Braves tap ex-Thune aides to bat down tax hike

Politico

27-05-2025

With Daniel Lippman
KEEP CHOPPING: The Atlanta Braves have added to their rotation of outside lobbyists to help the MLB franchise avoid a giant tax bill in a few years. Alston & Bird began working last month on behalf of the ball club's publicly owned parent company on 'issues related to the taxation of publicly traded professional sports teams,' according to a disclosure filing.
— Joe Boddicker, a former tax counsel to Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and former tax adviser to now-Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and Jane Lucas, another fellow Thune aide who also worked for President Donald Trump, are working on the account along with Jonathan Jagoda.
— The Braves became the only publicly traded MLB franchise in 2023. Absent any changes, that will subject the club to a new tax provision limiting public companies from writing off the salaries of their highest-paid employees — which in this case would mean the team's star players. Atlanta's payroll is typically in the top third of the league.
— The tweak is a result of President Joe Biden's 2021 pandemic relief package, which broadened existing restrictions on tax deductions for highly paid executives by extending the $1 million cap on deductions to a public company's five highest-paid employees.
— The change doesn't go into effect until 2027, but it could saddle the Braves with a $19 million tax hike, Bloomberg estimated last month — a tax bill that the Braves' peers around the league don't need to worry about.
— The Braves hired another lobbying firm, Atlanta-based Freeman Mathis Decisions, in February to lobby on the tax change, according to disclosure filings. The reconciliation bill passed by House Republicans last week would broaden the scope of the deduction limit, rather than rein it in — though that could change in the Senate.
— Though the Braves are the only MLB franchise that stands to be hit with a tax hike as a result of the new rule, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., the publicly owned parent company of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, could also newly qualify under the change. Madison Square Garden paid Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies $40,000 to lobby on tax policy during the first quarter of 2025, its first lobbying payments to the firm since 2021, according to disclosure filings.
Happy Monday and welcome to PI. Send K Street tips and gossip. You can add me on Signal, email me at [e-mail], and be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko.
FIRST IN PI – WELLS FARGO TO DROP FORECLOSURES ON COURTOVICH: Wells Fargo is dropping three foreclosures it had put on lobbyist Jim Courtovich for two houses he owns as well as a home equity loan, Daniel reports.
— The bank filed a foreclosure complaint against him saying he hadn't made his mortgage payments in recent months. Wells Fargo had loaned him $2.7 million in 2012 for a 4,600 square foot, 5-bedroom house, which Zillow says is now worth almost $5 million.
— Courtovich told PI, however, that he had paid Wells Fargo $1 million two years ago but the money wasn't properly applied to his mortgages and home equity loan. Courtovich has used his house in the posh Normanstone neighborhood to entertain clients, friends, and other D.C. luminaries at lavish parties. There is a pool in the backyard and a new kitchen on the ground level.
— PI reported last month that Wells Fargo was having trouble serving a foreclosure notice on his Capitol Hill townhouse after he entered into default on it in the winter. Courtovich has tangled with investors over the house as they try to get him to pay back a multimillion dollar loan to his lobbying firm.
— While the issue with his investors remains outstanding, Wells Fargo is withdrawing its litigation against Courtovich. 'There were apparently accounting recording issues,' he said in a text message. 'All has been fixed and both mortgages are paid through the end of the year. At that point I will owe less than 10 percent on my home,' referring to his Normanstone house.
— A Wells Fargo spokesperson said the bank is 'pleased to have worked with Mr. Courtovich to resolve this situation.'
— Courtovich had a starring role in Brody and Luke Mullins' 'The Wolves of K Street' book, which recounted his connection to a Genentech lobbyist who had misappropriated company money and later committed suicide.
— In late 2016, Courtovich also helped Trump ally Michael Flynn publish an op-ed on behalf of Turkey, which sparked controversy, and he has worked with numerous European financial institutions, Russian banks and foreign countries like Ethiopia, among the more than 100 clients during his career.
WHAT ARE PARENTS FOR?: 'As Paul Walczak awaited sentencing early this year, his best hope for avoiding prison time rested with the newly inaugurated president. Mr. Walczak, a former nursing home executive who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes days after the 2024 election, submitted a pardon application to President Trump around Inauguration Day. The application focused not solely on Mr. Walczak's offenses but also on the political activity of his mother, Elizabeth Fago,' The New York Times' Ken Vogel writes.
— 'Ms. Fago had raised millions of dollars for Mr. Trump's campaigns and those of other Republicans, the application said. It also highlighted her connections to an effort to sabotage Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s 2020 campaign by publicizing the addiction diary of his daughter Ashley Biden — an episode that drew law enforcement scrutiny.'
— 'Still, weeks went by and no pardon was forthcoming, even as Mr. Trump issued clemency grants to hundreds of other allies. Then, Ms. Fago was invited to a $1-million-per-person fund-raising dinner last month that promised face-to-face access to Mr. Trump at his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla. Less than three weeks after she attended the dinner, Mr. Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon.'
