Latest news with #BallardPartners
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Pam Bondi used to lobby for Qatar — but no proof she personally made $115K per month
Claim: U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi used to work as a lobbyist for Qatar, earning up to $115,000 per month. Rating: What's True: Bondi said during her Senate confirmation hearing that she lobbied for Qatar while working for Ballard Partners. Ballard Partners filed documentation with the Department of Justice corroborating this statement. What's False: However, Bondi said Ballard Partners — not she personally — received $115,000 per month for their lobby work for Qatar. Department of Justice documents corroborated that statement. What's Undetermined: It was unclear how much of the $115,000 per month Bondi personally received. Around May 11, 2025, amid reports that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had cleared the Trump administration to receive a $400 million luxury plane as a gift from the Qatari royal family, a claim (archived) circulated that Bondi used to work as a lobbyist for the Middle Eastern country, earning up to $115,000 per month. A popular version of the claim on Facebook read: "Fun Fact: Attorney General Pam Bondi – the one who approved Trump's illegal Qatari airplane gift – was paid $115,000 PER MONTH as a lobbyist for Qatar." The claim also appeared on X (archived), Threads (archived), Bluesky (archived), Reddit (archived) and TikTok (archived). Snopes readers messaged us asking if it was true. At her Senate confirmation hearing for the role of attorney general in January 2025, Bondi confirmed that she "represented the country of Qatar" during her time working for Ballard Partners, a Florida-based lobbying firm. However, during that same hearing, Bondi said it was Ballard Partners and not she personally that received $115,000 per month for lobbying work for Qatar. It was unclear how much of its earnings from the yearlong contract with the Embassy of the State of Qatar Ballard Partners paid to Bondi. Department of Justice documents filed by Ballard Partners corroborate Bondi's statements about her work and the money paid to Ballard Partners. Therefore, we rate this claim a mixture of true, false and undetermined elements: It's true that Bondi lobbied for Qatar, but unknown how much money she personally made monthly for this work. Bondi appeared before the Senate on Jan. 15, 2025, for her confirmation hearing for the role of attorney general. U.S. Senate Democratic Whip D*ck Durbin, who is a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked Bondi why she had not declared her work for Ballard Partners, including her alleged $115,000 monthly salary, as a conflict of interest before the hearing. Bondi said (time code 49:30): Well, Senator, first, that was the amount my firm received. I believe multiple people represented the country of Qatar within my firm. My role — and I'm very proud of the work that I did, it was a short time and I wish it had been longer for Qatar — was anti-human trafficking efforts leading into the World Cup, which is something I'd like to talk about later, too. I was registered as FARA along with many members of my firm. That was the sole portion of my representation for Qatar. Sen. Thom Thillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina, later asked Bondi about the $115,000 claim again (time-code 1:52:13): Tillis: And you also made it clear that you had a number of practitioners within the firm working on it. So this narrative that you were getting $115,000 a month from Qatar is correct or not? Bondi: Not correct. FARA, which Bondi referenced in her reply to Durbin, is an abbreviation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and a unit within the Department of Justice. This act requires companies (and people) like Ballard Partners, who are "engaged in political activities" with "foreign principals" to register with the Department of Justice. The act doesn't prohibit work such as lobbying for foreign governments like Qatar, but does require businesses to disclose what they are doing and details around payment for their work. Documents filed by companies like Ballard Partners are publicly available through the Justice Department's website. Two such documents — one filed in July 2019 and another in May 2020 — detailed Ballard Partners' work with the Embassy of the State of Qatar and named Pam Bondi. According to the May 2020 document, "Registrant will provide principal with advocacy services relative to US-Qatar bilateral relations, and will provide guidance and assistance in matters related to combating human trafficking." Registrant, in this case, was Ballard Partners and the principal was the Embassy of the State of Qatar. According to the July 2019 document, Bondi was a "key person" in Ballard Partners' contract with the Embassy of the State of Qatar, indicating she played a principal role in the work. The embassy paid Ballard Partners $115,000 per month for work spanning from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020. The document did not specify how Ballard Partners should distribute the earnings from the contract. The May 2020 document (Attachment A) further explained that Bondi left Ballard Partners on Nov. 7, 2019, after the start of the Qatari contract but returned on March 19, 2020, and continued her work lobbying for Qatar. Bondi temporarily left Ballard Partners to defend President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial. Trump denied any wrongdoing and was ultimately acquitted in the Senate. Ballard Partners. Exhibit B to Registration Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended. 23 July 2019, Ballard Partners, Inc. . Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended. 29 May 2020, PBS NewsHour. "WATCH LIVE: Pam Bondi Testifies in Senate Confirmation Hearing for Attorney General | Day 1." YouTube, 15 Jan. 2025, "Search Filings." The United States Department of Justice, The Nomination of the Honorable Pamela Jo Bondi to Be Attorney General of the United States | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Accessed 13 May 2025.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida Legislature OKs $27M in claims bill payments
