Menendez conviction a big win for DOJ foreign agent crackdown

Jul 16, 2024

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With Daniel Lippman

A HISTORIC GUILTY VERDICT: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) became the first sitting lawmaker convicted of acting as an agent of a foreign government this afternoon, marking a stunning fall from grace for a powerful committee chair and handing the Justice Department a major win in its efforts to crack down on illicit foreign influence campaigns.

— A jury in Manhattan found Menendez guilty on all 16 charges in the corruption trial, which alleged in part that Menendez and several associates accepted bribes like gold bars and luxury cars to take actions benefiting the Egyptian government, our Daniel Han and Ry Rivard report. Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Menendez reiterated his innocence and pledged to appeal the verdict.

— “It’s an important win for DOJ,” said Josh Rosenstein, a partner at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, who was not involved in the case but like other Foreign Agents Registration Act experts told PI that the verdict is sure to fuel the department’s aggression in enforcing FARA.

— The foreign agent charge — the first ever levied against a sitting lawmaker — was a huge gamble in itself. “Any time you’re charging a violation that’s never before been charged there are risks and uncertainty. You’re charging a senator, which presents its own challenges,” Morrison & Foerster’s Brandon Van Grack said in an email.

— “And DOJ has had a few recent failures when going after high-profile individuals for being a foreign agent. So it’s a big deal,” Van Grack, who previously oversaw DOJ’s FARA Unit and prosecuted some of the aforementioned judicial setbacks, told PI.

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— Caplin & Drysdale’s Matthew Sanderson noted that “unlike some other FARA-related prosecutions that can seem like a hyper-technical and victimless crime of failing to fill out a form, Menendez violated his oath of office and the public trust in a way that was straightforward for a jury to assess.”

— While the appeals process still will take time to work itself out, today’s verdict is surely being watched closely by the second-ever sitting member of Congress to be charged with illegally acting as a foreign agent.

— “My thoughts turned immediately to Congressman Henry Cuellar, who must view today’s result as ominous, given the similarities between the Menendez case and the charges brought against Cuellar earlier this year,” Sanderson said of the Texas Democrat, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of acting as a foreign agent of Azerbaijan.

Happy Tuesday and welcome to PI. I’ll be off for the rest of the week, but you all will once again be in the very capable hands of Hailey Fuchs. Send her all your influence tips: hfuchs@politico.com. And be sure to follow her on X: @Hailey_Fuchs.

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VANCE HAS TEPID K STREET TIES: In naming Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, former President Donald Trump has selected a newcomer to Washington without the kinds of ties to the lobbying industry a vice presidential pick might typically come along with.

— “Vance hasn't really been around long enough to build a K Street network and hasn't really demonstrated a great interest in building one,” one Republican lobbyist said Monday prior to Trump’s announcement, which was preempted by a lobbying campaign by major donors and which set off panic in C-suites. Other Republicans downtown who subscribe to Vance’s political philosophy have set to work writing memos to try to help their clients understand him.

— “J.D. was incredibly successful as a venture capitalist, helping companies grow and create new technologies and new jobs for Americans,” Vance ally and House candidate Blake Masters told Daniel. “But he also knows that the Washington lobbying industry wants a chokehold over American business and must be kept in check.”

— “The D.C. aspect of this does not interest him,” added another Republican who knows Vance. “It's going to be weird for these people,” they added, referring to denizens of the D.C. cocktail circuit.

— Republican operatives told PI that some of Vance’s strongest relationships in D.C. are with conservative think tanks and organizations influential on the so-called New Right, like the populist think tank American Compass and its chief economist Oren Cass; the nonprofit public service group American Moment; and the Heritage Foundation.

— That’s not to say Vance has eschewed K Street entirely; lobbyists told PI that he and his staff have good relationships with some Republican lobbyists and firms who have Ohio ties or who raised money for him during his contentious 2022 Senate primary.

