Guilty Verdict Against Ex-Flynn Partner Reinstated
The Fourth Circuit made mincemeat of Bijan Kian’s acquittal after-the-fact, saying the trial court was also wrong to conditionally grant a new trial.
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lobbying
Minnesota Affordable Insulin Law Survives Lobbyists’ Challenge
A Minnesota federal judge put a challenge to the state’s program creating an insulin safety net for poor diabetics to bed Monday, dismissing a case brought by a lobbying group for manufacturers of the lifesaving hormone.
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Newly Bankrupt and Texan, but NRA Can’t Duck New York Lawsuit
The powerful gun-rights group learned Thursday that overcoming the dissolution suit brought by New York’s attorney general will take more than filing for bankruptcy and uprooting from the Empire State.
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Go Forth and Lobby: Trump Nixes Own Ethics Pledge for Aides
On his way out the door, the outgoing president lifted a five-year lobbying ban that he proudly adopted four years ago.
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EPA Can’t Claw Back Names of ‘Happy Hour’ Oil Lobbyists
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cannot claw back documents it disclosed by mistake revealing the names of oil lobbyists who planned a chummy “happy hour” outing with senior EPA officials, a federal judge has ruled.
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Report Names and Shames Countries Cozy With Big Tobacco
The global tobacco industry has aggressively lobbied governments during the Covid-19 pandemic to expand markets and blunt measures designed to curb their business, a report from watchdog groups aligned with the World Health Organization claimed on Tuesday.
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Uber and Lyft Lobby California Appeals Court to Keep Drivers as Contractors
Arguing before a state appeals court Tuesday, Uber and Lyft lawyers predicted fewer rides for consumers, lower earnings for drivers and a spike in drunk-driving accidents if they are forced to classify California drivers as employees instead of contractors.
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Unions Dealt Major Blow With 1st Circuit Ruling on Lobbying Dues
Private-sector unions can’t force employees to contribute toward lobbying activities, the First Circuit ruled Tuesday, the latest court defeat for labor organizers since a major Supreme Court loss in 2018.
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Progressive DAs Join to Counter Power of Police Unions in California
Four former and current progressive prosecutors are forming a new lobbying group in California to counter the influence of traditional law enforcement unions that often oppose criminal justice reform efforts.
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Consultant Charged in Covert Lobbying of Trump Officials
An American consultant has been charged in an illicit lobbying effort to get the Trump administration to drop an investigation into the multibillion-dollar looting of a Malaysian state investment fund, and to arrange for the return of a Chinese dissident living in the U.S.
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With DNC Convention Gone Virtual, What’s a Lobbyist to Do?
Like many disruptions during the pandemic, the Democratic convention that was supposed to crown Joe Biden this week will be digital-only, taking down with it a four-day binge of networking, catering and cocktails that brings together lobbyists, operatives, major donors and elected officials from across the country.
Read moreGun Shop Closures
A federal court in New York dismissed the National Rifle Association’s suit against the state and Governor Andrew Cuomo over gun shop closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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NRA Lobbyist Fights to Revive Harassment Case Over Emailed Gun-Wound Photos
An attorney for ex-NRA president and Florida gun rights lobbyist Marion Hammer asked an 11th Circuit panel Wednesday to reinstate her harassment lawsuit against a California attorney who emailed her images of gunshot wound victims, including President John F. Kennedy, in protest of her lobbying activities.
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Trump-Connected Lobbyists Secured Billions in Covid Aid
Forty lobbyists with ties to President Donald Trump helped clients secure more than $10 billion in federal coronavirus aid, among them five former administration officials whose work violates Trump’s own ethics policy, according to a report.
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Lobbyist Abramoff Charged in Cryptocurrency Case
Former Washington insider and longtime lobbyist Jack Abramoff was charged Thursday for his role in a cryptocurrency fraud scheme, and has already made a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty.
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Trump Crony’s Gas Deal Reignites Conflict-of-Interest Concerns
On the campaign trail a year before his election, Donald Trump boasted in a radio interview that his real estate holdings in Istanbul could influence U.S.-Turkish foreign policy as president.
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EU High Court Strikes Down Hungary Law Targeting Nonprofits
A Hungarian law requiring nongovernmental organizations to register with the government if they receive foreign donations was declared illegal by the European Union’s highest court on Thursday.
Read moreNRA v. Oliver North
The NRA sued Oliver North in Albany County (N.Y.) Supreme Court, demanding that he resign from its board of directors or from the NRA’s former advertising firm, Ackerman McQueen.
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Trump Towers Istanbul Partner Lobbied President and Cabinet on Pandemic
In three letters copied to the U.S. president, a Turkish businessman who partnered on the Trump Towers Istanbul deal implored White House officials to sizably boost trade with Turkey in response to the novel coronavirus.
Read moreTrump Consumer Safety Nominee Lobbied for Chemical Industry
A former chemical industry executive nominated to be the nation’s top consumer safety watchdog was involved in sidelining detailed guidelines to help communities reopen during the coronavirus pandemic, internal government emails show.
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