Ferguson heads to AT&T

From: POLITICO Influence - Tuesday Sep 13,2022 09:55 pm

Sep 13, 2022

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With Daniel Lippman

FERGUSON HEADS TO AT&T: Former Rep. Mike Ferguson is joining AT&T as an executive vice president to lead the company’s federal legislative relations team. The New Jersey Republican has spent the past six years leading the federal policy team as a senior adviser at BakerHostetler and before that served as chief executive at Ferguson Strategies. He also co-chairs a bipartisan U.S. Chamber of Commerce commission on artificial intelligence. Ferguson spent nearly a decade in the House and was on the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee.

— Ferguson will replace Tim McKone, who retired earlier this year. McKone since launched his own consulting and lobbying firm, McK Strategies, and announced today that he is joining Roberti Global as a senior adviser.

— AT&T also promoted Rhonda Johnson , who oversees state and local government affairs and social engagement initiatives in California, to lead federal regulatory relations. Johnson succeeds Joan Marsh, who retired earlier this year as well.

INVARIANT ADDS ANOTHER REPUBLICAN: Invariant has brought on yet another Republican lobbyist ahead of the midterms. Drew Griffin most recently served as chief of staff and communications director to Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), the top Republican on the House Energy & Commerce’s communications and tech panel.

— Griffin, who helped lead Latta’s work on a number of emerging tech issues like autonomous vehicles, the internet of things, data privacy, Section 230, cybersecurity, precision agriculture, broadband access, telehealth, and electric grid modernization will work on some of those same issues at Invariant. Griffin is the fourth former GOP Hill staffer to join Invariant the past three months in advance of a likely House takeover by the party in November.

Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Kings — they’re just like us, am I right? Send lobbying tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

A message from the National Confectioners Association:

America’s chocolate and candy companies are providing more choice and portion guidance options for consumers seeking to manage their sugar intake – whether that’s buying candy for family celebrations, picking up a treat to share with friends or enjoying a treat on the way out of the store. From beloved classics to new offerings like low/zero sugar and organic, the confectionery industry is meeting consumers where they want to be met. Learn more at AlwaysATreat.com.

WHOLESALERS MAKE A PUSH FOR ANTITRUST BILL: The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors has launched a new campaign urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to put one of the two bipartisan antitrust bills up for a vote this month. The group is singling out Amazon in particular for what the trade group says is “pervasive abuse and control in the e-commerce market.”

— The group is calling for a vote on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act , which which would bar the largest tech platforms from prioritizing their products over competitors who rely on those companies to reach customers, and is putting up five figures for an ad blitz to back up its calls — a sum NAW says is just an initial spend.

— In a letter to Schumer today, NAW warns that “left unchecked, Amazon’s anticompetitive behavior could cripple the competitive [business to business] system in the U.S. and wholesaler-distributors – most of them small and medium size businesses – could be driven out of existence, leaving customers with fewer alternatives and higher prices.”

— The group is running ads inside the Beltway and on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, and though Schumer’s office has insisted he plans to vote on the bill and its sponsors swear it has the votes to pass, time is quickly running out ahead of the midterms.

SENATE JUDICIARY TO PROBE CLAIMS OF POLITICAL INTERFERENCE IN CRAIG CASE: Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin said Monday the committee will investigate allegations that the Justice Department sought to use the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan to settle political scores under then-President Donald Trump, including in the department’s 2019 prosecution of former White House counsel Greg Craig.

— In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Durbin wrote that the claims, leveled by former federal prosecutor Geoffrey Berman in a new book, “indicate astonishing and unacceptable deviations from the Department’s mission to pursue impartial justice, which requires that its prosecutorial decisions be free from political influence.”

— Berman’s book about his tenure leading the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York and his removal by former Attorney General Bill Barr was released today, but his accusations of political interference in high-profile cases were detailed in a New York Times report last week.

— According to the Times, Berman wrote that principal associate deputy Attorney General Edward O’Callaghan in 2018 pressed Berman’s deputy to charge Craig, a Democrat, with FARA violations ahead of that year’s midterms. O’Callaghan reportedly pointed to prosecutions by Berman’s office of two Trump allies and said “[i]t’s time for you guys to even things out.”

