Report: Comcast, AT&T Skirted Lobbying Rules at RNC A new report has accused Comcast, AT&T, and other giant companies of skirting lobbying rules by funding a high roller "cloakroom" at the Republican National Convention last year. According to a new report by the Center for Public Integrity, Comcast and AT&T were among a handful of large companies that covertly funded a "plush hideaway for lawmakers" at the Republican National Convention. Said “cloakroom” was constructed on the Cleveland Cavaliers practice court inside the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, and access to it was highly restricted to these companies and politicians.

The report notes that the companies skirted lobbying and disclosure rules by funneling the cash for the room through a limited liability company called “Friends of the House 2016 LLC.” "The limited liability company effectively hid the corporations’ contributions from public view at a time when activist groups were pressuring companies to scale back giving to the Republican convention, and a few of the companies had publicly minimized their participation," notes the report. The Center for Public Integrity obtained the bank records from a lawsuit filed in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in Ohio. To confirm the payments shown in the bank records and to determine the purpose of them, the group attempted to reach representatives of the 20 corporations and trade associations named in the records. Of the 20 companies, 15 either declined to comment or did not respond to questions, the group notes. At this same event, then candidate Trump gave a speech insisting he would “not be able to look the other way” when the nation’s political system “has sold out to some corporate lobbyist for cash.” Among the companies, Comcast was the biggest donor, at $200,000. The company, which has refused to comment in response to media inquiries on this subject, has more than gotten its money worth. Since Trump appointed former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai to run the FCC, Pai's major policy efforts have involved killing FCC plans to make the cable box market more competitive, helping derail privacy protections for broadband consumers, weakening the base definition of broadband (to help hide a lack of competition in the market), helping prison phone monopolies rip off inmate families, and making it harder for the poor to get access to decent broadband. The FCC is expected to formally announce its plan to kill net neutrality and schedule a vote for the hugely unpopular move the day before Thanksgiving in order to help minimize backlash in the media, The FCC is expected to formally announce its plan to kill net neutrality and schedule a vote for the hugely unpopular move the day before Thanksgiving in order to help minimize backlash in the media, consumer groups stated this week







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battleop

join:2005-09-28

00000 25 recommendations battleop Member If you look... You will find these companies do this for BOTH parties. They are covering their asses so no matter which candidate wins they can say they contributed to their election.

Anond014b

@verizon.net 3 recommendations Anond014b Anon Lol they called themselves the politicians friends Could they have determined this was a sketchy company by the name?