Rep. Fiona McFarland says she'll file another sovereign immunity bill for the 2026 session. (Photo via the Florida House) Lawmakers during this past session refused to make changes to the state's heavily criticized and often politicized claims bill process, but at the same time signed off on $27 million worth of payments in lawsuits that had been filed against local governments. A Florida Phoenix review of the 2025 session shows the Legislature passed nine claims bills totaling $26,938,364 in liability that will be passed on to local governments or entities acting on their behalf. The City of Gainesville is responsible for the largest claims bill (HB 6251), which will allow the payment of $10.8 million against the city for the negligence of a utility employee who ran a stop sign on his way home from work. The accident left Jacob Rodgers paralyzed from the waist down. The bill analysis shows that of the total claim, $2.6 million-plus will go to his attorneys and another $137,500 will be paid to lobbyists who, according to the lobbyist disclosure system, are Matthew Forrest and Adrian Lukas with the firm Ballard Partners. Conversely, the smallest claim bill passed during the 2025 session (SB 22) was for $200,000 and involved Joe Dimaggio Children's Hospital and the death of a seven-year-old-child, referred to in the record as E.E.M. The hospital, part of the South Broward Hospital District, did not oppose the claims bill, filed on behalf of Eric Miles Jr. and Jennifer Miles, E.E.M's parents. Claims bills are required because Florida enjoys sovereign immunity for state and local governments as a legal sovereign from civil lawsuits filed in state court. The state does, however, allow negligence claims against itself and its subdivisions — agencies, cities, counties, and public hospitals — within limits. Set in statute, those limits are $200,000 per person and $$300,000 per occurrence. Injured parties can sue for damages and collect within those limits. But jury awards beyond those limits cannot be collected without the Legislature first approving a claims bill. The claims bill process is lengthy and allows the defendant to challenge a jury verdict — two reasons why, Rep. Fiona McFarland says, she has twice filed legislation to change the law. Her latest effort, HB 301, was one of the most heavily lobbied bills in Tallahassee this session, drawing 214 lobbyist registrations. The original bill would have increased the caps to $1 million per person and $3 million per occurrence. She later agreed to tag on an amendment that increased the caps to $500,000 per person and $1 million per incident for claims accruing on or after Oct. 1 and $600,000 per person and $1.1 million per occurrence for claims that accrue on or after Oct. 1, 2030. While the amended bill passed the House by comfortable margins it never was considered by the Senate. 'I'm very disappointed,' McFarland told the Florida Phoenix as the session drew to an end. She promised she'd sponsor the bill during the 2026 session. While McFarland pushed the bill to change what she called an arbitrary process, a bid to raise the limits was opposed by local governments and public hospitals. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Axios
12-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Behind the scenes: Ballard back in West Wing
Florida-based lobbyist Brian Ballard is no longer in the White House dog house, after scoring a Friday sit-down with President Trump and his chief of staff. Why it matters: Ballard, a longtime Trump fundraiser and adviser who once lobbied for the Trump Organization, earned the ire of the White House after his firm circumvented the regular channels for lobbying on behalf of a cryptocurrency client. A Ballard Partners associate persuaded Trump at a fundraiser to issue a March 2 Truth Social post that benefited the company Ripple Labs, a Ballard client. Trump's post blindsided the White House's crypto czar, David Sacks, who promptly complained. The intrigue: Several Trump allies struck back Thursday via a brutal Politico story that detailed the controversy and said Ballard was frozen out. That would be close to a death sentence for a firm whose substantial Washington presence is tied in great part to his access to the president and senior administration officials — including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who worked for Ballard years ago. So Ballard cut short a European vacation and scored a meeting with Trump and Wiles. Inside the room:"They had a good conversation," said an administration source familiar with the "very cordial" meeting. "The president spoke his piece. Brian spoke his, and apologized." "There's a reset. It's back." The big picture: The underlying story provides a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of the way power flows around Trump — and shows just how difficult it is for Trump's staff to keep special interests at bay. "Ballard's not a pariah, at least not anymore," said a second source familiar with the meeting. "You don't get a 30-minute meeting with the president and Susie and not have clout."
