FIRST IN PI — NEW DJI LOBBYISTS’ MIXED MESSAGING: Three new lobbyists for Chinese drone-maker DJI previously criticized Chinese business and trade practices, and the threats that China’s military modernization and the country’s advancements in technology posed, Daniel reports. — In March, DJI hired Porter Wright and the firm’s Beau Rothschild and Adam Wilczewski to advocate for the company on the Countering CCP Drones Act “and other issues related to the regulation of drones” as well as FAA reauthorization, according to LDA filings, which say that the company pays the firm $25,000 quarterly. That month, DJI also hired Brian Darling of Liberty Government Affairs, who is on a $45,000 quarterly retainer, according to lobbying records. — In 2019, Rothschild, a former chief of staff for former Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), wrote a Washington Times op-ed arguing that the “Chinese have doubled down on unfair trade practices that have put them in a position to steal American technology, heavily subsidize exports and increase exports to the United States — and they are winning.” — As an advisory board member of the National Association of District Export Councils, Wilczewski, the former chief of staff of the International Trade Administration, in 2021 helped draft a white paper about the threat posed by Chinese non-market and predatory practices. — “America is ill-prepared to confront successfully current global competitive challenges by foreign competitors, especially state-controlled economies like China,” the paper wrote. — Rothschild and Wilczewski didn’t respond to requests for comment, but a Porter Wright spokesperson said in a statement to PI: “Porter Wright has a long history of conducting government affairs work, and we are proud to represent all of our clients, including DJI Technologies, Inc. (US).” — Three weeks after signing with DJI, which has denied Defense Department allegations of being linked to the Chinese military, Darling, a former counsel and communications director for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), published an op-ed for Real Clear Policy about the risks posed by China’s military modernization and the threat of Chinese technology. — “The Chinese military’s substantial investment in and adept use of AI to
simulate and strategize for future conflicts provides them with a strategic advantage over American military efforts,” he warned. He also cautioned that Xi “has made his intentions clear: to take Taiwan by 2027.” Darling also wrote an op-ed in late March for the Washington Times about the importance of the free market to take on China and previously has criticized China for its influence in Latin America. — Darling, who also represents China-connected fashion retailer Shein, said he was proud of his work for DJI, adding: “The company has been subject to attacks by protectionists blocking American consumer access to high quality, low-cost user-friendly drones … Banning DJI drones would endanger American lives and jobs.” — Asked about his China criticism, Darling said there was a “big difference between working for Chinese entrepreneurs who have created amazing companies that American consumers desire and criticizing the Chinese government.” — In a statement, DJI did not address the inconsistency of its lobbyists writing pieces critical of China but instead defended its lobbying work. “Our goal is to foster open communication, informing regulatory bodies about the capabilities and benefits of our drone technology, while correcting misconceptions rooted in protectionism and addressing misinformation about our company,” DJI said. — Until recently, the Porter Wright lobbyists working on the DJI account were also all registered for Ukraine Focus, a group that says it’s dedicated to “committed to alleviating suffering, providing humanitarian aid, and creating opportunities for a brighter future” in Ukraine. Ukraine has accused DJI of supplying drones to Russia to use in the war in Ukraine. After the accusation, DJI said it wouldn’t sell drones to both Russia and Ukraine anymore. — Ukraine Focus President and CEO Brock Bierman said in a statement that their relationship with Porter Wright ended at the end of July and that they had not been made aware that the firm had also represented DJI. TGIF and welcome to PI. Got any fun plans for the pre-election recess? Let me know: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. DEMS GRILL COMPANIES OVER TAX LOBBYING: “Democrats want to know how much big companies are paying major lobbies to lean on lawmakers ahead of the tax code expirations that are set for next year,” The Hill’s Tobias Burns reports. — “Top executives at big companies, including Netflix, Ford and Tesla, received letters from Democratic lawmakers, demanding specifics on lobbying budgets and whether company boards approved them. ‘How much is AmerisourceBergen spending on lobbying efforts relating to renewing, amending, or maintaining the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act?’ the