Free Republic

>Maybe it’s time we all start learning Mandarin.According to a report published by the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) yesterday, “Chinese military companies” have paid D.C. lobbyists tens of millions of dollars in just the past few years alone—but as you might expect, neither the companies nor the lobbying firms responded to the outlet’s “request for comment” on the matter.Here are the details, via the DCNF exposé:Chinese Military Companies Have Spent Over $24 Million Lobbying The US Gov’t In Recent YearsEntities the Pentagon classifies as ‘Chinese military companies’ have spent more than $24 million lobbying the U.S. government since 2020,...

Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed the daughter of a veteran gambling lobbyist to the state board that regulates the industry — raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest from government watchdogs, The Post has learned. Marissa Shorenstein — who served as head of Hochul’s transition team when she became governor — was tapped as commissioner on the New York Gaming Commission despite her dad’s clients including some with business before the board, public records show. Stuart Shorenstein has long been an active lobbyist and adviser to gaming firms, and is currently listed as repping the Swedish internet gambling giant Evolution Malta,...

Trouble has followed Sara Catherine Jones since she married into the Biden family almost three decades ago. Not long after her 1995 wedding to Jim Biden, she took a job with one of his brother Joe’s Senate donors, who later accused her of “fraud” and “unjust enrichment,” according to court records reviewed by RealClearInvestigations. In the years since, she and her husband have been accused of reneging on debts and failing to pay their taxes, court and property records show. Like their nephew, first son Hunter Biden, they have reportedly sold the promise of access to their powerful relative to...

The wife of Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., has filed for divorce, alleging he had at least one affair during their marriage. In the Friday filing at a courthouse in Laurens County, Melody Duncan, who has three adult children with the congressman, accused her husband of having multiple extramarital affairs and leaving their home to live with another woman. Duncan, who touts himself online as a "strong advocate for life and traditional family values," has been married to Melody since December 1988. The filing, which came around noon on Friday, listed Duncan's paramour as Liz Williams, who is reportedly a lobbyist...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Officials who work for Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration — not his campaign — have been sending text messages to Florida lobbyists soliciting political contributions for DeSantis' presidential bid, NBC News reviewed text messages from four DeSantis administration officials, including those directly in the governor's office and with leadership positions in state agencies. They requested the recipient of the message contribute to the governor’s campaign through a specific link that appeared to track who is giving as part of a “bundle” program. DeSantis’ office did not return a request seeking comment, but one administration official acknowledged that they...

Vulnerable Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) imploded during a television debate when a Michigan news anchor pressed her about the recent bombshell report revealing she resides in an apartment owned by a “lobbyist” and campaign donor, who is also registered — with his family — to vote at the same address and works for a company receiving tens of million in government funding. WDIV-TV held a television debate on Sunday between Slotkin and her Republican opponent state Sen. Tom Barrett. The anchor in charge of asking questions brought up the recent report that revealed Slotkin moved into a residence owned...

Former Vice President Mike Pence insisted the United States should do more for Ukraine as it is in the throes of an invasion from Russia Wednesday during an interview with FNC’s “America’s Newsroom.” Pence argued for a “21st century Berlin airlift” as a response to the humanitarian crisis spurred by the Russian invasion.

Elena Branson, a dual Russian and U.S. citizen, has been charged with acting and conspiring to act in the United States illegally as an agent of the Russian government, willfully failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”), as well as conspiring to commit visa fraud and making false statements to the FBI. As alleged, beginning in at least 2011, Branson worked on behalf of the Russian government and Russian officials to advance Russian interests in the United States, including by coordinating meetings for Russian officials to lobby U.S. political officials and businesspersons, and by operating organizations in...

A venture capitalist and political fundraiser was sentenced today to 144 months in federal prison for falsifying records to conceal his work as a foreign agent while lobbying high-level U.S. government officials, evading the payment of millions of dollars in taxes, making illegal campaign contributions, and obstructing a federal investigation into the source of donations to a presidential inauguration committee.Imaad Shah Zuberi, 50, of Arcadia, California, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips, who also ordered him to pay $15,705,080 in restitution and a criminal fine of $1.75 million.In November 2019, Zuberi pleaded guilty to a three-count information...

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — Western Springs and Hinsdale appeared to have found agreement on the style of the new pedestrian bridge over Interstate 294. This week, the Western Springs Village Board received more detailed numbers on the village's cost of maintenance for the bridge, which would be next to 47th Street. Western Springs was told a couple of months ago that its costs would amount up to $250,000 in 25 years to repaint the entire bridge with a painted finish, plus $60,000 for picket-style fencing. But Illinois Tollway official Nicole Nutter told the Western Springs Village Board on Monday that...

