Latest news with #VogelGroup
Politico
an hour ago
- Business
- Politico
Vogel Group plants a flag in Canada
With help from Katherine Long and Daniel Lippman ANOTHER CROSS-BORDER ALLIANCE: As the G7 summit kicked off in Alberta today following a tense few months between the U.S. and Canada, the Vogel Group became the latest firm on K Street to team up with one of its Canadian counterparts. Vogel Group has struck up a strategic partnership with Bolero Strategies, a government relations and PR firm based in Montreal. — The alliance 'provides us greater access and visibility to clients in the Canadian marketplace and vice versa,' Vogel Group CEO Alex Vogel told PI in an email. He said the partnership is a response to increased demand for cross-border insight as a result of the 'the pace of current policy changes/developments' on trade issues and beyond. In addition to Vogel Group's home base of D.C., the firm also has offices in state capitals across the country. — In March, amid President Donald Trump's repeated threats to make Canada the 51st state and his tariff warnings, Ballard Partners partnered with Quebec-based communications and public affairs firm TACT. And just before Trump took office, Capitol Counsel announced its own partnership with the Canadian firm Rubicon Strategy Inc. to provide 'a seamless solution' to cross-border advocacy issues. McKINSEY FORMS A PAC: Consulting giant McKinsey has formed a corporate PAC, allowing the company to engage in direct spending to support candidates for the first time. Marianne Casserly, McKinsey's director of government and securities compliance, and Emily Mellencamp Smith, a former top Democratic fundraiser, who now works in McKinsey's public affairs operation, will steer the PAC, according to an FEC filing. — 'Since McKinsey's founding in Chicago nearly 100 years ago, our work has been rooted in the American values of free enterprise, innovation, and economic growth and mobility,' Neil Grace, a McKinsey spokesperson, told PI. 'Establishing a PAC will help us continue to advance these values as we engage with elected officials on both sides of the aisle.' — McKinsey isn't the only top consulting firm with a federal PAC. Deloitte has run a corporate PAC since the 1980s, and raised $3.6 million from employees during the 2024 cycle. Happy Monday and welcome to PI. How'd your priorities (or your clients') fare in the Senate reconciliation bill? Drop me a line: You can add me on Signal, email me at coprysko@ and be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. QUAADMAN TO ICI: U.S. Chamber of Commerce veteran Tom Quaadman is joining the Investment Company Institute to lead government affairs. — Quaadman joins ICI after 17 years at the Chamber, where he served as senior vice president of economic policy and oversaw the Chamber's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, which was founded in 2007 to promote financial regulatory policies. — 'I'm thrilled to welcome Tom to ICI to lead our government affairs efforts, bringing to bear his extensive experience in financial services policy,' ICI President and CEO Eric J. Pan said in a statement. 'He will markedly strengthen ICI's advocacy in matters of financial regulation, retirement policy, and tax to promote the use of asset management by individual investors saving for the long-term.' BEING PRO-TRUMP PAYS: New financial disclosures released by the White House Friday reveal that it pays to be in Trump's orbit, Kenneth P. Vogel writes for The New York Times. The mandatory filings — which were not announced upon their release — include financial statements for dozens of officials who received financial backing from Trump-affiliated companies and groups before joining the administration. — 'Top Trump advisers like Dan Scavino, a deputy chief of staff, and Sergio Gor, the director of the presidential personnel office, reported making more than $1 million each from media-related ventures linked to Mr. Trump.' — Pro-Trump think tanks and advocacy groups paid top Trump administration officials including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and policy adviser Stephen Miller, and a number of officials received payments from Trump's campaign as consultants before being appointed to positions in the administration. VIRGIN ISLANDS LOBBIES ON TAX BILL: 'The tax bill before Congress would partially exempt the U.S. Virgin Islands from a law meant to crack down on tax havens, after a lobbying campaign by the territory's government and a large private credit firm that stands to benefit from the measure,' per Jeff Stein and Clara Ence Morse at The Washington Post. — 'Over the past three years, an affiliate of the credit giant Golub Capital paid a Washington firm more than $500,000 to urge Congress to relax a global minimum tax approved as part of the 2017 GOP tax law, lobbying disclosures show.' — The exemption, which has received scant attention, has received criticism from certain tax policy experts who argue it 'appears designed to benefit a small number of U.S. firms, rather than to promote economic growth or some other public policy goal.' A NEW ETHICAL DEBATE: 'Saturday's military parade in Washington celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army