Democratic strategist launches new firm Presented by the Consumer Brands Association

With David Beavers, Garrett Ross and Daniel Lippman

FIRST IN PI — DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST LAUNCHES NEW FIRM: Brandon Neal, who was political director for the Democratic National Committee and director of the Transportation Department’s small business office under former President Barack Obama, will launch his own fundraising, political strategy and lobbying firm Tuesday. Neal was most recently a senior adviser and national political director for Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.).


— In an interview with PI, Neal said that the firm, Pylorus Strategies, will focus on political strategy and planning for candidates running for Congress. “Now is the time, now is the space and opportunity,” he told PI. “You don’t see a lot of African-American firms focused on political fundraising and strategy.” Neal plans to work with various arms of the Democratic Party, as well as with celebrities interested in getting involved in the political process. He will also assist small businesses competing for federal contracts and work on transportation, infrastructure, labor workforce development, and small business and economic development issues for clients. He plans to register as a lobbyist.

— So far, Neal’s clients include two members of Congress, an IT firm and a small business providing professional services to the DoD. He is also in talks to work on political strategy and fundraising for House candidates Antonio Delgado, who is running to represent New York’s 19th congressional district, Lauren Underwood, who is running to represent Illinois’ 14th congressional district, and Mary Scanlon, who is running to represent Pennsylvania’s 5th congressional district. He plans to eventually make the firm bipartisan and bring on a partner with experience fundraising for Republicans.

Good afternoon, and welcome to PI. Did you spend the weekend relaxing on the Eastern Shore with a cold drink and a good book? Just remember there are younger, better-looking lobbyists who work weekends nipping at your heels. Send us your tips: [email protected] and [email protected]. You can also follow us on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer and @marianne_levine.

THE LATEST ON MANAFORT’S TRIAL: Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team filed a motion this morning pushing back against a request from Paul Manafort’s lawyers to exclude more than 50 pieces of evidence from the jury during Manafort’s trial, which is set to start on Tuesday. Mueller’s team argues the exhibits are necessary “to prove the source and amount of Manafort’s income.” (Manafort is facing trial on bank fraud and tax charges in federal court in Alexandria. He’s set to go on trial a second time in federal court in Washington in September on other charges, including violating foreign lobbying law.)

— The motion filed this morning provides a good summary of what Mueller’s seeking to do in the trial. Mueller “expects to prove that Manafort earned more than $60 million dollars from his Ukraine work during the period at issue and failed to report a significant percentage of it on his tax returns. … No 'pay stub[s]' or 'paychecks' reflect that income … rather, the invoices and bills submitted by various consultants provide proof on that issue. Accordingly, to prove that Manafort earned that much income, the government must be able to show the extent of the work that he performed for Ukraine.”

— Separately, Mueller’s team on Friday afternoon “submitted a roster of 35 witnesses the prosecution may call” during the trial set to start on Tuesday, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein reports. “The deep dive into Manafort’s pricey tastes is expected to include testimony from a proprietor of a New York boutique where he allegedly spent more than $850,000 on high-end suits, an employee of a car dealership where Manafort’s wife bought a $130,000 Mercedes, the owner of a Florida home-theater company and a manager of season-ticket sales for the New York Yankees.” Full story.

SPEAKING OF MANAFORT: The New York Times’ Jason Horowitz is out with a story on how former journalist Alan Friedman put Manafortin jail. “Documents filed last month by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, as part of the investigation into Russia’s influence campaign in the 2016 American presidential election, showed that Mr. Friedman worked closely with Mr. Manafort in creating the so-called Hapsburg Group,” Horowitz writes. “Neither Mr. Manafort nor Mr. Friedman registered as lobbyists, a potential violation of an American law intended as a bulwark against foreign agents peddling influence in American politics. ... When the group was revealed in February, Mr. Manafort desperately sought to give Mr. Friedman a ‘heads up about Hapsburg,’ Mr. Friedman’s lawyer has said. That included messages on WhatsApp saying ‘This is Paul.’ Mr. Friedman told investigators that he considered the messages an effort to ‘suborn perjury.’ A judge agreed and in June revoked Mr. Manafort’s bail for witness tampering.

