| | | | |  | | By Daniel Lippman and Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by Wells Fargo | FIRST IN PI: A top Nevada Republican Senate candidate is the “managing member” of two hemp businesses that greatly exaggerate the extent of their business operations, Daniel reports. — According to Nevada state records, Jeff Gunter, the former U.S. ambassador to Iceland under Donald Trump, is an “active” managing member of Nevada Crest Companies LLC, which publicly says it runs a 160-acre hemp operation, and Dreamer Drops LLC, which says it sells CBD products which have been featured in major media outlets. When asked about the companies, a person close to him conceded that the claims aren’t true. — In the race to be the Republican to face Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) in November, one of the Republican Party’s top pick-up opportunities, Gunter faces former Army Captain Sam Brown, who recently released an internal poll showing him leading Gunter for the June 11th primary. — Gunter’s partner, Heather Wilson, is the founder and CEO of Nevada Crest Farms, whose website said it grows hemp in six harvests a year to meet growing demand for “top-shelf, high-CBD hemp and full-spectrum biomass.” Using hemp made in its “100,000 square feet of CEA-controlled hydroponics and greenhouse facilities,” it also said it sells a number of gummies, topicals, CBD extracts and tinctures, which are hemp-infused oils. — “Under the warmth of the Nevada sun, nestled between Mount Charleston and the Nopah Vista, is a place where science and nature, craft and innovation converge,” the company’s website said. It touted how the hemp it said it grows on its “white-glove farm” is “science forward,” “organically-grown” and “sustainably-raised.” — The person close to Gunter said the farm actually has not built the hydroponics and greenhouse facilities and has not grown any hemp there yet. — Gunter’s other company, Dreamer Drops LLC, said on its website that it’s “America’s #1 sleep system” and that it’s helped “a million sleepless customers” with its hemp-infused drops, gummies and teas. It also claimed it’s been featured in top media outlets like Forbes, Business Insider and NBC, but POLITICO could not find any evidence to back up such marketing hype. — Both company websites were made private or taken down after POLITICO asked about the marketing claims. A spokesperson for Gunter’s campaign said the websites were “undeveloped template sites” that were prematurely published. When ordering a product from one website, a recent customer got an email response saying it was a “test” order. — Gunter didn’t disclose his role for either LLC on his personal financial disclosure filed with the Senate Ethics Committee. The committee gives conflicting guidance about whether such a disclosure is necessary. — The Gunter spokesperson said he has never had any involvement in the businesses and pointed to a statement from Gunter which accused the NRSC of attacking him. Gunter said they sent a tracker to multiple addresses and businesses attached to his name, including a house where his daughter resides, where they tried to ask her questions about his campaign. — “The NRSC is shamelessly exploiting President Trump’s name to amass record-breaking funds, only to spend them on a baseless and intrusive campaign that includes the reprehensible harassment of my children and neighbors on a fact-free scavenger hunt,” he said to PI. “This is a desperate bid that strategically comes after we took the lead in multiple polls, to prop up their candidate, who is burdened with numerous legitimate FEC complaints and trailing by 14 points in general election polls -- my focus remains steadfast on defeating Jacky Rosen and serving the people of Nevada alongside President Trump.” — When asked for comment, NRSC spokesperson Mike Berg made a jab at Gunter’s former state of residence and party affiliation: “It is bizarre that California Democrat Jeff Gunter keeps attacking the NRSC when reporters reach out to him to ask questions about his shady dealings. California Democrat Jeff Gunter should seek professional help.” Happy Thursday and welcome to PI. Send tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko.
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo is proud of the role we play for our customers, communities and the U.S. economy. We serve 1 in 3 U.S. households and more than 10% of small businesses in the nation. We serve customers digitally and in-person, with 4,000 locations across the country, operating in 24 of the 30 largest markets. We cover more rural markets than many large banks, and nearly 30% of our branches are in low- or moderate-income census tracts. See how. | | | TECH LOBBY FIGHTS BACK ON COPYRIGHT: The Chamber of Progress, the left-leaning tech group whose members include Amazon, Apple, Meta and Google, is standing up a new effort to defend the industry in legal and policy fights over the use of copyrighted material to train artificial intelligence models. — The group plans to hire a dedicated director of AI, creativity and copyright policy to lead its “Generate & Create” campaign, which will include filing amicus briefs, engaging in litigation, lobbying federal and state lawmakers and running public affairs campaigns to defend the longstanding fair use principle of copyright law and highlight ways generative AI can help artists in their work. — “Generative AI is unleashing a wave of creativity, enabling new forms of expression, and lowering barriers to participating in creative work,” said Adam Kovacevich, the group’s CEO. He argued “there is much work to do defending access to generative AI and the gains it is delivering for creators and consumers” and vowed that the group will be “a steadfast defender of fair use and a champion for this empowering new technology.” — AI models’ use of copyrighted work has been a key focus of the entertainment industry’s lobbying efforts on the technology, and efforts to clarify the issue are underway both in Washington and across statehouses. The clash between the tech industry and creative community is already playing out in court, with everyone from artists and authors to music publishers and news outlets suing AI and tech companies over alleged copyright infringement. VALLEY OF THE DONALD: Donald Trump heads to San Francisco tonight for a fundraiser hosted by venture capitalist David Sacks that’s expected to haul in more than $12 million for the former president, the New York Times’ Teddy Schleifer reports. But more than that, “the fund-raiser