was sponsored by at least four brands that have strong financial and political ties to President Trump, raising questions about whether the event benefited his allies and supporters,' Minho Kim writes for The New York Times. — 'Palantir, the data analysis and technology firm whose contracts with the federal government are expanding, and Coinbase, a cryptocurrency firm that donated to the president's inauguration, also sponsored the event. Oracle, a database company whose co-founder is a close friend of Mr. Trump's, received a shout-out on Saturday as a sponsor.' — UFC was also mentioned during the event and on the event's website, but a spokesperson for the company told The New York Times that it was not an official corporate sponsor. — 'Federal regulations prohibit the use of public office for the private gain of officeholders or their friends, relatives or nongovernmental affiliates, said Richard W. Painter, who served as the chief ethics lawyer in the White House Counsel's Office under President George W. Bush.' — 'The parade is being used for advertising by these entities with close business ties to the president,' Painter told The New York Times. 'You're in a situation where the U.S. government has been used to endorse a product.' BETTER THAN REVENGE: 'Business lobbyists are working to kill a tax measure embraced by Republican lawmakers that would punish companies based in countries that try to collect new taxes from American firms,' The Times' Alan Rappeport and Colby Smith report. — 'On Monday, Senate Republicans unveiled their domestic policy bill, which included a so-called revenge tax on foreign companies. That tax would punish companies based in countries that either adhere to the terms of a 2021 global minimum tax agreement or that impose digital services taxes on American technology companies,' but the Senate's version of the bill would punt enforcement of the tax until 2027. — The latest version 'also has a lower maximum tax rate, making it somewhat less onerous. However, the fact that the tax remained intact indicates that its inclusion in the final bill that heads to the president's desk for his signature remains likely.' LOCKHEED ADDS TRUMP ALUM: Former Trump spokesperson Jalen Drummond has joined Lockheed Martin as vice president of corporate affairs and international communications. Drummond most recently oversaw public affairs and corporate communications at the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe. Before that, he worked in media relations for Leidos and was an assistant White House press secretary during Trump's first term. — Drummond joined GoFundMe at a tricky time for the crowdfunding site, which had been facing Republican accusations it was censoring conservative viewpoints. By last summer, that anger appeared to have dissipated, with Trump's campaign launching a fundraiser on GoFundMe for the victims of the assassination attempt at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. — Lockheed faced the ire of the MAGA crowd earlier this year, when Breitbart highlighted social media posts from Lockheed's then-head of government affairs expressing left-leaning political views like support for allowing transgender people to serve in the military and diverse hiring practices, and references to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol as an insurrection. Shelly Stoneman, an Obama administration alum, resigned shortly after. — The hire comes at a high stakes moment for the defense contractor, with violence breaking out across the Middle East and the top Pentagon officials simultaneously declaring war on the military industrial complex amid a push to cut wasteful spending. Jobs report — Maddie Heyman is joining Monument Advocacy as a vice president of public affairs in Monument's Seattle office. She spent the past decade with Microsoft, most recently as group manager of external relations for Vice Chair and President Brad Smith. — Jennifer Abril will be the next president and CEO of the American Cleaning Institute beginning in August. She currently leads the Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates. — Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck has added Matt Grinney as a policy director, and Michele Blackwell as a shareholder in the state government relations and state attorneys general practices. Grinney most recently served as managing director at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and Blackwell most recently served as senior public policy manager for Uber. — Cole Randle has been promoted to chief of staff and head of corporate affairs at Heart Aerospace. He was previously head of strategic engagement. — John Barsa is joining Continental Strategy as a partner. He previously was acting USAID administrator in Trump's first term. — Alex Floyd is joining the new anti-Trump war room Defend America Action as rapid response director. He previously was rapid response director at the DNC, and is an Andy Beshear alum. — Lauren Oppenheimer is joining Brunswick Group as a director. She most recently was chief of staff and senior deputy comptroller for public affairs at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. — Graeme Crews will be senior director of media and