— According to Berman, when he declined to do so, the case was then shopped around. Craig was charged in 2019 in federal court in D.C. with one felony charge of intentionally misleading the DOJ about his lobbying work related to Ukraine, but was ultimately acquitted by a jury. O’Callaghan told the Times Berman’s claims are “categorically false.”

— In his letter to Garland Monday, Durbin asked the department to turn over scores of documents to the committee by Oct. 3 related to communications pertaining to the investigation of Craig as well as the department’s prosecution of former Trump ally Michael Cohen and a potential investigation into former Secretary of State John Kerry that Trump had demanded.

Join POLITICO Live on Tuesday, Sept. 20 to dive into how federal regulators, members of Congress, and the White House are seeking to write the rules on digital currencies, including stablecoins. The panel will also cover the tax implications of crypto, which could be an impediment to broader adoption and the geopolitical factors that the U.S. is considering as it begins to draw regulatory frameworks for crypto. REGISTER HERE.

A POTENTIAL ‘GOLDMINE’ FOR ILLICIT ACTORS: “Twitter’s protection of users’ sensitive data is so lax that just about anyone with an account has reason to fear for the security of their accounts — even members of the Senate, the company’s former chief security officer told lawmakers Tuesday,” per POLITICO’s Rebecca Kern and Eric Geller.

— “It’s ‘not far-fetched to say that employees inside the company could take over the accounts of all of the senators in this room,’ Peiter ‘Mudge’ Zatko testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the latest in a long round of hearings focused on Silicon Valley’s alleged failings.”

— “Zatko, a renowned hacker and former Defense Department employee who has filed whistleblower complaints with several federal agencies and congressional committees, said the failings in cybersecurity practices ‘would be a goldmine’ for foreign governments or intelligence agencies, turning the company’s shortcomings into a potential national security risk.”

— Durbin appealed to his colleagues to rise above their “partisan differences” relating to reining in social media platforms “to try to find the common ground that we would need to establish security standards that would be raised today by our whistleblower.”

— Meanwhile the committee’s top Republican, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), slammed the company’s CEO Parag Agrawal for declining to testify alongside Zatko, which Agrawal said stemmed from Twitter’s ongoing lawsuit against Elon Musk, according to committee leaders. “If these allegations are true, I don’t see how Mr. Agrawal can maintain his position at Twitter,” Grassley said of Zatko’s claims.

FLYING IN: CEOs from America’s most top purveyors of chocolate and candy will hit the Hill today and tomorrow as part of the National Confectioners Association’s annual fly-in. Candy executives will meet with lawmakers on the House and Senate Appropriations and Agriculture committees to discuss policies aimed at improving domestic sugar supplies and reducing consumer costs.

— Regenerate America , the coalition of farmers, businesses and nonprofits looking to highlight the importance of soil regenerative practices ahead of the farm bill, will be back on the Hill this week to testify at a House Ag hearing on the issue and is set to meet with members to press their case some more.

— The group is set to meet with Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), House Ag ranking member G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.), Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Reps. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) and Rick Allen (R-Ga.).

— Cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones will also be in Washington this week for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s first in-person fly-in since before the pandemic. Advocates will press lawmakers for cancer research and prevention funding and legislation to improve diversity in clinical trials by allowing trial sponsors to cover patients’ trial-associated costs.

A message from the National Confectioners Association:

Jobs Report

— Max Seltzer has joined the Senate Commerce Committee Republicans as a professional staff member focused on aviation. He previously was a senior associate at ACG Advocacy.

— KC Jones Dennehy has joined PLUS Communications as a managing director to lead its grassroots and third-party engagement efforts. She most recently served as managing director of new business at FLS Connect.

— The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has promoted Kent Bacus to executive director of government affairs and Mary-Thomas Hart to chief counsel. Bacus was previously senior director for international trade and market access and Hart was previously environmental counsel.

— The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International has added Nina Shelat as director for government affairs focused on AUVSI’s ground domain advocacy portfolio, and Elizabeth Sila as government affairs coordinator focused on state and local advocacy across all domains.

— Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies has added John Reich to its Minneapolis office as a senior principal. He was most recently director of government relations at Minnesota-based Winthrop & Weinstine.

— Beth Spivey is now legislative director for Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). She most recently was a principal at Wolf Global Advisors and is a Trump administration Department of Homeland Security alum.

