| | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | | Presented by |  | | | With Jessica Piper, Daniel Lippman FARA FRIDAY: A federal appeals court this morning rejected the Justice Department’s bid to force casino magnate and Republican megadonor Steve Wynn to register for briefly acting as an agent of the Chinese government, upholding a district court’s 2022 decision to toss the lawsuit. — A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decided that U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg had been right to dismiss the case because he was bound by a decades-old precedent that bars DOJ from requiring foreign agents to retroactively register once they are no longer performing that work. — DOJ sued Wynn in 2021 to compel him to acknowledge lobbying former President Donald Trump and officials in his administration on behalf of the Chinese government for the extradition of billionaire Chinese fugitive Guo Wengui in 2017. Boasberg dismissed the case without ruling on the merits of the accusations, which Wynn has denied despite several other operatives involved in the scheme pleading guilty to or being convicted of FARA violations. — “Even accepting the government’s allegations as true, Wynn long ago ceased acting as a foreign agent, he has no present obligation to register,” Circuit Court Judge Patricia Millett wrote for the panel today. — “The central question in this case is whether Wynn has a continuing obligation to register under FARA even if he ceased his representation of a foreign principal nearly seven years ago,” Millett, an appointee of Barack Obama, noted. Under the so-called McGoff standard established by the court in 1987, “which binds this panel,” the opinion continues, “the answer is plainly ‘no.’” — In arguments before the appeals panel last November, Millett had appeared especially dubious of DOJ lawyers’ argument that Congress did in fact intend for the Justice Department to have the ability to compel retroactive FARA registration crafting the law, even as the other two judges on the panel — fellow Obama appointee Cornelia Pillard and George H.W. Bush appointee Karen Henderson — appeared receptive to the government’s contention that upholding the dismissal would deal a major blow to their efforts to crack down on foreign influence campaigns. — Bob Luskin, who argued the case on Wynn’s behalf, told PI in a statement: “We are delighted with the result. It is a well-deserved finish to a long ordeal for our client." A DOJ spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. TGIF and welcome to PI. What are we missing out there? Get in touch: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. ANNALS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE: A candidate in an upcoming Virginia GOP congressional primary appears to be the latest to have left information off a key personal financial disclosure, Jessica reports. Cameron Hamilton is one of more than half a dozen Republicans vying for the party’s nomination in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, a purple seat where Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger is not seeking reelection. — He is backed by the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, and is one of two candidates in the primary who has attracted significant resources and attention, alongside Derrick Anderson, who has endorsements from House GOP leadership. — Hamilton did not disclose two corporate positions on his latest financial disclosure — and one of them is with a company that his campaign then paid. State records show Hamilton is listed as a director or manager for two Virginia-based corporations, Onward Operations and Onward Valor. But neither company was included on a personal financial disclosure Hamilton filed last month, nor one he filed last September, shortly after he became a candidate. — Per House ethics instructions, in accordance with federal law, candidates are required to report positions held in the year the report covers and two previous calendar years. That includes LLCs, Kedric Payne of the Campaign Legal Center told POLITICO. — Candidates are also required to disclose income from such positions if they received any. And they also have to be “very careful” when using their own company as a vendor, Payne said, to avoid violating the ban on campaign money for personal use. FEC records show Hamilton’s campaign paid Onward Valor a bit over $1,500 for printing. — In response to an initial inquiry from POLITICO, Hamilton’s campaign shared a memorandum indicating Onward Operations was shut down in August 2023, shortly before he launched his campaign. But the campaign declined to answer follow-up questions about it and Onward Valor. Campaign manager Jonathon Nave said in a statement that Hamilton “has been transparent and in-line with requirements on every disclosure he's filed.” — “The voters of Virginia's 7th are much more concerned with what Cameron will do to address Joe Biden's open-border crisis and weak leadership,” he added. — Hamilton is not the only candidate to appear to leave off recent positions on a personal financial disclosure. HuffPost reported this week that Tim Sheehy, the Republican Senate candidate in Montana, failed to include a nonprofit board position on a personal financial disclosure; Sheehy’s campaign said it was an oversight and would be amended. In practice, enforcement of personal financial disclosure requirements for candidates is extremely rare.
