BGR signs Azerbaijan Presented by American Academy of Dermatology Association

With David Beavers and Aubree Eliza Weaver

BGR SIGNS AZERBAIJAN: Azerbaijan is beefing up its representation in Washington, signing BGR Government Affairs on a $50,000 per month retainer. BGR’s work “will include strategic guidance and counsel with regard to government affairs and public relations activity within the U.S.,” according to a DOJ filing. Azerbaijan also renewed its contracted with the Podesta Group, which has represented the Azerbaijani government since 2013. (Podesta’s retainer is $45,000 per month.) The filings come as Azerbaijan is in the spotlight, following Adam Davidson’s piece in The New Yorker earlier this month that detailed President Donald Trump’s sketchy hotel deal in the country.

— Here’s another interesting foreign filing: Kalifa Bin Fahed Bin Mohd Al-Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, has hired Global Strategies Council Inc. The firm is not well-known. It was formed in 2014 by Miltiades Goudamanis, a Greek national who became a U.S. citizen the following year. But the firm’s fee is eye-catching: $2 million, paid upfront. In return, Global Strategies Council will “conduct research focused on learning the whereabouts of members of the Qatari Royal family currently held in Iraq," according to a DOJ filing. “This work shall consist of obtaining proof of life. (b) Consult as to the strategy and process for identifying and initiating discussions with relevant and appropriate government officials, bankers, investment advisers and legal counsel to effectuate the return of these individuals.” The first will also lobby the State Department for assistance if “appropriate.” Reached by phone, Goudamanis referred all questions to his lawyer.

TRUMP-CONNECTED LOBBYIST SIGNS FOUR MORE: Brian Ballard, a Florida lobbyist who served as a top fundraising lieutenant for Donald Trump’s campaign and opened a Washington office after he won, has signed more four clients: APR Energy, Caregiver Services, F.E.B. Corp. and MGM Public Policy. The new clients mean Ballard Partners has signed more than 20 new lobbying clients this year.

MANAFORT SECRETLY WORKED FOR RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE: "President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, secretly worked for a Russian billionaire to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin a decade ago and proposed an ambitious political strategy to undermine anti-Russian opposition across former Soviet republics, The Associated Press has learned," The Associated Press' Jeff Horwitz and Chad Day report. "The work appears to contradict assertions by the Trump administration and Manafort himself that he never worked for Russian interests. … Manafort did not disclose details about the lobbying work to the Justice Department during the period the contract was in place. Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, people who lobby in the U.S. on behalf of foreign political leaders or political parties must provide detailed reports about their actions to the department. Willfully failing to register is a felony and can result in up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, though the government rarely files criminal charges." Full story.

— Manafort "has hired a crisis communications firm,” The Hill’s Megan Wilson reports. “The move comes as Manafort faces scrutiny over possible ties to Russia centered on his past consulting work for officials in Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's pro-Russia government. Manafort’s new spokesman is Jason Maloni, a former senior vice president and chair of the litigation practice at LEVICK who formed his own firm, called JadeRoq, late last year. ‘Paul retained me recently because he was getting a lot of media inquiries. Having some support in this area allows folks like you to get your answers faster and allows him to focus on other matters,' Maloni said in an email.” Full story.

Good afternoon, and welcome to PI. Got a tip? Switching jobs? Overhear a juicy conversation on the Acela? Get in touch: [email protected]. You can also follow me on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer.

CALLOUT: Thanks to everyone who’s emailed me tips about influencers who aren’t registered to lobby. I’m following up on your tips. If you haven’t gotten in touch yet, there’s still time: [email protected].

ARAB AMERICAN INSTITUTE PROTESTS FILM SCREENING: The Arab American Institute is protesting a congressional film screening scheduled for this afternoon, saying the film promotes “an anti-Muslim agenda.” The film, “Faithkeepers,” is about the persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East. It’s a project of the Clarion Project, a nonprofit that warns of “the dangers of radical Islam” and has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Clarion Project is hosting the screening, set to be held in the Rayburn House Office Building this afternoon, along with the Caucus on International Religious Freedom, the Caucus on Religious Minorities in the Middle East and the Philos Project, another nonprofit.