ANNALS OF ETHICS: The Washington Post's Douglas MacMillan and Aaron Schaffer have a look today at the consulting career of Tom Homan, Trump's border czar whose recent clients have included private prison giant GEO Group, which stands to receive a massive payday from Trump's deportation efforts.
— 'Before he joined the administration, border czar Tom Homan earned an undisclosed amount in fees consulting for a division of the GEO Group, one of two companies that operates the vast majority of the nation's immigrant detention facilities, according to the disclosure, which was released last week.'
— 'The filing, which has not been previously reported, did not specify what work Homan performed. The document said GEO paid him more than $5,000 during the two years preceding his government appointment in January. Ethics rules do not require any more specific disclosure, and the amount Homan received could be far higher.'
— Also on the ethics front: 'A Texas oil executive from Elon Musk's government efficiency team has been given sweeping powers to overhaul the federal department that manages vast tracts of resource-rich public lands, but he hasn't divested his energy investments or filed an ethics commitment to break ties with companies that pose a conflict of interest,' The Associated Press' Martha Bellisle reports.
IF YOU MISSED IT OVER THE LONG WEEKEND: 'If you want to know who's running the State Department these days, it helps to peruse the website of a relatively new, conservative-leaning organization called the Ben Franklin Fellowship,' per POLITICO's Nahal Toosi.
— 'The group's roster includes Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau, top officials in bureaus such as consular affairs, and even an acting undersecretary or two. The fellows include current and former members of the foreign service, as well as other international affairs specialists.
— 'And while the Fellowship describes itself as nonpartisan, its right-of-center views are obvious: It emphasizes goals such as border security; opposes typical diversity, equity and inclusion practices; and advocates for the careful use of U.S. resources abroad.'
Jobs report
— Baillee Brown is now head of government and external affairs at Inclusive Abundance. She previously was chief of staff for Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.).
— Scott Weathers is now associate director of government affairs at Americans for Responsible Innovation. He previously was energy and environment policy adviser for Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.)
— Hannah Suh has joined the Cohen Group as chief of staff. Suh is a Biden administration alum who was previously senior adviser to the undersecretary of State for civilian security, democracy and human rights and a policy adviser on Indo-Pacific issues at the National Security Council.
— Mira Rapp-Hooper will be a partner at The Asia Group. She previously was senior director for East Asia and Oceania and director for Indo-Pacific strategy at the Biden NSC.
— Nick Elliott is now director at L2 Data. He previously was a director at RumbleUp.
— Carl Holshouser is joining CoreWeave as vice president for government affairs. He most recently was executive vice president and head of federal policy and government relations at TechNet.
— Andrew Vontz has launched One Real Voice, a boutique firm coaching political leaders on being podcast guests and hosts. He is a Strava alum.
— Patrick Lohmeyer is now the vice president of international network programs and partnerships at United Way Worldwide. He previously held executive roles at numerous international development consultancies, serving most recently as CEO at LINC.
— Sarah Flaim is now head of congressional affairs at Forterra. She most recently was a managing director at DCI Group, and is a Hill alum.
— Jared Henderson is now a director of government affairs at Growth Energy. He previously was senior policy adviser for Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.).
— Julie Cerqueira is joining the Natural Resources Defense Council as chief program officer. She most recently served as principal deputy assistant secretary for international affairs at the Energy Department and was the inaugural executive director of the U.S. Climate Alliance.
New Joint Fundraisers
Roberson Victory Committee (SANDY ROBERSON FOR NC, Eastern North Carolina - ENCPAC)
New PACs
Defend the Taxpayers PAC (Super PAC)
Doverwick & Associates LLC (PAC)
Fighting For Democracy (Leadership PAC: John Gregory Vincent)
Hanover Bancorp, Inc. PAC (PAC)
LOUISIANA FREEDOM FUND (Super PAC)
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FIRST (Super PAC)
New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS
Alston & Bird LLP: Atlanta Braves Holdings, Inc.
Alston & Bird LLP: Oregon Health & Science University
Baseline Strategies, LLC: Atlas Crossing On Behalf Of Deterrence Defense Inc.
Dla Piper LLP (US): Coalition For Smarter Regulation Of Nicotine
DLG Partners: White Star Capital USA Inc.
Ferox Strategies: Rare Disease Company Coalition
Fierce Government Relations: Traeger Pellet Grills, LLC
Franklin Square Group, LLC: Belkin International, Inc.
Icebreaker Strategies, LLC: Accelint Holdings, LLC
King & Spalding LLP: Mueller Water Products, Inc.
King & Spalding LLP: Prysmian Cables And Systems USA, LLC
Klein Law Group Pllc: Spokane Regional Broadband Development Authority Broadlinc
Maven Advocacy Partners LLC: Radiant Nuclear
Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: The Kinetic Group Operations LLC
Mgb Consulting: Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical
Port Side Strategies, LLC: Virginia Organizing
Timothy R. Rupli & Associates, Inc.: Snap Finance, LLC
New Lobbying Terminations
Dla Piper LLP (US): Discover Financial Services, Inc.
Rosemont Group: International Longshore And Warehouse Union
The Madison Group: Coinbase, Inc.