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Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | With Daniel Lippman SIGNAL GROUP LOBBYISTS HANG A SHINGLE: A trio of staffers from Signal Group have struck out on their own to launch their own lobbying and consulting firm, the Brumidi Group. Charles Cooper and Madeline Wade, who had both been with Signal for more than half a decade, will be the new firm’s managing partner and partner, respectively. — Pooja Patel , who was a senior manager at Signal Group, will be a director at the new firm, which is named for the artist behind a number of the fresco paintings that hang throughout the Capitol — most notably in the dome of the rotunda. — Cooper and Wade indicated that at least some of their existing clients, which at Signal included Publix, Hellmann’s, Vista Outdoor, ACI Worldwide, Grant Thornton and REI, will follow them to the new firm. FORBES TATE BRINGS DIGITAL AGENCY IN HOUSE: Government affairs shop Forbes Tate Partners has acquired the digital media agency Engage, formalizing a yearslong partnership in order to offer clients a “modern, really comprehensive approach to public policy” advocacy, Engage’s Nick Schaper told PI. — “We started working together on projects … almost two years ago now,” said Schaper, who is managing partner at Engage. “And then we found that the more that we got to spend time with each other’s staff and got to collaborate on things, there was just a really great culture fit.” He added that “it's been a great collaboration so far, so taking it to the next step made a lot of sense.” — Jeff Forbes , Forbes Tate’s founding partner, argued the acquisition was a no-brainer because of the way public affairs work has evolved into an “outside in” lobbying approach, where a client must “really make [their] case back home, and to then bring it to the Hill.” — “We really decided to invest in it and create it because I just think it's the only way to lobby anymore,” Forbes said in an interview. “This just gives us an amazing tool to help do that … to help sort of bring the message from home, get the message out at home, to help people understand in Washington the effect of what they’re doing back home.” — The two firms are already working together on behalf of H.Q. Energy Services, the U.S. subsidiary of the Canadian utility Hydro-Quebec that is pursuing wind, solar and hydropower projects across the northeast. With control of the next Congress still up in the air, “we’re going to be there to make sure that we’re positioning our clients to be ready for anything that happens,” Forbes said. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. One week til Election Day. Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. Then send K Street gossip: coprysko@politico.com . And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko .
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DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID . | | | | | JURY TO GET BARRACK CASE: “There was ‘nothing nefarious’ about former private equity executive Tom Barrack’s ties with United Arab Emirates officials, Barrack’s defense lawyer said during closing arguments on Tuesday,” per Reuters’ Luc Cohen, “denying prosecutors’ charges the onetime ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump was an illegal foreign agent.” — “Randall Jackson, Barrack’s lawyer, said there was no evidence Barrack agreed to act as a UAE agent during either of his two 2016 meetings with UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the second of which took place during a bike ride in Morocco.” — “‘The theory of the government is that they have come to some sort of super secret spy agreement during this first meeting, and during the second meeting they're going to firm it up,’ Jackson said. ‘No one, if they want to have a serious discussion about an illegal arrangement with a 70-year-old man, says let's do it on a bike ride.’” — Jurors will soon decide the fate of Barrack and his former aide Matthew Grimes, who’ve both pleaded not guilty to charges of working to advance the Emiratis’ interests during the Trump campaign and administration without notifying the attorney general as the law requires. — “‘Mr. Barrack traded his political access for a long-term relationship with top UAE officials ... who controlled vast oil wealth,’ Ryan Harris , an assistant U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, told jurors in his closing argument on Tuesday. ‘In return, the UAE unlocked its purse strings.’” — Earlier in the day, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan “ restricted the legal theories that prosecutors could argue to the jury,” in particular relating to charges of lying to the FBI that Barrack also faces, Bloomberg’s David Voreacos and Zijia Song report. “Cogan had said Monday that he was considering dismissing some of the nine counts against Barrack altogether, but he didn’t toss any charges on Tuesday. The judge in the past has dropped counts following a guilty verdict.” ARTISTS PROD DURBIN ON RADIO ROYALTIES BILL: Legendary musicians urged lawmakers today to take up legislation championed by the recording industry that would require large radio broadcasters to pay artists royalties or other compensation when their music is played on AM or FM stations. — Musicians are already entitled to performance royalties when their work is played on digital or streaming services but radio broadcasters, behind the lobbying might of the National Association of Broadcasters, have successfully fought off efforts to require such “performance fees” maintaining that such a move would hurt small, local stations that help launch artists’ careers. — But the recording industry is pushing lawmakers to reject those arguments . “For decades now, corporate broadcasters have used an antiquated loophole to play unlimited music for free,” five dozen musicians wrote in a letter to Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). The letter was organized by the recording industry coalition musicFIRST, which is chaired by former lawmaker and amateur musician Joe Crowley. — “We have watched as giant radio corporations have continued to grow, raking in billions in advertising dollars while refusing to pay a single cent to us, the artists behind the music that attracts their advertisers in the first place and makes their entire business model possible,” the artists wrote to Durbin, contending that the lack of