— “The screening of a film by the noted-hate group Clarion Project on Capitol Hill risks validating bigotry, misinformation, and hate, and puts communities at risk,” James Zogby, the Arab American Institute’s president, and Maya Berry, the institute’s executive director, wrote to Reps. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), the co-chairs of the two caucuses, on Tuesday. “This does a disservice to your constituents of all backgrounds.” The four representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Here’s the full letter.

A message from American Academy of Dermatology Association: Board-certified dermatologists treat more than 3,000 diseases, including skin manifestations of COVID-19. American Academy of Dermatology Association members are virtually on Capitol Hill this week, strongly supporting the bipartisan Coronavirus Provider Protection Act (H.R. 7059), which would protect physicians from unwarranted COVID-19-related lawsuits while working in good faith during this public health emergency.

TRUMP ORGANIZATION PURSUING HOTEL PROJECT WITH TURKISH FIRM: President Donald Trump’s company “has been pursuing a downtown Dallas hotel project with a real estate firm that has deep Turkish roots,” The New York Times’ Steve Eder and Ben Protess report. “The hotel, if built, would fall under the Trump Organization’s Scion chain, a more affordable alternative to its five-star luxury line.

— “An examination by The New York Times of records including corporation registrations, private emails and archived websites found that Alterra Worldwide, the real estate firm that would own the hotel and be partners with the Trumps, has business ties in Russia, Kazakhstan and at least two dozen other countries. Ordinarily, such international experience would be a selling point for the firm, but it is a complicating factor when dealing with Mr. Trump’s company, where concerns already have been raised internally about some of Alterra’s foreign connections.” Full story.

FLYNN NEVER SIGNED LOBBYING BAN: Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, never signed the administration’s lobbying ban, The Daily Beast’s Lachlan Markay reports. The pledge prohibits administration officials from lobbying their former agencies for five years and from lobbying for foreign interests for life. “Flynn’s failure to sign the pledge removes legal barriers to future foreign agent lobbying and advocacy work involving former White House colleagues, though his spokesman Price Floyd said that the retired Army general intends to comply with the restrictions detailed in the pledge. ‘Gen. Flynn never had the opportunity to sign Trump’s ethics pledge, but he plans to abide by its terms,’ Floyd told The Daily Beast.” Full story.

GOP TAKES UP RUSSIA-ALIGNED ATTACK ON SOROS: “A group of congressional Republicans is teaming up with Russia-backed politicians in Eastern Europe with the shared goal of stopping a common enemy: billionaire financier George Soros,” Isaac Arnsdorf, Andrew Hanna and Kenneth P. Vogel report in POLITICO Magazine. “Led by Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, the conservative lawmakers have signed on to a volley of letters accusing Soros of using his philanthropic spending to project his liberal sensibilities onto European politics. … It’s an accusation that’s being fomented and championed by Moscow.” Full story.

JPMORGAN ADDS THREE IN WASHINGTON: JPMorgan Chase has hired Eileen Braden away from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Braden, who was the Chamber’s vice president for political affairs and federation relations, had been there for a decade. She’ll be JPMorgan’s head of civic engagement. The bank is also adding Babs Chase as vice president for civic engagement covering the Mid-Atlantic region and Tara Shannon as a specialist on the team. Chase previously led executive outreach in the Army secretary’s office. Shannon was previously associate director for scheduling and advance for Treasury Secretary Jack Lew in the Obama administration.

MORE LOBBYING GROUPS HOLDING EVENTS AT TRUMP PROPERTIES: “The American Land Title Association, the main lobbying arm of the title insurance industry, will host 1,000 members at its annual gathering this October, which will be held at the Trump National Doral golf course and resort in southern Florida,” The Huffington Post’s Paul Blumenthal reports. “The annual event, known as ALTA One, provides members with the ‘opportunity to network and build relationships with colleagues,’ according to an invite for the event. It will also allow an organization actively lobbying President Donald Trump’s administration to put money in the president’s pocket.” Members of the Metals Service Center Institute are holding their own event at Trump National Doral in May. Full story.