— Marc Wheat is joining former Vice President Mike Pence’s issue advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, as general counsel. He most recently was deputy assistant general counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

— Retired Army Maj. Gen. Chris Sharpsten is now executive vice president of defense programs at J.A. Green & Co. He previously was director of supply, production and distribution for Operation Warp Speed.

— Kellie Adesina is joining Kraft Heinz as director of federal government affairs. She most recently was director of government affairs at Bayer, and is a House Agriculture alum.

— Isabelle Rosini is joining Red Renegade as an account executive. She previously was on the FreedomWorks comms team.

— Nathan Lindfors has been promoted to policy director at Engine , per Morning Tech. He was previously a policy manager.

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New Joint Fundraisers

Barrett-Gibbs Victory Committee (John Gibbs for Congress, Inc., The Great Lakes Leadership PAC, Tom Barrett for Congress, B Brigade Majority Fund)
Bluegrass Freedom Committee (Reps. Andy Barr, Andrew Garbarino, Ciscomani For Congress, Kean For Congress Inc, Bruce Poliquin For Congress, Great America Committee, Building America's Republican Representation PAC)
HARRIET & KELLY VICTORY (Hageman for Wyoming, Kelly for Alaska, 1890 PAC, Alaska PAC)
Hot Rod Victory Fund (Restoring Our Nation (RON) PAC, Esther for Congress, Pekau for Congress, Citizens for Chris Dargis, Catalina for Congress, Scott Gryder for Congress, Regan4Congress, Christian County Republican Central Committee)
Crockett-Lee Victory Fund (Rep. Barbara Lee, Jasmine for US)
Madison Roundtable Committee 2022 (Sens. Chuck Grassley, Mike Lee, John Kennedy)
NDRC and Groundwork Project Fund (Groundwork Project PAC, National Democratic Redistricting Committee)
NRCC Florida Victory (Aaron Bean for Congress, Laurel Lee for Congress, Inc., Cory Mills for Congress, Anna Paulina Luna for Congress, Republican Party of Florida, NRCC)
Peltola Victory Fund (Rep.-elect Mary Peltola, Alaska Democratic Party)
Pennsylvania Congressional Renewal 2022 (Bognet For Congress, Our Guy For Congress, Scheller For Congress, Inc., Friends Of Jeremy Shaffer, The American Renewal PAC)

New PACs

ACM Solutions (Hybrid PAC)
BE AN AMERICAN PAC (Leadership PAC: Aaron Bean)
BLOCKCHAIN ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (BA PAC) (PAC)
Freedom Our Republic Truly Expects PAC (Super PAC)
Hungarian-American Friends of Fidesz (Super PAC)
O.N.E. Voice (PAC)
Sunshine for America PAC (Super PAC)
United Liberty Front (Super PAC)
United for South Florida (Super PAC)
Unite PAC (Hybrid PAC)

New Lobbying Registrations

Alpine Group Partners, LLC.: Mindbloom, Inc.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Sturgeon Industry Alliance Of America
Capitol Counsel LLC: City Of St. Petersburg, Florida
Capitol Counsel LLC: Flyexclusive
Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Akoustis Technologies
Invariant LLC: Entegris
Invariant LLC: Omni Federal
Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, LLC: Gofundme
Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, Inc.: Chubb Ina Holdings, Inc.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: American Board Of Medical Specialties
Steptoe & Johnson LLP: Air Products And Chemicals, Inc.
Subject Matter (Fka Elmendorf Ryan): Paradigm

New Lobbying Terminations

Lxr Group: Consumer Federation Of America
The Majority Group, LLC: Omie Ar., LLC
The Majority Group, LLC: South College
Watson Green LLC (Formerly Watson/Mulhern, LLC): National Milk Producers Federation

A message from the National Confectioners Association:

In 2017, America’s leading chocolate and candy companies joined forces in a landmark agreement to help consumers manage their sugar intake. In a commitment to Partnership for a Healthier America, these companies set an ambitious goal to provide more transparency, create more portion guidance options in innovative packaging and educate consumers about how unique products like chocolate and candy can be an occasional treat in a balanced lifestyle. The companies exceeded their commitment, empowering consumers to make informed choices and driving directional alignment within the broader confectionery industry. In fact, 85% of chocolate and candy sold today comes in packaging that contains 200 calories or less per pack – whether that’s individually wrapped products or multipacks that contain smaller packages inside. Learn more at AlwaysATreat.com.