Thanks, @pescami and @SlateGist, for the great convo on why #broadband access for everyone is so important for the future of our country. Listen at link below https://t.co/GmcVbdvmyf— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) November 2, 2020

WASHINGTON - Prince Andrew’s lawyers had discussions with a Washington lobbyist with ties to the Trump administration about the possibility of assisting the prince with fallout from his relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Lawyers from the London-based firm Blackfords consulted the lobbyist, Robert Stryk, who represents international figures with sensitive legal or diplomatic issues, in recent weeks about Prince Andrew’s situation, according to a person familiar with the circumstances. Mr. Stryk has a history of taking on clients with unsavory reputations. But he expressed discomfort about the possibility of assisting Prince Andrew, and talks about the potential representation...

Multiple former aides to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have cashed in on their connections by lobbying on coronavirus-related spending bills. According to a report Wednesday in the Washington Free Beacon, at least seven Pelosi aides are now on the other side of the revolving door of influence for such clients as Delta Airlines and Uber that have sought to cash in on the trillions of dollars of recovery spending sloshing around Washington this spring. “The former aides lobbied on policies related to the coronavirus pandemic for over 50 clients in the first quarter of 2020. Their firms received over $2...

The Gateway Pundit has received audio of a video conference call between Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter, members of their human resources department, and 200 of their employees. The audio was first obtained by Jack Posobiec of One America News. As the Gateway Pundit previously reported, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts infamously received a controversial $25 million from Democrats in the coronavirus relief package — and just hours later they told their performers and employees that they will not be getting paychecks. During the leaked conference call, which took place on March 26, Rutter repeatedly makes...

A former analyst for the FBI admitted Tuesday to copying the private emails of a conservative conspiracy theorist and sharing them with his superiors while his wife offered them to the press. Mark Tolson, 60, pleaded guilty in federal court in Alexandria, Va., to one misdemeanor count of accessing without authorization the email account of lobbyist Jack Burkman. Burkman is identified in the court documents by the initials “J.B.” Tolson’s wife, Sarah Gilbert Fox, worked for Burkman from October 2017 to early summer 2018 and had access to his email, according to a statement of facts. Tolson learned in October...

An institute whose experts have occupied key positions on EU and UN regulatory panels is, in reality, an industry lobby group that masquerades as a scientific health charity, according to a peer-reviewed study. The Washington-based, International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), describes its mission as "pursuing objectivity, clarity and reproducibility, to benefit the public good.

Find out how you can get involved at http://represent.us Our government is broken, and we have to fix it. RepresentUs board member Jennifer Lawrence and Director of RepresentUs Josh Silver, walks through three lines that show what's wrong with legal corruption in our government, how we fix it and what you can do about it. Jennifer Lawrence will be at Unrig Summit 2019 in Nashville March 29-31. Register now at http://www.UnrigSummit.com Sources for video: https://act.represent.us/sign/Unbreak...

Federal prosecutors in recent weeks have been interviewing witnesses about the flow of foreign money to three powerful law and lobbying firms that Paul Manafort recruited seven years ago to help improve the image of the Russia-aligned president of Ukraine, people familiar with the questioning said. The previously unreported interviews about the flow of the money are among the latest developments in the investigation of key figures who worked at the three firms — Mercury Public Affairs, the Podesta Group and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Prosecutors have focused on the role of Skadden Arps’s lead partner on the...

Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Thomas Suozzi of New York, Vincente Gonzalez of Texas, Anthony Brindisi of New York, Dean Phillips of Minnesota, Max Rose of New York and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia attended the midday White House meeting in the Situation Room. The lawmakers are not part of Democratic leadership, which has been leading congressional negotiations, and are rank-and-file members mostly hailing from more moderate congressional districts...

Rep. Dan Crenshaw questioned Monday whether the trip to Puerto Rico by congressional Democrats was a good decision amid the deadlock on border security. About 30 lawmakers traveled to Puerto Rico -- with their families and lobbyists -- for a winter retreat over the weekend despite the partial government shutdown. "It sounds like they had a lot of fun. They've also been talking a lot about the plight that federal workers see themselves in," Crenshaw said on The Story. "They're not wrong about that, but if we're gonna talk about that then I don't know if these excursions to Puerto...