MORE ON MEITAL: PI reported on Tuesday that Meital Stavinsky was heading to Holland & Knight to help lead their Israel practice, with no word on whether her old clients at Greenberg Traurig would follow her. Well, that word has arrived. “I expect that all of the clients that I have been working with will transition to Holland & Knight,” Stavinsky said in a statement. “The exciting opportunity with my joining Holland & Knight is the tremendous platform of wide ranging government expertise and resources that are now available to both my existing clients and prospective clients. There are many in my network of Israeli innovative business contacts who are anxious to meet and start working with the firm.”

JOB MOVES:

— The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America has hired Laura Haines as senior vice president and head of government affairs. She was previously vice president of federal affairs for The Hartford.

— Nadim Yared, the president of CVRx, has been tapped as the new chairman of AdvaMed’s board.

— Jack Kalavritinos, a longtime health care lobbyist, has been named as the FDA’s associate commissioner for external affairs. He was previously served as a special assistant in Health and Human Service secretary’s office and also worked on the Trump transition team.

— Wilkinson, Walsh + Eskovitz has added Rakesh Kilaru to the firm’s litigation practice. He was previously an associate counsel in the White House counsel’s office in the Obama administration.

— Danielle Iverson has joined the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association as director of legislative and regulatory affairs. She was previously director of government relations for the American Apparel and Footwear Association.

— Caitlin Van Sant is headed to the Children’s Hospital Association as a federal affairs manager. She was previously a legislative assistant in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ federal affairs department.

SPOTTED: At the “Latinos Lead Luncheon” on Tuesday at the National Council of La Raza’s offices, according to two PI tipsters: National Council of La Raza President Janet Murguia and Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, Univision’s executive vice president for government and corporate affairs, who hosted the luncheon; Mari Carmen Aponte, the former U.S. ambassador to El Salvador; Carmen Lomellin, the former U.S. permanent representative to the Organization of American States; Victoria Jeffries and Liliana Ranon of Univision; Lisa Navarrete and Delia de la Vara of the National Council of La Raza; Susan Santana of AT&T; Angela Maria Arboleda of Herbalife; Jackie Puente of Comcast; Zuraya Tapia-Hadley of the Raben Group; Maria Cardona of Dewey Square Group, Ingrid Duran and Catherine Pino of D&P Creative Strategies; Sonia Gutierrez of the Carlos Rosario School; and Abigail Golden-Vazquez of the Aspen Institute.

NEW PACs:

Austin Texas Democratic Veterans Club: Unknown

Citizens For A Better Government: Unknown

Caucuscouple Political Action Committee: Non-Qualified Non-Party, Unauthorized

NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS:

A1.9 Strategies LLC: National Head Start Association

Albertine Enterprises, Inc.: Law Office of Bart S. Fisher for Postalis Brazil

Atcitty & Van Norman Law, LLC: Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation

Atcitty & Van Norman Law, LLC: Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate

Ballard Partners: APR Energy, LLC

Ballard Partners: Caregiver Services, Inc

Ballard Partners: F.E.B. Corp.

Ballard Partners: MGM Public Policy, LLC

Cassidy & Associates, Inc. (formerly Cassidy & Associates): ADA Carbon Solutions

Cassidy & Associates, Inc. (formerly Cassidy & Associates): Decision Sciences

Cassidy & Associates, Inc. (formerly Cassidy & Associates): Tarrant Regional Water District

Clark Hill, PLC: Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco

Cornerstone Government Affairs, LLC: Citigroup Inc.

Cornerstone Government Affairs, LLC: Dungan Engineering

Cornerstone Government Affairs, LLC: Providence St. Joseph Health

DiNino Associates, LLC: Cornerstone Government Affairs obo Citigroup Inc.

Heather Podesta + Partners, LLC: Growth Energy

Heather Podesta + Partners, LLC: Poet LLC

Heather Podesta + Partners, LLC: Schiavi Seeds

Heather Podesta + Partners, LLC: TriNet Group Inc.

Holland & Knight LLP: Northrup Grumman Systems Corporation

Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC: Bossier Parish Police Jury

Lugar Hellmann Group: Entertainment Software Association

Lugar Hellmann Group: Wells Fargo & Company

Pricewaterhousecoopers: Kiewit Corporation

RedFive Strategies: Koniag Government Services

NEW LOBBYING TERMINATIONS:

Carman Communications: Family & Life

Follow us on Twitter Theodoric Meyer @theodoricmeyer