public relations at Brady United. He previously was communications director for Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. — Valeria Ojeda-Avitia will be chief communications officer for BOLD PAC. She previously was deputy chief of staff, senior adviser and comms director for Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.). New Joint Fundraisers None. New PACs Civic Roots Fund (Super PAC) (Super PAC) Helpful Housing, Safe Streets PAC (Super PAC) McKinsey & Company, Inc. United States Political Action Committee (McKinsey PAC) (PAC) Tucson Families Fed Up PAC (Super PAC) WSB LLC PAC (WSB PAC) (PAC) New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS Ballard Partners: Publix Super Markets, Inc. Ballard Partners: Taurus Holdings Inc. Boundary Stone Partners: The Pew Charitable Trusts Branstad Churchill Group, LLC: Bitmain Delaware Holding Company Inc Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Axa Xl Global Services, Inc. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Christian Brothers Academy Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Coinstar Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Corex Holding B.V. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Daniels Fund Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Figure Markets, Inc. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Glytec, LLC Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Independent Sector Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Junior Achievement USa Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: National Organization To Save Flathead Lake Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Timios, Inc. Carmen Group Incorporated: Pediatrix Medical Group Inc Kelley Drye & Warren LLP: Mrcool LLC Maven Advocacy Partners LLC: Sagint Mindset Advocacy, LLC: Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners Inc. Rubin, Turnbull & Associates: USantibiotics New Lobbying Terminations None.
Cision Canada
13 hours ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Vogel Group and Bolero Strategies Announce Cross-Border Strategic Partnership Français
MONTREAL and WASHINGTON, June 16, 2025 /CNW/ - In response to the growing complexity of economic, regulatory, and political issues between Canada and the United States, Vogel Group and Bolero Strategies have formed a strategic partnership. This alliance aims to support organizations seeking to establish, grow, or defend their interests across the border, providing enhanced, integrated political and regulatory engagement capabilities in both countries. An Integrated Approach for Greater Impact The two firms will employ a fully integrated approach that ensures message consistency, respects cultural nuances, and enables fluid, strategic information-sharing. This coordinated model allows for a deeper understanding of bilateral issues, better anticipation of regulatory developments, and more effective advocacy with decision-makers in both Canada and the United States. This partnership will specifically enable: Bilateral access to influence networks, combining Vogel Group's deep relationships in Washington, D.C., and key U.S. states with Bolero's multisectoral expertise and deep political insight across Canada and Quebec. Enhanced strategic positioning and advocacy, enabling clients to mitigate regulatory threats, explore new markets, and build impactful transnational coalitions. Expanded Reach in the U.S. and Canada Vogel Group provides exceptional U.S. coverage, with deep federal expertise and strong connections in strategic state capitals such as Tallahassee, Florida, and Nashville, Tennessee. Bolero brings an expert command of the Canadian political landscape, both at the federal and provincial levels, along with a nuanced understanding of the country's linguistic and cultural diversity, including the differing political and media environments of the francophone and anglophone regions. Quotes from Leadership "This partnership significantly expands Bolero's ability to support clients with cross-border ambitions. We are proud to work alongside Vogel Group, a firm with demonstrated influence not only in Washington, but also in key U.S. states where critical decisions are made." — Bruno Leblanc, President, Bolero Strategies "This collaboration allows us to offer American clients strategic insight into Canada's regulatory environment while providing Canadian clients with a powerful gateway to navigate the complex U.S. political and regulatory environment." — Alex Vogel, CEO, Vogel Group About Bolero Bolero Strategies is an independent Quebec-based agency headquartered in Montreal, specializing in public relations, government affairs, and influence communication. It supports clients from various sectors in their political, regulatory, or strategic positioning efforts through a tailored approach and a high-level network. Vogel Group LLC is a U.S. firm specializing in regulatory strategy and government affairs, with offices in Washington, D.C., and across key U.S. states. Known for its execution capabilities, deep understanding of decision-making processes, and bipartisan relationships, Vogel Group helps clients defend and promote their interests throughout the United States.
