RIVERA HIT WITH FARA CHARGES: “A former Miami congressman who signed a $50 million consulting contract with Venezuela’s socialist government was arrested Monday on charges of money laundering and representing a foreign government without registering,” The Associated Press’ Joshua Goodman and Terry Spencer reported. — “David Rivera, a Republican who has been marred by scandals stretching back to his days in Congress from 2011 to 2013, was arrested at Atlanta’s airport, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami.” — “The eight-count indictment alleges Rivera at the start of the Trump administration was part of a conspiracy to lobby on behalf of Venezuela to lower tensions with the U.S., resolve a legal dispute with a U.S. oil company and end U.S. sanctions against the South American nation — all without registering as a foreign agent.” — Rivera’s indictment shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise — a U.S. subsidiary of the state-run Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. sued the former congressman back in 2020 for breach of contract related to his consulting work for the oil company, prompting calls from lawmakers and watchdogs alike for probes into whether Rivera violated FARA. — Still, the indictment handed down by a grand jury signals the department isn’t yet letting up on its aggressive enforcement posture, including for high-profile targets. FTX’S OTHER BIG DONOR: FTX’s co-CEOs Sam Bankman-Fried and Ryan Salame got much of the attention for their fast ascensions into political megadonor status, but another executive at the since-collapsed crypto exchange also dropped some serious coin on campaigns in recent years , as chronicled by CNBC’s Brian Schwartz. — “A year after Nishad Singh became the company’s director of engineering, he quietly emerged as a reliable political donor for Democrats,” donating “more than $13 million to party causes since the start of the 2020 presidential election, according to state and federal campaign finance records.” — “Singh donated $8 million to federal campaigns in the 2022 election cycle, and all of it went to Democrats, according to the nonpartisan campaign watchdog OpenSecrets. He was among a handful of former senior officials at FTX who were deeply involved with financing the 2022 midterms.” — “The sum makes him the 34th highest donor to all federal campaigns across the country during the latest election, ahead of other party donors such as billionaires Tom Steyer and angel investor Ron Conway, OpenSecrets said. Singh’s only recorded campaign donation before he took the senior role at FTX was a $2,700 contribution in 2018 to Rep. Sean Casten , D-Ill., a member of the House Financial Services Committee.” RODNEY DAVIS’ TOP AIDE HEADS DOWNTOWN: Bret Manley has joined Elevate Government Affairs as an executive vice president after around 15 years on the Hill. Manley was most recently chief of staff to Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), who is leaving office at the end of the year after losing a primary challenge. Manley also worked briefly at the Association of American Railroads and before that was an aide to former Reps. Jeff Denham and Gary Miller. ICYMI — CONTOURS OF A CANNABIS DEAL COMING TOGETHER: “The package of cannabis legislation built around the SAFE Banking Act will reportedly include the HOPE Act and the GRAM Act, according to three people familiar with the discussions,” POLITICO’s Natalie Fertig reports. — “The HOPE Act would create grant funding for states to expunge cannabis-related records, and the GRAM Act would protect gun rights for marijuana users in legal jurisdictions. A bipartisan group of senators led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) have been working on a package around SAFE, with hopes of including it in the National Defense Authorization Act, which is expected to come to the floor later this week.” — “While senators on both sides of the aisle say the votes are there for the bill, it must pass the difficult test of receiving sign-off from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , who is not a strong supporter of any cannabis legislation,” and who earlier today threw cold water on the notion of including cannabis provisions in the defense bill. MORE ARTISTS BACK RADIO ROYALTIES BILL: Ahead of a markup tomorrow on the American Music Fairness Act, which would grant performance royalties for plays on broadcast radio, another 40 artists have thrown their support behind the measure. — Harry Belafonte, Randy Travis, Elvis Costello, Common, Jack White, The Roots and more added their signatures to a Nov. 1 letter asking Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to take up the bill in his committee . The original letter was signed by five dozen musicians. — The House Judiciary Committee announced last week that it would mark up the radio royalties bill, a major step for the push from the recording industry but one that is likely to come too late for passage in both chambers of Congress before lawmakers finish their work for the year. — In a statement last week, the National Association of Broadcasters’ Curtis LeGeyt pointed out that a resolution opposing such royalties has more than 250 co-sponsors in the House, signaling that the American Music Fairness Act wouldn’t have the votes if the bill made it to the floor.
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