Russia continues funding media in the U.S.

With Daniel Lippman

RUSSIAN STATE MEDIA MONEY CONTINUES TO FLOW: Months after Russia invaded Ukraine and media companies dropped the country’s state programming, Russian government funding continues to flow into U.S. media.

Between April and the end of September, Russian state media group Rossiya Segodnya funneled $3,284,169 to Ghebi, a company that produces articles, newswires and a number of radio shows. During that same period, Ghebi spent $2,183,640.72 on behalf of its client, according to an October filing with the Department of Justice made under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

POLITICO Influence reported in August that Ghebi and the agency, which controls the media outlet Sputnik, had renewed their contract, with a yearlong budget set for $7 million, the biggest since Ghebi began reporting its contracts to the Department of Justice. Although companies including YouTube and DirecTV have dropped Russian state media, the country’s government appears to continue to see value in media spending, even as it wages war in Ukraine.

That same month, Rebel Media Productions — a company run by controversial former local news anchor Benjamin Swann — registered to represent the Russian government-backed media organization TV Novosti. The production company would oversee video production for TV Novosti and other clients, focusing solely on the Indian, Chinese, and South American TV markets. A filing also noted that Rebel Media Productions had received $609,792 to pay laid off RT America employees.

Happy Thursday, and welcome to PI! My name is Hailey Fuchs, and I cover money and influence for POLITICO. I’ll be taking the reins of the newsletter for the rest of the week. Send me all your tips at [email protected]. Follow me on Twitter: @Hailey_Fuchs.

FEDERAL LOBBYING SPENDING SURPASSES $3 BILLION: “Federal lobbyists raked in $3 billion through the third quarter of 2022, a record haul in what will likely be the most expensive year for federal lobbying to date,” reports Open Secrets’ Taylor Giorno.

— “The trend follows an unprecedented $1.1 billion in lobbying spending during the first quarter of 2022, which swelled to a whopping $2 billion spent through the second quarter.”

— “Organizations are only about $743.6 million away from the record $3.8 billion spent on federal lobbying in 2021. There has not been a quarter since 2008 that federal lobbyists have received less than $743.6 million, all but assuring 2022 will be a record year for federal lobbyists when fourth quarter disclosures are filed on Jan. 20.”

— “Over 13,400 organizations deployed more than 11,900 federal lobbyists during the first nine months of 2022. The 10 clients that spent the most money on federal lobbying during that period accounted for 8% of all federal lobbying spending.”

MERCURY GROWS ITS STATES PRACTICE: The lobbying and consulting firm Mercury announced Thursday that it had expanded its “multistate grassroots practice.” The practice will be led by Robert Jones, formerly senior vice president of U.S. government relations and public affairs at Pfizer, and John Moffett, formerly of SPEAK Strategic, a South Carolina public affairs and communications firm.

— “States are often overlooked in Washington, but they are an essential complement to any national effort,” Mercury CEO Kieran Mahoney said in press release, announcing the the firm’s growth. “We have invested significant resources building up our state offices to respond to the needs of clients, often amplifying their message in Washington. No plan is complete without a significant state-level operation to identify threats and opportunities.”

— POLITICO noted in June that K Street was turning to the states for new revenue, amid gridlock in Washington. Read that story here.

MENENDEZ INVESTIGATION REPRISE: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is under investigation, reports POLITICO’s Matt Friedman.

— “‘Senator Menendez is aware of an investigation that was reported on today. However, he does not know the scope of the investigation,’ Menendez adviser Michael Soliman said in response to an inquiry. ‘As always, should any official inquiries be made, the Senator is available to provide any assistance that is requested of him or his office.’”

— “Citing two sources, the digital news organization Semafor reported that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is investigating Menendez — five years after he beat federal corruption charges.”

FARA CONFUSION LINGERS AMONG LAWYERS: “The first planned US overhaul of foreign lobbying disclosure rules in 30 years is rooted in more aggressive Justice Department enforcement that’s left a growing pool of lawyers practicing in the space unsure about its reach,” reports Bloomberg Law’s Ben Penn.

— “Practitioner interest and confusion surrounding the Foreign Agents Registration Act comes amid investigations and lawsuits to compel lobbying transparency from prominent figures. Cases have involved allies of the previous two presidents, including a probe into whether Rudy Giuliani was acting as an unregistered agent for Ukrainian nationals and an indictment of Obama White House counsel Greg Craig. Giuliani has not been charged and Craig was found not guilty.”

— “Carrying a maximum prison sentence of five years for willful offenders, FARA mandates public disclosures when individuals, companies, or nonprofits act on behalf of foreign interests. It contains exceptions that apply to attorneys, which have proven difficult to interpret for work at the border of legal representation and political advocacy.”

— Maria Comella has started the strategic comms and issue advocacy firm Comella & Co. She most recently was head of public affairs and brand at CLEAR, and has served in senior leadership roles for both former Govs. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) and Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.), and on multiple presidential campaigns.

— Michelle Chang, formerly a deputy assistant secretary for policy for the Commerce Department, is heading to nonprofit Strada Education Network to serve as its chief strategy officer.

— Jennifer Songer, a former policy counsel to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, is moving to the private sector to join the law firm Paul, Weiss as a member of the firm’s private funds group.

— Antonio De Loera-Brust is now comms director at the United Farm Workers. He previously was a special assistant at the State Department.

— Robert Smith is joining Platinum Advisors’ government relations team. He previously was a managing director at Mercury Public Affairs and is a Joel Hefley, Wes Watkins and RNC alum.

— Andrew Cohen is joining the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. as its first-ever managing editor. He previously was director of comms at the Pew Research Center.

— Brad Smith, president and vice chair of Microsoft, and Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture, will chair a new AI Council at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

— Kevin L. Miller and Jason B. Caron join Latham & Watkins to further expand the firm’s health care offerings, the company announced.

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Liebman & Associates, Inc.: WEC Energy Group Inc.

Lsn Partners, LLC: Disaster Technologies Incorporated

Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Semiconductor Component Industries LLC

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Woodside Energy

Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): Finger Paint One, LLC

The Halcrow Group LLC: Advanced Technology International (On Behalf Of National Armaments Consortium)

High Street Strategies LLC: Island Institute