royalties in the U.S., as well as in other countries where royalties are withheld in retaliation for U.S. policy, costs American artists around $200 million in income each year. — Its signatories include Cyndi Lauper, Hanson, Gloria Estefan, Peter Frampton, Jackson Browne and Pat Benatar, who asked Durbin to take up the American Music Fairness Act. Durbin’s counterpart in the House, Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), held a hearing this year on the bill’s House companion at which Estefan testified, but the bill has yet to see a vote with Congress set to wrap up its work for this year in a matter of weeks. BIDEN PUTS THE SQUEEZE ON OIL COMPANIES: “President Joe Biden accused oil companies of ‘war profiteering’ Monday after they posted record profits — and urged Congress to impose a windfall tax on the industry if it fails to lower consumers’ costs” in his sharpest comments yet against the industry, POLITICO’s Josh Siegel writes. — “But his call is most likely a futile one, since Congress won’t meet before the election next week that’s expected to deliver control of at least one chamber of Congress to Republicans, and the idea is unlikely to draw strong enough political support even among his own party.” — “‘Their profits are a windfall of war, the windfall from the brutal conflict that’s ravaging Ukraine and hurting tens of millions of people around the globe,’ Biden said from the White House. He reiterated his call for the oil industry to use the surging profits to increase its oil production and refining capacity, and said it was time they looked beyond ‘the narrow self-interest’ of their executives and shareholders.” — Business groups quickly dismissed Biden’s threat as both politically motivated and misplaced. “Experience proves that adding new taxes to punish companies actually hurts consumers,” Neil Bradley, the top lobbyist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , said in a statement. “In this case, it will raise gasoline prices by removing the incentive to produce and refine more oil. To lower our energy costs we need a long-term energy strategy focused on boosting production, not finger-pointing.” — “Raising taxes on American energy manufacturers is dangerous and destructive for the American people and the manufacturers who depend on access to reliable energy,” National Association of Manufacturers President Jay Timmons said in a statement, echoing Bradley by noting: “History has shown that this is a failed policy that could lead to more imports and even higher prices.”
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S 2nd ANNUAL DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/16: The United States is facing a defining moment in the future of its defense, national security and democratic ideals. The current conflicts and developments around the world are pushing Washington to reshape its defense strategy and how it cooperates with allies. Join POLITICO for our second annual defense summit, “At a Crossroads: America’s Defense Strategy” on November 16 in person at the Schuyler DC or join online to hear keynote interviews and panels discussing the road ahead for America’s national security. REGISTER HERE . | | | | | | | | — Mindset has promoted Chris Brown and Lisa Peto to partners, Charlie Schreiber and Anna Yanker to senior directors, and Lois Lim and Sarah Alexander to directors. — Aaron Suntag is now a principal at Public Strategies Washington, leading the firm’s energy, environment and sustainability practice. He previously was senior policy adviser to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). — Kate Kiernan is now vice president of state relations and regulatory affairs at Northwestern Mutual. She previously was vice president of state affairs at Zurich North America. — Adam Zimmerman is now an independent communications and PR consultant. He most recently was vice president at public interest communications firm Burness. — Alan Stephens has been named vice president of regulatory affairs for the National Air Transportation Association. He was previously acting deputy director for FAA Flight Standards, and takes over as department head from John McGraw, who will continue on as a senior adviser. — Jamal Brown is joining TikTok to manage policy communications for the Americas, primarily focusing on the United States. Brown was previously deputy press secretary at the Pentagon and served as Joe Biden’s campaign national press secretary. — Ross Lieberman is now senior vice president of government affairs at Hotwire Communications. He was previously senior vice president of government affairs at ACA Connects. — Nick Yaeger, Jon Potter, Mark Drapeau and Chris Grimm have launched RXN Group, an influence and advocacy firm. Yaeger is a tech startup founder and former vice president at POLITICO, Potter founded the Digital Media Association and Developers Alliance, Drapeau is a former Microsoft director and is editor-in-chief at Data Catalyst Institute (now part of RXN) and Grimm led Fan Freedom and is an Orrick alum.
| | | Santos D'Esposito Nassau Victory Committee (Devolder-Santos for Congress, D’Esposito for New York, NRCC)
| | | Benjamin Franklin Institute (Super PAC)
| | New Lobbying Registrations | | Alb Solutions: Marius Pharmaceuticals LLC
Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: City Of Alexandria, Va
Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Mno-Bmadsen
Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Right Energy Services
Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Tritium Technologies LLC
Bockorny Group, Inc.: South Dakota Biotech Association
Corley Consulting, LLC: University Of North Texas
George J. Hochbrueckner & Associates, Inc.: Frequency Electronics, Inc. (Fei)
North Star Strategies, LLC: Appalachian Resource Company LLC
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP Dba Taft Advisors LLC Fka (Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, LLP): Rankin Hinds Pearl River Flood & Drainage Control District
The Russell Group, Inc.: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP On Behalf Of North American Produce Coalition
Woodside Energy Group Ltd: Woodside Energy Group Ltd
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | James Graybeal: Red Cell
Pauley Management Inc.: Amateur Athletic Union Of The United States, Inc.
Velocity Government Relations, LLC: Astroscale U.S. Inc. | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