— Cesar Conda of Navigators Global and Glenn Westrick of Travelers Insurance threw one of the first D.C. fundraisers for Vance in March 2022, with co-hosts that included Ballard Partners’ Brian Ballard, former Gov. Haley Barbour of BGR Group and C. Boyden Gray of Boyden Gray, according to an invite shared with PI. Former House Speaker John Boehner, who’s now at Squire Patton Boggs and used to represent the district where Vance grew up, also threw Vance a fundraiser during his Senate race.

WATCH THIS SPACE: “Elon Musk has said he plans to commit around $45 million a month to a new super political-action committee backing former President Donald Trump’s presidential run,” people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal’s Dana Mattioli, Emily Glazer and Khadeeja Safdar.

— “Other backers of the group, called America PAC, include Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale, the Winklevoss twins, former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft and her husband, Joe Craft, who is chief executive of coal producer Alliance Resource Partners.”

— “Formed in June, America PAC is focused on registering voters and persuading constituents to vote early and request mail-in ballots in swing states, according to one of the people. The coalition assessed that the Democrats have historically had very robust ‘get out the vote’ campaigns and took note of the amounts of money that the Biden camp has dedicated to what are called on-the-ground efforts in swing states. America PAC will try to counter that.”

BIZ GROUPS PUMP THE BRAKES ON SENATE WORKFORCE BILL: “A cadre of business groups Tuesday expressed concerns with the possible inclusion of language aimed at excluding unscrupulous employers from workforce development initiatives as part of the Senate’s version of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act,” our Nick Niedzwiadek writes.

— “Nineteen trade organizations sent a letter to Senate HELP Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and his GOP counterpart, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who have been developing a reauthorization of WIOA for much of the year. In it, the groups objected to what they termed a ‘blacklisting’ provision included in a discussion draft, saying that they ‘harm the good-faith, bipartisan efforts to reauthorize the law.’”

— “The letter signers — which included the National Retail Federation, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and National Association of Manufacturers — argue that there are sufficient safeguards to prevent abuses that render the additional language extraneous.”

SPOTTED at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee for a BGR reception honoring Barbour and his service to the RNC — which includes serving as chair from 1993-97 — per a tipster: former Wisconsin Gov. and HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson; Milwaukee host committee Chair Reince Priebus; Sens. John Thune (R-N.D.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.); Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Jason Smith (R-Mo.), Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), Michael Guest (R-Miss.), John Joyce (R-Ohio), Trent Kelly (R-Miss.), Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) and Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas); Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves; Chris LaCivita of the RNC and Trump campaign, Dan Brouillette of the Edison Electric Institute; Jon Dinesman of Centene; Kevin Keane of the American Beverage Association; DeLee Shoemaker of Microsoft; Lisa Shoemaker of Idemia; Matt Well of The Herald Group; Alex Roger of Qualcomm; Kevin Richards of SAP; Surya Gunasekara of JinkoSolar US; and many more.

Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.

Jobs report

— Gilbert Hughes is now vice president of public affairs at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. He was previously vice president of external affairs at American Electric Power Texas.

— Peter Juul is now director of national security policy at the Progressive Policy Institute. He previously had a Substack, The Liberal Patriot, and is a Center for American Progress alum.

— Lydia Hennessey is now director at Trident DMG. She previously was a managing supervisor at FleishmanHillard.

— Kevin McColaugh is joining the NCAA as director of government relations. He previously was director of federal relations at Northeastern University and is a Charlie Baker alum.

— Julissa Reynoso is joining Winston & Strawn as a partner. She previously was the first female U.S. ambassador to Spain and Andorra and before that was chief of staff to first lady Jill Biden.

— Teresa Buckley Bill is rejoining PhRMA as deputy vice president of federal government affairs. She previously was senior director of federal government affairs at Gilead and is a Larry Buschon alum.

— Corey Williams is now legislative affairs director with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. He most recently was director of government relations at IAC.

— Bethany Johns is joining Washington State University’s office of federal relations. She was previously deputy director of public policy and interim acting director at the American Astronomical Society.

