuits against Qatar and individuals and entities allegedly allied with the wealthy Gulf state, claiming they illegally broke into Broidy’s accounts and devices. — Qatari officials have denied involvement in the hacking and a lawyer for Global Risk Advisors described Broidy’s allegations against the firm and Chalker as “categorically false.” Ahmad and Gibson Dunn did not respond on the court record to the claims or the allegation that her participation in the suit amounted to side-switching in violation of New York bar rules. — But, on Monday night, the firm moved to withdraw all its lawyers from the case. New York-based Hughes Hubbard & Reed is set to take over for the defense. Ahmad did not respond to an email seeking comment, but Orin Snyder, the top Gibson Dunn lawyer on the case, asserted in a statement that “there never was a conflict in our prior representation of GRA based on Ms. Ahmad’s prior government service or any other reason.” Benson declined to comment. TOP TOBACCO SCIENTIST JOINS BIG TOBACCO COMPANY: “Less than a month after the start of a new director for the Food and Drug Administration's tobacco regulatory division, its chief scientific officer has resigned to accept a position at Philip Morris International,” which manufactures Marlboro cigarettes, POLITICO’s Katherine Ellen Foley reports. — “Matthew Holman, a biochemist by training, has worked with the FDA for more than 20 years and has been the director of the Office of Science in the agency's Center for Tobacco Products since 2017.” — “‘While we didn’t have an opportunity to work together, I know that he led the Office through a critical time, including preparing for and overseeing review for the bolus of [premarket tobacco product] applications,’ said Brian King, the new director of the CTP, in a staff memo.” — “‘Dr. Holman has spent a substantial portion of his career dedicated to scientific and policy issues that aim to improve public health,’ a spokesperson for PMI said in a statement to POLITICO. ‘He is committed to helping existing adult smokers access scientifically substantiated smoke-free alternatives while protecting youth. We are looking forward to him joining our team as we continue to pursue a smoke-free future.’ The company did not comment on what role Holman would be taking on, but said that it would share details at a later date.” U.S. TRAVEL LAUNCHES SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL COALITION: The U.S. Travel Association has launched a new coalition aimed at bringing together the travel, transportation and technology industries to “inform U.S. Travel on sustainability issues, opportunities and concerns within member organizations and destinations.” — “This is clearly an issue that spans well beyond the travel industry itself to practically all other sectors of the U.S. economy,” Tori Barnes, the trade group’s top lobbyist, said in a statement. “By bringing together stakeholders across related industries, we are aligning leaders in travel, transportation and technology on the critical issues that will affect their businesses for decades to come.” — The Sustainable Travel Coalition, along with several organizations not in the coalition, laid out several of its main asks in a letter to lawmakers on Monday . Their requests include a series of tax breaks for producing and using sustainable aviation fuel, to install new electric vehicle charging stations and to make energy efficient upgrades to commercial buildings, as well as federal spending to protect natural attractions and other clean energy incentives. IVIES PRESS FOR ENDOWMENTS TAX CUT: The Intercept’s Lee Fang reports that “a small army of lobbyists representing the nation’s Ivy League and the wealthiest private universities are calling on lawmakers to cut taxes on multibillion-dollar endowments .” — “Earlier this year, Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow personally met with lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and members of the Massachusetts delegation, to lobby against the excise tax.” — “Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell University have also pushed lawmakers to roll back the 1.4 percent excise tax on private college endowment investment returns passed by Congress in 2017. The excise tax, enacted as part of President Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, applies to investment returns on endowment assets of $500,000 per full time equivalent student at private colleges. The formula impacts over 40 private universities around the country.” — “A review of lobbying records show that private colleges have mobilized over two dozen lobbyists to pressure policymakers on repealing the tax. Harvard University, for example, has a team of staff lobbyists, along with two additional lobbyists on retainer from the law firm O’Neill, Athy & Casey, to work on the issue.” SPOTTED at the retirement party for Toni Bush, the outgoing head of government affairs for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., per a tipster: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Andrea Mitchell, Donna Brazile, Subject Matter’s Steve Elmendorf, Fox Corporation’s Danny O’Brien, Disney’s Susan Fox, Melinda Lewis of BL Partners Group, and incoming head of government affairs for News Corp Todd Thorpe.
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