Who lobbies for private prisons Presented by the Consumer Brands Association

With Daniel Lippman

WHO LOBBIES FOR PRIVATE PRISONS: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) rolled out a plan this morning to ban the federal government, states and localities from contracting with private prisons, POLITICO’s Alex Thompson reports. Her proposal hasn’t been well received by private-prison companies. “Our company helps keep communities safe, enrolls thousands of inmates in reentry programs that prepare them for life after prison and saves taxpayers millions,” Amanda Gilchrist, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, one of the largest private-prison companies in the country, said in a statement to PI. “It’s unfortunate that politicians advocate against these benefits without themselves providing any solutions to the serious challenges our corrections and detention systems face.”


— CoreCivic and other private-prison companies maintain a robust presence on K Street, together spending millions of dollars a year on lobbying. CoreCivic spent $370,000 on Washington lobbying in the first quarter of 2019 alone and retains Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, the Gephardt Group, Greenberg Traurig, HHQ Ventures, the Ingram Group, Miller Strategies, the Simmons & Russell Group and the Vogel Group, according to disclosure filings. The Management and Training Corporation, another private-prison company, shelled out more than $200,000 in the first quarter and retains Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Squire Patton Boggs and Upstream Consulting.

— A third private-prison company, the GEO Group, which gave $250,000 to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee and has held its annual leadership conference at the Trump National Doral Golf Club, spent $370,000 in the first quarter and retains Ballard Partners, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, Capitol Counsel, the Da Vinci Group, Lionel Aguirre, Mack Strategies and Navigators Global, as well as State Federal Strategies as a subcontractor to Capitol Counsel, according to disclosure filings.

EMIRATE HIRES BURSON COHN & WOLFE: The government of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the lesser-known emirates of the United Arab Emirates, has hired Burson Cohn & Wolfe to provide strategic communications counsel in the U.S. and in Britain. The work will include media outreach, message development and “thought leadership/elevation strategy,” according to a copy of the contract filed with the Justice Department. The contract is worth $84,000 a month and runs through May 31, 2020.

Good afternoon, and welcome to PI. It’s the first day of summer, so I hope you’re reading this newsletter outside today. Send me tips so good I’ll be forced to stay inside bent over my laptop this weekend reporting them out: [email protected]. You can also follow me on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer.

NRA SUSPENDS TOP LOBBYIST: The National Rifle Association suspended Chris Cox, its top lobbyist, on Thursday, “accusing him of complicity in the recent failed coup against its chief executive, Wayne LaPierre,” The New York Times’ Danny Hakim reports. "The accusation came in a lawsuit filed Wednesday night in New York State Supreme Court against Oliver North, the N.R.A.’s former president, who led the attempt to oust Mr. LaPierre shortly before the group’s annual convention in April. … In the suit, the N.R.A. said that text messages and emails demonstrated that 'another errant N.R.A. fiduciary, Chris Cox — once thought by some to be a likely successor for Mr. LaPierre — participated' in what was described as a conspiracy.” Full story.

ONE OF MUELLER’S PROSECUTORS HAS A BOOK DEAL: “Andrew Weissmann, one of the top prosecutors for Robert S. Mueller III on the Russia investigation, is writing a book that will explore his work on the special counsel’s inquiry, according to a publishing executive with knowledge of the deal,” The New York Times’ Alexandra Alter and Mark Mazzetti report. “Mr. Weissmann appears to be the first prosecutor on the special counsel’s team to make a deal with a publisher, which makes the prospect of an insider account from him especially intriguing. His book was acquired by Random House, according to the publishing executive.” Full story.

PROSECUTORS STEP UP BROIDY INVESTIGATION: “Federal prosecutors have stepped up a criminal investigation into possible efforts by longtime Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy to profit from his connections to the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter,” The Wall Street Journal’s Aruna Viswanatha, Rebecca Ballhaus and Nicole Hong report. “Investigators are examining whether Mr. Broidy, a top fundraiser for Mr. Trump in 2016 who was later tapped as deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, was paid by his intelligence-contracting firm’s foreign and prospective clients to give them special access to attend the 2017 inauguration, some of the people said. Such activity could violate campaign-finance, lobbying or money-laundering laws.” Full story.

FEINSTEIN PLEASED WITH GOOGLE’S HOUSING COMMITMENT: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) “is ‘pleased’ by Google’s pledge to spend $1 billion on housing and homelessness in California, the latest instance of Silicon Valley channeling some of its vast wealth into local issues, but she still has plenty of questions about how the company plans to execute it,” POLITICO California’s Jeremy White reports. In a letter released on Thursday, Feinstein urged Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, “to elaborate on the company’s plan to sink $750 million into repurposing land and another $250 million into development incentives.” Full story.

Jobs Report

— Takeda has hired Steve Tilton as head of federal government affairs. He was previously vice president of federal advocacy at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and before that worked as a lobbyist at Crossroads Strategies.

— Meghan Pianta is moving to New York to lead communications for Ro, a health care startup. She was previously a vice president at the Glover Park Group.

SPOTTED: At the annual pride reception hosted by Q Street, the association of LGBTQ lobbyists and other K Street types, at the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers’ offices, according to a PI tipster: Ken Crerar and Joel Kopperud of the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers; David Stacy of the Human Rights Campaign; Jenny Kane of Altria; Rob Hall of Entergy; George Shevlin of American International Group; Tres Bailey of Walmart; and Jack Jacobson of Thompson Coburn.

New Joint Fundraisers

None

New PACs

Freedom Rings Every Day PAC (aka FRED PAC) (Leadership PAC: Rep. Fred Keller)

New Journey PAC, Inc. (Super PAC)

Potomac Rising (PAC)

Value in Actions (PAC)

Values in Action (PAC)

New Lobbying Registrations

Ana Maria Sanchez: Black News Channel

Ballard Partners: Balsam Brands, Inc.

Ballard Partners: Sunkist Growers

Butzel Long, P.C.: Dayco Products LLC

Capitol Hill Policy Group LLC: Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid obo American Public Transportation Association

ENS Resources, Inc.: Monterey One Water

Public Policy Solutions LLC: Bond Dealers of America

Ridge Policy Group: Cali Bamboo

The Vogel Group: Christian Book Distributors

New Lobbying Terminations

English First, Inc.: English First Inc

Georgia Chamber of Commerce: Georgia Chamber of Commerce

S-3 Group: CTF Global

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