CNBC
14-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
India eyes ‘geopolitical grand slam' with major Western trade pacts, says Vogel Group partner
Samir Kapadia, Managing Partner at Vogel Group, discusses India's diplomatic push for a "geopolitical grand slam", securing key trade deals with the U.S., U.K., and the EU despite rising tensions with Pakistan. He emphasizes India's efforts to balance tactical ties with China while pursuing transformational partnerships with Western nations.
WIRED
09-04-2025
- Business
- WIRED
Spyware Maker NSO Group Is Paving a Path Back Into Trump's America
Apr 9, 2025 2:19 PM The Israeli spyware maker, still on the US Commerce Department's 'blacklist,' has hired a new lobbying firm with direct ties to the Trump administration, a WIRED investigation has found. PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION: WIRED STAFF; GETTY IMAGES Shortly after Donald Trump declared victory in November, NSO Group cofounder and majority owner Omri Lavie rushed to X to congratulate him, speaking of a 'new chapter where the world goes back to common sense,' while accusing the outgoing Biden administration of being 'weak.' In another tweet, he gushed in Hebrew that Republicans 'won in every category: the presidency, Congress, Senate, and the popular vote.' Lavie's enthusiasm is understandable. His company—frequently associated with alleged human rights abuses, most recently in February when journalists in Serbia were targeted with its Pegasus spyware—had a significant stake in a Trump victory, with the hopes of regaining the ability to freely do business with US entities. In a comment to Amnesty International, NSO stated, in part, that its 'commitment to maintain the highest standard of ethical conduct as well as confidentiality towards our customers is paramount and is consistent with industry norms and our legal obligations.' The Israeli spyware vendor has been on the US Commerce Department's 'blacklist' for more than three years, meaning it cannot do business with US companies without specific government approval. NSO Group poured at least $1.8 million into an aggressive pre-election lobbying effort, focusing primarily on Republican senators and representatives, with some meetings occurring as often as eight times. Yet the company remains on the Entity List. Now, with a new occupant in the White House, NSO Group appears to be shifting its political strategy. The company seems to have either terminated or altered its engagement with several of its previous lobbying consultancies in Washington—some of which were closely aligned with the Democrats—and has started working with a key new lobbying partner: the Vogel Group. Founded by Alex Vogel, who served as chief counsel to former Senate majority leader Bill Frist, the Vogel Group is providing NSO Group with 'strategic advisory on cybersecurity policy matters,' according to lobbying disclosure documents filed on March 10. The Vogel Group's connection to the Trump administration includes areas of key interest to NSO Group. One of the Israeli spyware vendor's new lobbyists, Jonathan Fahey, joined Vogel's Washington, DC, office as a principal on January 29 and served in various roles during Trump's first term, including acting director and acting principal legal adviser at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, and general counsel to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy—all three relevant departments for a company selling surveillance technology. Another Vogel Group staffer, Hayden Jewett, is listed in disclosure records as assigned to lobby on behalf of NSO group. Jewett served as a congressional staff liaison to President Trump's 2016 inauguration, facilitating coordination between congressional offices and the inaugural committee. Law firm Holtzman Vogel—of which Alex Vogel is a partner—was founded by his wife, Jill Holtzman Vogel, a former Virginia state senator, a former chief counsel of the Republican National Committee (RNC), and a current principal at the Vogel Group. The firm has reportedly worked for the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee and received in 2024 over $9.3 million in reported payments, with significant political funding from Republican organizations. Holtzman Vogel also represented former Metropolitan Police Department lieutenant Andrew Zabavsky, who was pardoned by Trump in January 2025 for his conviction for obstruction of justice related to the investigation into the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown, a case that sparked protests ahead of the 2020 US election. Bill McGinley, a principal at the Vogel Group and former assistant to the president and cabinet secretary during Trump's first term, left the lobbying firm after Trump appointed him to White House counsel on November 12. He was then reassigned as counsel to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on December 4, only to leave on January 23. 'Lobbyists and advisers who have passed through the revolving door, having worked in the previous Trump White House or for the campaign, as well as those who are big campaign donors have a unique ability to bend the ear of the new administration,' says Dan Auble, a senior researcher at the nonprofit OpenSecrets, which tracks US political spending. 