in the beating heart of the liberal tech industry is also shaping up to be a landmark event, at least symbolically.” — “Four years ago, and certainly eight years ago, the Bay Area remained a haven for liberalism and offered little support for Mr. Trump. But that Obama-era bonhomie between Silicon Valley and the Democratic Party has come close to disintegrating.” — “[M]ost of the tech industry’s elite maintain their liberal leanings on everything from immigration to climate change. … But times have changed, and Republicans on a national level see an opportunity to make incursions with wealthy entrepreneurs who have drifted rightward following the Covid pandemic and the resistance to the social-justice movements of 2020.” LEO ALLIES EYE CLIMATE CASE: “Allies of the fossil fuel industry and former President Donald Trump’s judicial adviser are mounting an unprecedented pressure campaign to convince the Supreme Court to side with the fossil fuel industry in a long-running legal dispute that could put oil and gas companies on the hook for billions of dollars,” E&E News’ Lesley Clark writes. — The court met today “to discuss whether to take up the oil industry’s latest request to dismiss dozens of lawsuits filed by U.S. cities, states and counties seeking to hold Exxon Mobil, Chevron and other companies financially accountable for lying about the dangers of burning fossil fuels. The justices could grant or reject the petition in the coming days.” — “Ahead of the justices’ discussion of the petition, Sunoco v. City and County of Honolulu, climate litigation critics, including those with ties to judicial activist Leonard Leo, have penned opinion pieces in conservative outlets and taken to social media with entreaties for the high court to intervene.” FLYING IN: Leaders with Zillow were on the Hill on Wednesday, where they met with nearly two dozen offices to discuss housing and rental affordability, the use of AI in real estate and fair housing initiatives. — Zillow’s member-level meetings included Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), French Hill (R-Ark.), Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.) and Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.). The fly-in concluded with a reception where attendees could look at housing data trends and take VR home tours using Apple Vision Pros. — Minorities in Aquaculture, which aims to boost diversity and inclusivity in the industry, was on the Hill today, bringing its interns to meet with their representatives about expanding aquaculture in the U.S. SPOTTED on Wednesday at the Future of Privacy Forum’s inaugural D.C. forum focused on AI, per a tipster: Jules Polonetsky, Christopher Wolf, Anne Flanagan, John Verdi, Josh Lee, Alan Raul, Dale Skivington and Agnes Bundy Scanlon of the Future of Privacy Forum; Adam Russell of NIST, Virginia Del. Michelle Maldonado, Colorado State Sen. Robert Rodriguez, Sam Levine of the Federal Trade Commission, Keith Sonderling of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Anupam Chander of the Georgetown University Law Center, Ed Britan of Salesforce, Barbara Cosgrove of Workday, Katherine Fick of IBM, Arvind Narayanan of Princeton University, Lael Bellamy of DLA Piper, Omer Tene of Goodwin Procter LLP, Samir Jain of the Center for Democracy & Technology, Jennifer Huddleston of the Cato Institute, Colleen McClain of Pew Research Center and Cameron Kerry of the Brookings Institute.
| | — Former Obama White House chief of staff Bill Daley is joining Crux, the startup running a marketplace for tax credits created by the Inflation Reduction Act, as a senior adviser. He was previously vice chair of public affairs at Wells Fargo and is a former Commerce secretary. — Kion Sanders has joined the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund as senior director of marketing and social impact. Kion was most recently director of storytelling at Jay-Z’s REFORM Alliance, and is an Amazon, Teach for America and Edelman alum. — Christine Lamitina is joining West End Strategy as vice president. She previously was executive vice president at 617 Media Group. — O’Neill and Associates has promoted Erin Riley to vice president and Madeleine McCollum to account executive. Riley was previously a senior director and McCollum was previously an account director at the firm. — Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-Ohio) reelect has hired Eliza Green as press secretary. She was previously a public affairs senior analyst at Forbes Tate Partners. — Jennifer Everett has joined Alston & Bird as a partner in the privacy, cyber and data strategy practice. She was previously a partner at Jones Day.
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo:   | | | | | Baccam Victory Fund (Baccam for Iowa, Iowa Democratic Party) COLORADO RED WAVE VICTORY FUND (Jeff Crank for Congress, Electgabeevans.Com)
| | Americans for Alternatives (Super PAC) BAPTIST PAC (PAC) Norwegian Cruise Co. Inc. Political Action Committee (NCL Cruise Forward PAC) (PAC) Our Land Our Water Our Future (PAC) Shifty Adam Schiff PAC (Super PAC) Tri-County SPAC (Super PAC)
| | New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS | | | Babbage Cofounder: Mc Global Holdings, LLC Continental Strategy, LLC: Notarc Management Group Continental Strategy, LLC: West Miami Eris Group: Celtic Bank Corporation Eris Group: Consumer First Coalition Eris Group: Federal Home Loan Bank Of Atlanta Eris Group: National Association Of Industrial Bankers Eris Group: Nike, Inc. Eris Group: Ocwen Financial Corporation Eris Group: Paypal, Inc. Eris Group: Western Union Franchisee Advocacy Consulting: American Association Of Franchisee & Dealers The Smith-Free Group, LLC: Seven Hills Ob-Gyn Associates, LLC Varnum Street Strategies: Benworth Capital
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | None.
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo: Beyond serving our own customers, Wells Fargo’s goal is to be prepared for the unknowns, which means being financially strong, strategically well positioned, and having the operational and management capabilities to not just survive, but to be a source of strength.
It’s what enabled us to lend support to a smaller bank in a time of need in 2023, which helped stabilize the banking system, ease consumer concerns, and keep a challenge from becoming a much broader crisis.
Wells Fargo is proud of the important role we play for our customers, for our communities, and in the U.S. economy.
What we say, we do. See how. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
