FIRST IN PI: Wisconsin GOP Senate candidate Eric Hovde is going up with a multimillion-dollar ad buy in the closing days of the campaign hitting his opponent, Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, for calling it “disturbing” in 2009 that same-sex domestic partners of lawmakers were not subject to the financial disclosure obligations of their married peers while refusing to disclose the financial assets of the woman she is dating. — The ad highlights 2009 Senate testimony from the then-congressmember on her bill to extend benefits and obligations to the domestic partners of federal staffers. Baldwin pointed out that her domestic partner at the time was not “currently subject to any of the obligations related to my federal service,” unlike other congressional spouses. (Same-sex marriage was legal in only a handful of states at the time.) — “I find this disturbing,” Baldwin continued, noting that other members of Congress must include “very important information” each year about their spouses’ finances. “Surely, the public interest would require that these obligations apply also to partners of gay and lesbian officeholders,” she said. The bill would not have applied to relationships like Baldwin and Maria Brisbane’s. — Hovde has routinely attacked Baldwin’s refusal to disclose details about Brisbane’s investments and clients in her role at Morgan Stanley — which Hovde has said poses a conflict of interest. Baldwin, who split the cost of a $1.3 million home in D.C. with Brisbane in 2021, has reiterated that she is not legally required to disclose that information and dismissed the scrutiny as an invasion of privacy. FARA FRIDAY: “Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the House Oversight panel’s top Democrat, asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate” whether former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had violated FARA in the course of his business with Saudi Arabia, our Jordain Carney writes. — In a letter to Garland sent Thursday, Wyden and Raskin cited Kushner’s informal advisory role on Trump’s campaign — while at the same time taking tens of millions in investments from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and other foreign investors through the investment firm Kushner set up after his father’s presidency. The lawmakers also point to a recent report that Kushner had discussed diplomatic concerns with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A spokesperson for Kushner mocked the lawmakers’ assertion. WHITHER THE BUSINESS LOBBY?: For decades, lobbyists for corporate America — from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to groups representing farmers, hotels, restaurants, manufacturing and more — were a force to be reckoned with in immigration politics. Now, ProPublica’s Eli Hager writes, “the U.S. business community has increasingly retreated from immigration politics over the past decade and especially this year.” — “They have largely relinquished their previous role as a lobbying force and moderating presence on this issue, despite their need for immigrant workers arguably being greater than ever.” — “And they’ve been noticeably absent even as the current Republican presidential candidate promises to deploy the military to mass-deport 15 million to 20 million immigrants, and even as he continues to hack away at the political popularity of immigration itself — the effects of which might be felt for decades to come.” FOLLOWING THE MONEY: “Just two years after it started pouring money into campaigns, AIPAC has become one of the largest outside spenders in congressional elections,” The Intercept’s Akela Lacy writes in new dollar-by-dollar analysis of the pro-Israel group’s political spending aimed at mapping out “how much money has been spent on behalf of Israel, where these groups are doling out money, and what impact those funds are having on the balance of power in Congress.” — Among the findings: “There are few congressional races that AIPAC sat out this year. Of the 469 seats up for reelection this year, AIPAC has spent money on more than 80 percent: 389 races in total. … Of the 389 candidates AIPAC funded, 57 did not face a primary. … AIPAC PAC supported 233 Republicans with a total of more than $17 million in funds, 152 Democrats who received more than $28 million in sum, and three independents … AIPAC spent this year on races in every state except Ohio. … Among the places it spent most were New York and California, predictable big-money locations with two of the largest delegations in Congress.” SPOTTED at a reception for the launch of the new Congressional Staff Association on AI hosted by the Information Technology Industry Council: ITI’s Margaret McCarthy and Mike Flynn, CSA.ai’s Alexandra Seymour, Grace Brightbill, Alex Scheuer, Joel Gardner, Kasey O’Connor, Pat Pelletier, Lauren Watt, Robert Yeakel, Kenny LaSalle, Robert Hoffman, Aleeke Spence, Evan Viau, Charlie Moskowitz, Drew Wayne, and Paul Redifer.
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