'That access is very valuable.' NSO Group spokesperson Gil Lainer declined to comment on the scope of the contract with the Vogel Group when asked by WIRED. The Vogel Group did not respond to WIRED's request for comment. Closing the Circle NSO Group's recent lobbying efforts appear to have mainly focused on Republican lawmakers, more than executive branch power players, particularly as the Biden administration had been engaged in a crackdown on commercial spyware. The company previously worked with several lobbying contractors, with whom it appears to have either terminated or altered its registrations. These include its registrations under Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and Chartwell Strategy Group, as well as registrations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) with law firms Paul Hastings LLP and Steptoe LLP. Pillsbury previously engaged Chartwell Strategy Group to provide NSO Group with 'strategic communications counsel.' Chartwell Strategy Group has now, for the first time, registered under the LDA as a lobbyist for NSO Group, while the only current active registration of NSO Group under FARA is with Paul Hastings LLP. Lobbyists representing foreign commercial interests—if their work is not intended to benefit a foreign government or political party—can be exempt from FARA and instead register under the LDA, which has no requirement to report specific meetings and is, overall, far less transparent than FARA. Much of the public knowledge about NSO Group's lobbying efforts came from FARA filings. Since both the Vogel Group and Chartwell Strategy Group are now registered under the LDA, it will now be more difficult to monitor their lobbying efforts. Examining NSO Group's past and present consultants reveals numerous individuals who, one way or another, have been associated with the Trump administration. These people are not all lobbyists, but they do have direct connections to Trump world. They include David Tamasi, managing director at Chartwell Strategy and DC chairman of Trump's 2016 joint fundraising committee, who bundled more than $500,000 for Trump's campaign and the RNC in 2020, and at least $15,000 in 2024. His firm, a key player in NSO Group's lobbying, had been actively preparing clients for Trump's return. Other NSO-connected figures also have close Trump ties: Bryan Lanza, a partner at Mercury Public Affairs, which consulted for the company from 2020 to 2021, is a veteran Trump ally; Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, was paid nearly $100,000 by NSO Group's parent firms, according to the The Washington Post, and was recently appointed by Trump to a West Point advisory board; Jeff Miller, who raised millions for Trump, received $170,000 from an NSO-linked company and was spotted at Trump's 2024 election night event at Mar-a-Lago; and Rod Rosenstein, Trump's former deputy attorney general, represented NSO Group in a lawsuit and previously helped justify Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Chartwell Strategy Group, Paul Hastings LLP, and Steptoe LLP did not reply to WIRED's request for comment. Nor did Flynn, Miller, or Rosenstein. Tamasi did not respond in time for publication. What Counts as a Win As of early March—before Vogel Group's registration as a lobbyist for NSO Group—there had been no indication that the Trump administration intended to remove the company from the Entity List, according to a source familiar with the administration's moves regarding spyware, who asked not to be named in order to discuss confidential matters. However, recent comments by NSO Group's Lavie soft-peddled the impact of the Entity List on the company's ability to operate in the US. '[The Americans], when they say 'blacklist,' it sounds much more dramatic to me than it actually is,' Lavie claimed during an interview in Hebrew on an Israeli podcast following Trump's election. He added: 'You can still do business in the United States; it is definitely not a barrier for us to sell in the US.' 'In practice, we are on the list of Commerce, and what this does for us from a regulatory perspective, it simply forces American companies—if we want to buy technology from them—to ask for permission to sell us the technology. That's all,' Lavie said. Lobbying efforts can target different parts of the US government. By lobbying the executive branch (the president and agencies), lobbyists can influence how laws are enforced rather than what the laws say. In contrast, when lobbying Congress, the focus is on passing, blocking, or amending laws by influencing legislators. For example, for a company to be removed from the Entity List, it must go through a lengthy administrative process that includes a review by an interagency committee composed of representatives from the departments of Commerce, State, and Defense, among others. Although Congress could theoretically influence this process, it is not directly involved. During the presidential transition period, NSO Group