Reuters
24-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US lobbying firms see early revenue boost in Trump's second term
April 24 (Reuters) - (Billable Hours is Reuters' weekly report on lawyers and money. Please send tips or suggestions to opens new tab) Top firms in Washington, D.C., are reporting an influx of lobbying dollars as companies, industry groups and others navigate President Donald Trump's second term in office and a Republican-controlled Congress. U.S. law firm Akin said the first quarter of 2025 was its strongest ever for lobbying revenue. It brought in $16.4 million, an 18.75% increase from the first quarter of 2024. Trump's aggressive moves on tariffs and trade have made it critical for companies to have a voice in Washington, said Brian Pomper, the co-leader of Akin's lobbying and public policy practice. "For the first time, trade really is a C-suite issue," Pomper said. He said he has never been busier in his 20-year lobbying career. Lobbyists in Washington are required to report revenue tied to the federal government each quarter under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Pomper said Trump's policies on trade, tax and healthcare issues are also generating large amounts of non-lobbying work for the law firm that is not subject to the disclosure law. Ballard Partners also had a big first quarter. The lobbying firm pulled in $14 million, a 225% increase from the first quarter of 2024, according to Politico Influence. Partners at Ballard did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ballard's connections to the Trump administration include Pam Bondi, who worked at the Tallahassee-founded firm before she was tapped to serve as U.S. attorney general. Ballard's president has been a top Florida fundraiser for Republican candidates, including Trump in 2016. Two major law firms — Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher — each paid Ballard Partners $100,000 during the first quarter to lobby on matters related to employment practices, disclosures show. Kirkland and Simpson Thacher were among nine prominent firms that cut deals with the White House to avoid getting hit with an executive order seeking to curtail business operations. Ballard was also hired in January to represent the Harvard University governing body known as the Harvard Corporation. Trump since his inauguration has cracked down on top U.S. universities, saying they mishandled last year's pro-Palestinian protests and allowed antisemitism to fester on campuses. Harvard sued this week to block the White House from freezing billions of dollars in federal funding. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, another law firm with a leading lobbying practice, said its first-quarter work was driven partly by higher education clients. The firm reported earning $16.8 million in the first quarter of 2025, a 3.5% increase from the same quarter last year. The firm is representing the University of Colorado and DePaul University, according to disclosure filings. "Our team understands the complexities and risks facing colleges and universities right now with the new administration's executive orders," Nadeam Elshami, the co-chair of Brownstein's government relations department, said in a statement. Two other firms — BGR Group and Cornerstone Government Affairs — also reported year-over-year increases for the quarter. BGR Group said it brought in $14.6 million in revenue, while Cornerstone reported $13.6 million. Holland & Knight, another U.S. law firm with a lobbying practice, reported $13 million in lobbying revenue for the first quarter of 2025, a 5.4% increase from the first quarter of 2024. Companies, trade groups and other entities have continuously spent more money on lobbying since 2016, according to the non-profit group OpenSecrets, which compiles lobbying records. In 2024, companies spent more than $4.43 billion to lobby Congress and federal agencies. -- The National Abortion Federation is entitled to recover legal fees and costs from the conservative Center for Medical Progress and other defendants in a long-running lawsuit in federal court in California, an appeals court ruled, opens new tab on Wednesday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district judge's orders awarding millions of dollars in fees to the abortion rights advocate in its battle over an activist's secretly recorded videos. The court panel said the fact that lawyers for the National Abortion Federation were working pro bono did not change the legal analysis for awarding fees. The federation and Center for Medical Progress did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump-aligned lobbyists flourish as companies flock to try to gain administration's favor