lawmakers wrote to that pharmaceutical company, referring to the Trump tax cuts.” — “In letters to more than 35 companies, Democrats also asked how much lobbying spending was happening through different professional coalitions and trade associations, many of which have vague and hard-to-identify branding. … The letters were signed by more than a dozen senators and representatives, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).” WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN: “Donald Trump on Friday called for Google to be criminally prosecuted for what the Republican presidential nominee called the company’s bias toward his election opponent Vice President Kamala Harris in online search results,” CNBC’s Dan Mangan writes. — “Trump in a social media post wrote that if the Department of Justice does not prosecute Google ‘for this blatant interference of Elections’ he would request its prosecution ‘when I win the election and become President of the United States!’” — “He seemed to be reacting to a new study by the right-leaning Media Research Center, which purportedly found that Google search engine results tended to show news articles that supposedly were positive to the Democrat Harris ahead of Trump’s own campaign website when a user searched for ‘Donald Trump presidential race 2024.’” — If that refrain sounds familiar, it’s because Trump took the search giant to task for allegedly serving up “rigged” search results during his first administration, one of many shots the former president took in office at tech giants like Facebook and Twitter (which had yet to come under the control of Trump ally Elon Musk). — Google and social media platforms have long denied conservatives’ accusations of ideological censorship, and legislative efforts to rein in the tech industry have stalled in Congress for years. But it was at the close of Trump’s administration that the Justice Department and a collection of Republican attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit over Google’s online search dominance — a suit that concluded only last month with a major loss for Google. RELATED READING: “Top House Republicans are stalling landmark US legislation that would protect children from online exploitation and bullying, bowing to criticisms from Big Tech and exposing a rift within the party over regulating social media,” Bloomberg’s Emily Birnbaum reports. — The Kids Online Safety Act “passed the Senate on a 91-3 vote in July and President Joe Biden has vowed to sign it into law. But House GOP leaders, as well as several other Republican lawmakers, have raised concerns that it’s too heavy handed and could sideline some conservative content online.” — “The emotionally charged debate over the legislation has laid bare the resilience of tech companies’ political power in the face of growing public concerns about social media’s harmful effects on young people. And it illustrates the value of well-connected allies in Washington at a moment of public outcry.” SPOTTED at Smoke & Mirrors last night for a 13th anniversary party for S-3 Group, per a tipster: Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.), Ron Estes (R-Kan.), Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), David Valadao (R-Calif.), Jake LaTurner (R-Kan.), Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Shuwanza Goff of the White House, Adam Peterman and Laura McPherson of T-Mobile, Max Fenkell of Scale AI, Matt Miller, Paul Jackson and Javier Gamboa of Business Roundtable; Brian Appel, Linda Pham and Austin Metsch of S&P Global; Kori Blalock Keller of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Elizabeth Baker of the Air Line Pilots Association, Kim Kauffman of The Kauffman Group, Ryan Weston of Florida Sugar Cane League, India Herdman of the Consumer Technology Association, Kathleen Mellody of JPMorganChase, Laura Pinsky of Sazerac, Larry Ryder of Austal USA, Jessy Han of Schneider Electric, Nick Pearson of Google, Colin Craib of UBS, Mary Kate Clement of LPL Financial, Atalie Ebersole of the Pet Food Institute, Sarah Rittling, Sarah Rubinfield and Christy Felling of First Five Years Fund; Kate Renz of Pitney Bowes, Nikki Burns of LEGO, Parker Kasmer of the American Exploration and Production Council, Leigh Parker Pross of General Atomics, Toni-Marie Higgins of Sen. John Boozman’s (R-Ark.) office, Katie Brown and Annie Clark of Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-Maine) office and more. — And on Wednesday night at Rayburn House Office Building for a Market Institute happy hour to support site-neutral payment reforms, where guests were given 12 drink tickets to spend at either a "hospital-owned" bar charging 10 tickets per drink, or a "physician-owned" bar charging one ticket per drink, per a tipster: Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), Lauren Stewart of Americans for Prosperity, Geoff Holtzman of Stand Together, James Davis of Touchdown Strategies and Charles Sauer of the Market Institute.
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