mainly focused on Congress and reached out to at least 10 Republican senators, representatives, and their staff, before beginning its outreach with the incoming administration. On February 2, the company shared its annual transparency report with Trump's new deputy national security adviser, Alex Wong. The Vogel Group could play a key role in supporting NSO Group if it attempts to engage with the new executive branch, including the president's executive office, the National Security Council, and the State, Justice, and Commerce Departments, among other relevant agencies. Such engagement might aim not only at addressing NSO Group's placement on the Entity List, but also at challenging the spyware-related visa restrictions imposed by the previous administration. In addition, the firm could potentially assist in efforts to roll back Executive Order 14093, signed by President Joe Biden, which continues to restrict the US government's use of commercial spyware. Asked whether the Trump administration intends to uphold the EO, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to comment. 'Much is at stake if the US revokes Executive Order 14093, an order that sets standards on US acquisition of spyware, as access to the US market, and US purchasing power, are great tools in shaping the global scope and scale of the market for spyware,' says Jen Roberts, the Atlantic Council's associate director of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative and coauthor of a recent major report on the commercial spyware industry. Roberts also highlighted the need to better regulate US outbound investment into such technologies. Watching for Signs During Trump's first term, the FBI secretly acquired the Pegasus spyware for limited testing in 2019 and seriously contemplated its operational deployment; while during the final months of the administration in 2020, the US initiated a deal that financed the purchase of the Israeli spyware for Colombian security forces, according to the Colombian ambassador to the US and reported by Drop Site News. (The deal was finalized in 2021, after Trump left office.) In an official statement, NSO Group confirmed its dealings with Colombia but denied claims that the software was purchased irregularly. The New York Times also reported that in 2018 the CIA had purchased Pegasus for the government of Djibouti to conduct counterterrorism operations, while the Secret Service held discussions with NSO Group the same year. The access and influence NSO Group could attain through lobbying efforts by companies like the Vogel Group and Chartwell Strategy Group could lead to a more favorable political environment and, in turn, potentially increase business opportunities under a second Trump administration—something very hard for outsiders to measure, given the opaque nature of government procurement of surveillance technologies. In the coming weeks and months, NSO Group's interactions with US government officials, facilitated by its lobbying, will be critical in achieving such a favorable political environment. Caroline Glick, an adviser to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has also been recently lobbying the Trump White House—among others—on the matter of 'request[ing] to check for options for lifting sanctions on Israeli technology companies,' according to reports in the Israeli media. Experts closely monitoring the commercial spyware industry are raising the alarm about the prospect of NSO Group regaining business under Trump—further exacerbated by new reports that the company has been simultaneously pushing its interests on the international stage through the so-called Pall Mall Process, a UK- and France-led initiative to regulate such technologies. 'NSO has become a toxic brand that is widely associated not just with human rights abuses but also with national security threats to US, UK, France, and other countries,' says Natalia Krapiva, senior tech-legal counsel at civil-liberties-focused nonprofit Access Now. Lainer, the NSO Group spokesperson, tells WIRED that the company 'complies with all laws and regulations and sells only to vetted intelligence and law enforcement agencies, which use these technologies daily to prevent crime and terror attacks.' Lainer adds that NSO 'has initiated and implemented the industry's leading compliance and human rights program, which protects against misuse by government entities and investigates all credible claims of misuse' Ultimately, the current administration will have the final say on how the US regulates NSO Group. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who has actively worked to address concerns related to surveillance and spyware, tells WIRED that 'the Biden Administration blacklisted NSO' because its tool was used to 'maliciously targeting journalists, human rights workers, and even US government officials around the world on behalf of foreign dictators and making all Americans less safe.' 'If Donald Trump puts the NSO Group back in business,' Wyden adds, 'he'll be directly responsible for opening up new threats to our national security and enabling atrocities by foreign dictators.'