Several lobbyists who helped Donald Trump raise campaign and inaugural funds are now making an unprecedented amount of money on corporate lobbying -- profiting off of major corporations' efforts to gain favor with the Trump administration in its second term, financial disclosures show. From Blue Origin and Palantir to Nasdaq and the NFL, hundreds of major companies have been flocking to the firms of lobbyists Brian Ballard and Jeff Miller as the two companies bolster their standing as the Trump administration's power brokers. Ballard Partners, the firm of Florida-based fundraiser and longtime Trump ally Brian Ballard, made $14.3 million in federal lobbying income just in the first three months of this year, according to lobbying disclosures. At that rate, the company is on track to potentially triple or even quadruple the roughly $19 million it made from federal lobbying in all of 2024. MORE: Lobbying firm with close ties to Trump is poised to profit from new administration, experts say Ballard Partners, which had already made its name as an ally of Trump during his first Trump presidency, has signed more than 100 new federal lobbying clients since November, according to filings. During the presidency of Joe Biden, the lobbying business of Jeff Ricchetti, the brother of then-White House Counselor Steven Ricchetti, thrived in a similar manner, picking up major clients like Amazon and TC Energy and more than doubling its lobbying income in 2021 compared to the year before. But Ballard Partners and Jeff Miller's firm, Miller Strategies, have expanded even faster, with new Ballard clients including Netflix, American Express and JP Morgan, on top of the NFL and Blue Origin. The data analytics company Palantir hired both Ballard and Miller's firms earlier this year as Palantir CEO Alex Karp -- once a vocal Trump critic and a Democrat -- has been boosting Trump with a hefty political donation and supportive public comments on Elon Musk and his government-slashing efforts. Karp's company has also reportedly received an increased number of federal contracts under Trump's presidency. Also among Ballard's new clients are blockchain company Ripple Labs, which hired Ballard just days after Trump's November victory and later gave nearly $5 million in contributions to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee; crypto exchange platform Kraken's parent company Payward, which also gave $1 million to the inaugural committee; and crypto exchange company Ballard was also hired by TikTok last September as that company sought to maintain its U.S. footprint amid calls to ban the service. Ballard has also lobbied for the Chinese clothing retail company Shein since May of last year. Separately, Ballard's firm also represents the Embassy of the Republic of Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to foreign lobbying disclosures. Headed by Jeff Miller, who served as a finance chair on Trump's second inaugural committee and was previously former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's fundraiser, Miller Strategies took in nearly $9 million in just the first three months of this year, which was on track to dwarf the roughly $12 million his firm brought in from federal lobbying during all of 2024. Miller has signed at least 55 new clients since Trump's reelection according to filings, including OpenAI and Nasdaq, as well as Softbank Group, the Japanese company that announced a $100 million investment in the U.S. during a press conference with Trump in December. Other lobbyists that recently raised money for Trump and are now enjoying success include Akin Gump's Geoff Verhoff, who brought in $3.4 million during 2025's first three months, and Brownstein Hyatt's Marc Lampkin, who took in $3 million. Verhoff's single biggest client is Nippon Steel, which so far this year has paid Akin Gump nearly $1.7 million amid the ongoing merger negotiations between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel. Lampkin's biggest client is Tencent America LLC, an American arm of the Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent, which owns the major Chinese messaging apps WeChat and QQ. Trump-aligned lobbyists flourish as companies flock to try to gain administration's favor originally appeared on