| | | | A message from eBay: Why do people trust eBay? It’s because we’ve invested billions into creating a seamless buying experience, backed by dozens of guarantees and programs that boost consumer confidence. By increasing trust in the small businesses that rely on us, we’ve transformed the original find-anything site into America’s go-to small business platform. Learn more about our innovations at eBaysmallbiz.com. | | | SUCCESSION (FEDERALIST SOCIETY’S VERSION): Last week’s announcement that Eugene Meyer is planning to step down as the head of the right-leaning legal world’s preeminent professional society “comes at a pivotal moment for the conservative legal movement, as it wrestles with the shifting political landscape of the Trumpist right and the consequences of its own jurisprudential successes,” our Ian Ward writes. — “Meyer, who helped found the society in the 1980s and has served as its leader for over 40 years, has long served as a sort of elder statesman within the conservative movement, acting as a bridge between its founding generation and its current, more Trump-ified leadership.” — With his successor “likely to be named just months before the 2024 election, the decision is expected to signal how closely the society’s leaders plan to align themselves with the MAGA movement — or whether they will lean into the organization’s traditional posture as a big-tent for the legal right.” CLIPPY CAN’T HELP YOU HERE: “Microsoft President Brad Smith came to Congress on Thursday determined to win back lawmakers’ trust following a sweeping Chinese hack into U.S. networks last summer — but he may not have helped the tech giant’s case,” per our John Sakellariadis. — “Multiple lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee pressed Smith about whether he was being transparent about the company’s response to the breach, other recent security lapses and its continued business in China.” — “‘I’m sorry, I just for some reason, I just don’t trust what you’re saying to me,’ Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla) said Thursday to Smith, during a heated exchange about whether Microsoft’s work in China leaves it more vulnerable to the country’s intelligence services.” — “The hearing came as Microsoft faces rising scrutiny on the Hill for its cybersecurity practices, which some argue are endangering U.S. national security,” but Smith’s grilling was complicated further “by the publication Thursday of a damning ProPublica investigation, which found that Microsoft for years failed to address a design flaw in its cloud computing products” and prompted more sharp questions for the executive. ICYMI — WHAT TRUMP TOLD THE BRT: “Donald Trump huddled with at least 80 CEOs on Thursday in Washington with a clear pitch: If he is elected president again in November, the CEOs are going to see tax cuts and a curtailment of business regulations,” attendees of the Business Roundtable’s quarterly meeting told CNBC’s Brian Schwartz. — “Trump said that if he is returned to the White House he will cut taxes, including income taxes, and bring back the same economic policies he enacted during his first term, according to people who were in the meeting. ‘We’re going to give you more of the same for the next four years,’ a person who was in the room said, describing Trump’s message for the company leaders.” — A person familiar with Trump’s remarks said he floated lowering the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 20 percent, and one attendee said the former president took a shot in front of the CEOs at his successor’s fitness for office, who sent an emissary to the meeting instead. FLYING IN: Washington State agriculture leaders were in Washington this week to make their farm bill priorities known amid continued negotiations on the Hill. Officials with the Washington Department of Agriculture, Washington State University, the Washington Grain Commission, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, the Washington Potato Commission, the Washington State Wine Commission and the Washington State Tree Fruit Association made the trip to discuss the importance of ag research and brag on the state’s agriculture community. They finished off the day with the fifth annual “Taste of Washington” reception featuring agricultural products from around the state. SPOTTED on Wednesday night at a party hosted by Dina Powell McCormick at the Met Club celebrating Joe Wall's new job as BlackRock’s head of U.S. government affairs and public policy, per a tipster: Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), Husch Blackwell Strategies’ Roy Blunt, Financial Services Forum's Kevin Frommer, Beacon Global Strategies' Michael Allen, ExxonMobil's Jamie Wall, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck's Marc Lampkin, U.S.–China Commission's Cliff Sims, BlackRock's Leigh Farris, Cerberus Global Investments' Brian Hook, Penta's Kevin Madden, American Investment Council's Drew Maloney, American Airlines' Stephen Neuman, Goldman Sachs' Jessica Lightburn and Milton Endeavors’ Mike Meece.
| | — Tate Bennett and Shanita Penny will be the new co-executive directors of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation, succeeding Andrew Freedman. Bennett leads the coalition’s government relations efforts, while Penny leads CPEAR’s Center of Excellence. — Jessica Dine has joined New America as a policy analyst with the Open Technology Institute and its Wireless Future Project, focusing on issues including broadband access and adoption, spectrum policy and competition. She was previously a policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. — Natasha Marquez is the new communications director for the Regional Airline Association . She was most recently a strategist for a congressional campaign and before that served as public affairs policy communications supervisor at UPS. — Jen Farber is joining Vision360 Partners as a partner. She previously was senior vice president at Precision Strategies. Vision360 also promoted Allison Haley to partner, Natalie Pavlatos and Caitlin Gullickson to senior vice presidents, Tim Hogan to senior vice president for digital services and Roderick Patton, Rhina Portillo and Ian Eli Lee to managing directors. — Frederick Bell is the new campaign director for the Delaware Democratic Coordinated Campaign. He most recently was the campaign manager for Wendell Felder, the Democratic nominee for Ward 7 on the D.C. Council.
| | Gloria Victory Fund (Gloria for Tennessee, Tennessee Democratic Party) PA House Victory (Reps. Matt Cartwright, Susan Wild, Chris Deluzio, Pennsylvania Democratic Party) PA WI Victory Fund (Sens. Bob Casey, Tammy Baldwin, Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Democratic Party Of Wisconsin Federal)
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| | New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS | | A10 Associates, LLC: Aesthetic Medical Providers Of New Hampshire A10 Associates, LLC: Rms Energy Co. LLC A10 Associates, LLC: Wndr Global, Inc. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Acuity International Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Scott Sheffield Capitol South, LLC: Mary Gaylord Mclean Capitol South, LLC: Melissa A. Moore Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Healthplanone, LLC Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Southern Shrimp Alliance Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Spring Venture Group Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: United Negro College Fund, Inc. Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Basic Commerce And Industries, Inc. (Bci) David Turch & Assoc.: Foster City, California Ellerbe Government Affairs: Association Of Idaho Cities Ferox Strategies Ii: Immigration Hub Hogan Policy Advisors: Blue Sky Infrastructure LLC Hollier & Associates: Integer LLC On Behalf Of The World Gold Council Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, LLC: East Bay Regional Park District Lincoln Policy Group: Kalshi Thomas A. Briant, P.A.: Convenience Distribution Association Tiber Creek Group: Malaria No More Troutman Pepper Strategies, LLC: Global Kratom Coalition Troutman Pepper Strategies, LLC: The Mended Hearts, Inc. Venable LLP: Berkshire Hathaway Energy
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Lincoln Policy Group: Reckitt Benckiser Whitaker Strategies (Stephen B. Whitaker Dba Whitaker Srategies, Formerly Whitak: Gopro, Inc.
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