—“Now Mr. Friedman, 62, has gone uncharacteristically silent on the issue even as he travels around Italy promoting his book, ‘This Is Not America,’ which begins with his 2016 interview with Donald J. Trump, then a presidential candidate. Mr. Manafort and his associate Rick Gates had a hand in arranging the interview, which was outside the usual media channels and led campaign aides to question its purpose, according to a person familiar with the issue who was granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.” Full story.

LAW FIRMS GIVE RAINMAKERS ACCUSED OF BAD BEHAVIOR MULTIPLE CHANCES: “Law firms stand out in a corporate landscape where rainmakers accused of bad behavior often receive second and third chances, according to interviews with dozens of lawyers, legal recruiters, consultants and leaders at some of the country’s largest firms,” the Wall Street Journal’s Sara Randazzo and Nicole Hong report. “Firms’ sole assets are lawyers and their client relationships. As demand for work from the biggest law firms has softened since the financial crisis, poaching top partners has become one of few ways to boost revenue. Many firms ask about prior complaints in new-hire questionnaires but do nothing to vet the answers, lawyers say. Firms rarely ask partners for references at their old firm, for fear of alerting competitors a star lawyer is in play.

— “Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Jeffrey Reeves departed in December after an investigation into sexual-harassment allegations, the firm said. Mr. Reeves was the partner in charge of the firm’s Orange County, Calif., office in October 2015 when co-workers saw him making out with a junior associate at a Las Vegas nightclub during an office retreat, current and former Gibson lawyers said. ... Mr. Reeves, who had worked at Gibson Dunn for 26 years, quickly joined litigation boutique Umberg Zipser in January. The next month he moved to a different boutique, Theodora Oringher.” Full story.

DISPATCH FROM KOCH DONOR RETREAT: “Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch extended an olive branch to Democrats during a weekend donor confab, saying Sunday that he wants to work with lawmakers regardless of party — so long as they work on issues he cares about — and admitting he has regrets about politicians his powerful network supported in the past,” POLITICO’s Maggie Severns reports. “‘I don’t care what initials are in front or after somebody’s name — I’d like there to be many more politicians who would embrace and have the courage to run on a platform’ that embraces the values he espouses, Koch told reporters when asked how he would feel about Democrats flipping the House of Representatives.

— “The Kochs' political network has been bombarding the 2018 midterm elections with millions of dollars to help Republicans keep their seats in Congress, but the tone of the weekend was a departure from previous years, when the Kochs engineered tea party opposition to Obamacare and positioned themselves as the archnemesis of the Democratic Party. Charles Koch said he has sometimes regretted his network’s financial support for Republican lawmakers in the past and will be more careful with how he spends money going forward.” Full story.

SPOTTED: On Air Force One Sunday, according to a White House pool report, Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union. Schlapp is married to Mercedes Schlapp, White House director of strategic communications.

JOBS REPORT

— Stan Garnett and Greg Brower will co-chair Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s government investigations and white collar defense group. They are both shareholders at the firm.

— Patrick Ronk has left Cornerstone Government Affairs, where he was a senior associate. He is headed to the London School of Economics in September for a two-year Master of Public Administration program.

— Michael Fields is now executive director of Colorado Rising Action. He was previously state director for Americans for Prosperity Colorado.

— TJ Chase is a senior associate at Glen Echo Group. He was previously a graphic designer at the Association for Psychological Science.

NEW JOINT FUNDRAISERS:

Illinois Democrats 2018 (Betsy Dirksen Londrigan for Congress, Casten for Congress, Lauren Underwood for Congress, Brendan Kelly for Southern Illinois, Tammy for Illinois, Friends of Dick Durbin Committee)

Lizzie Fletcher Victory Fund (Elizabeth Pannill Fletcher for Congress, Texas Democratic Party)

NEW PACs:

America Fighting Back PAC (PAC)

Wisconsin Beer (PAC)

NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS:

None.

NEW LOBBYING TERMINATIONS:

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, a Novelion Therapeutics Company: Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, a Novelion Therapeutics Company

Christie Strategy Group: Columbia Southern University

Sobba Public, LLC: Gephardt group on behalf of Bayer AG

The Chertoff Group: Veritas Capital

The Nardelli Group: Alexium, Inc.

Follow us on Twitter Theodoric Meyer @theodoricmeyer