New Joint Fundraisers

None.

New PACs

Capitol Hill Fight Club (super PAC)

FREE INDEED PAC (leadership PAC: Joe Teirab)

The L & C Coalition (super PAC)

LMWC Republican Action (super PAC)

Protect America PAC (super PAC)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

Adams And Reese LLP: Monroe County Hospital

Allen Egon Cholakian: Allatra International Public Movement

Banner Public Affairs LLC: Brita

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP: Samson Extracts LLC

Center Road Solutions: Debbie Haine

Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies: Filevine

Fgs Global (US) LLC (Fka Fgh Holdings LLC): Lincoln Media LLC

Iqom Strategic Advisors LLC: Bocar

JPC Strategies LLC: Jupiter Power LLC

King Sweeney Strategies LLC: JetBlue

Lsn Partners LLC: Rainmaker Technology Corp.

McAllister & Quinn: Thrixen

Monument Advocacy: Network Advertising Initiative

Pace LLP: Mooretown Rancheria

Rich Feuer Anderson: Early Warning Services LLC

R&R Partners Inc.: Walker Basin Conservancy

Ruffalo And Associates LLC: Ambipar Response Training Center

Solve Advocacy LLC: Non-Human Intelligence Research Institute

Strategic Marketing Innovations: GE Aerospace

TheGroup DC LLC: Gilead Sciences Inc.

TheGroup DC LLC: HP Inc.

The Madison Group: Internet2

The Roosevelt Group: Airbus U.S. Space & Defense Inc.

Tiber Creek Group: Sierra Club

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New Lobbying Terminations

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP: State Of Alaska's Department Of Law

Center Road Solutions: Culpepper Garden

Center Road Solutions: Kelly Ghaisar

Center Road Solutions: National Association For Children's Behavioral Health

CFM Strategic Communications (Conkling Fiskum & Mccormick): City Of Wilsonville

CFM Strategic Communications (Conkling Fiskum & Mccormick): The Bus Coalition

Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Akoustis Technologies

Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: City Of Whiting, Indiana

Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Coolcad Electronics

Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Spirit Animal Coffee LLC

Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Tampa Bay Water

Emanuel & Associates Inc. (Fka Adam Emanuel): Ntech Workforce

Federal Hall Policy Advisors LLC: Arnold & Itkin

Fgs Global (US) LLC (Fka Fgh Holdings LLC): Abb Inc.

Fidelis Government Relations: Lok Child Care Center

Hanka Advisor LLC: Duluth Seaway Port Authority

Hanka Advisor LLC: Earth Ltd.

John Ladd & Associates Inc.: Tougaloo College

Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP: Americans for Transparency and Accountability

KBK Consulting Group: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

Leroy Jones Jr.: Kbk Consulting Group Obo National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

Madison Services Group Inc.: California Association For Micro Enterprise Opportunity

McAllister & Quinn: California Primary Care Association

McAllister & Quinn: Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area

McAllister & Quinn: Saint Joseph'S College

McAllister & Quinn: The Port Of Cincinnati

Middle East Forum: Middle East Forum

Ohio River South Inc.: Rowen Foundation

Olsson, Frank, Weeda, Terman & Matz PC: Nestle Purina Pet Care

Pittenger Global Advisory LLC: Quantinuum Ltd.

Rebellion Defense: Rebellion Defense

Squire Patton Boggs: American Solar Rail LLC

Squire Patton Boggs: Compact Power Inc.

Strategic Marketing Innovations: University Of Maine

The Livingston Group LLC: National Association Of Ordnance Contractors

The Smith-Free Group LLC: Walker & Dunlop Inc.

The Washington Tax & Public Policy Group (Formerly The Washington Tax Group): U.S. Travel Association

Thorn Run Partners: Horizon Therapeutics USA Inc.

Tiber Creek Group: Cormedix Inc.

Velos (Formerly Pinnacle Engineering And Management Solutions): Tss Solutions

Waxman Strategies: Medicines360

Waxman Strategies: Sierra Club

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