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LEVICK loses several top staffers
By THEODORIC MEYER and MARIANNE LEVINE
Presented by Partnership for America's Health Care Future
With Daniel Lippman
PI SCOOP: LEVICK LOSES SEVERAL TOP STAFFERS: LEVICK, the well-known Washington public-relations firm, has lost several top staffers in recent months, POLITICO's Daniel Lippman and Theodoric Meyer report. Michael Rubin, who led the crisis practice; Julie Chase, who led the corporate practice; and Sam Huxley, who led the risk and reputation practice, have all left the firm. So has Chris Cooper, who led LEVICK's public affairs practice on a one-year contract while continuing to serve as managing partner of Potomac Square Group, and Jennifer Tong, a LEVICK vice president. All told, LEVICK's headcount has declined from about 60 at its peak to 32 staffers today, according to the firm.
— In an interview, Richard Levick, the firm's founder and chief executive, acknowledged the departures and said his attempts to grow the firm hadn't been successful. "It's clear that bigger has not been better for us," he said. He's now focused on running "a great and highly profitable boutique" firm rather than scaling it up, although the company plans to announce several new hires soon. "We are now considerably more profitable than we were a few months ago," Levick said.
— But some former staffers told PI the firm's culture had helped drive employees away. Former Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-Fla.) told PI that he decided to leave LEVICK in 2016 because he didn't trust Richard Levick's leadership. Marc Ginsberg, a former U.S. ambassador to Morocco and another former LEVICK staffer, said Richard Levick berated and overworked his staff. "I challenged him because I had staff who were coming to me constantly expressing unhappiness over the way in which he was yelling at them and complaining to them about everything from mistakes in their work to lack of what he perceived as cooperation," Ginsberg said in a statement to PI.
— Richard Levick disputed that the firm isn't a good place to work, although he acknowledged not all the new hires he's made over the years have been successful. "I think there have been some real struggles when I've brought in others to grow the firm," he said. The type of international crises the firm handles for its clients must be dealt with in the middle of the night or on weekends, he noted. "Not everyone is cut out for a crisis firm," he said.
Good afternoon, and welcome to PI. We hope you're reading this newsletter from the passenger seat of a car headed to the Eastern Shore, with fingers crossed it doesn't rain. Enjoy the weekend, and send us your tips when you get a chance: mlevine@politico.com and tmeyer@politico.com. You can also follow us on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer and @marianne_levine.
PINTEREST HIRES BROWNSTEIN HYATT: Pinterest has hired its first Washington lobbyists. Drew Littman, Elizabeth Maier, Greta Joynes, Laura Johnson and Will Moschella of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck will lobby for the social media company on copyright and privacy issues, according to a disclosure filing.
KATHLEEN MANAFORT TAKES FRONT ROW SEAT IN HUSBAND'S TRIAL: "Kathleen Manafort has stood by her husband every day in court, listening in silence as her name pops up while prosecutors present allegations of bank fraud and tax evasion against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort," POLITICO's Marianne LeVine and Darren Samuelsohn report. "Her name has been mentioned in the context of family car purchases, home renovations, joint tax filings and foreign bank accounts. Yet, she appears unfazed as she sits daily in the front row of the courtroom.
— "When Paul Manafort enters, he often blows her a kiss. As a mortgage assistant from Citizens Bank gave testimony Thursday about a $3.4 million mortgage loan that both Kathleen Manafort and her husband received, which prosecutors say was based on false documents designed to defraud the bank, she whispered in a friend's ear and shook her head. Prosecutors displayed the loan documents, which showed her signature."
— "Paul Manafort's trial has thrown his wife into the public eye. Yet despite the potentially uncomfortable level of attention, legal experts say it is unlikely that she will face any criminal charges. 'I would be surprised if Mueller's team did not gather evidence related to Mrs. Manafort and consider whether they had sufficient evidence to charge her,' said Renato Mariotti, a former prosecutor and a partner at Thompson Coburn. 'Based on what I've seen, it appears they did not have enough evidence to do so.'" Full story.
MENENDEZ'S CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN IS ALSO A LOBBYIST FOR QATAR: From The Philadelphia Inquirer's Andrew Seidman: "Michael Soliman is a longtime aide and confidant to Sen. Bob Menendez. Now the New Jersey Democrat's campaign chairman, he naturally wants his boss to win reelection this year. Since 2015, Soliman has also lobbied Menendez and other members of Congress on behalf of the government of Qatar, arranging meetings for the country's ambassador to the U.S. and raising issues important to Qatar's relationship with Washington. If Democrats retake the Senate (and Menendez keeps his seat), he'll be "poised to chair the Foreign Relations Committee — potentially boosting Soliman's value as a lobbyist, government watchdogs say." Full story.
FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE STAFFER JOINS PERCIPIENT: Tyler Ross, who served as deputy director of media affairs in President Donald Trump's White House, has joined Percipient Strategies, a strategic communications and research firm, as a partner. He's working with two former colleagues from the Republican National Committee, Matthew Alonsozana and Naji Filali. He'll help build out the external communications part of the business and also data analytics and data mining.
'IT IS A LIFESTYLE PAC': BuzzFeed News' Henry Gomez and Tarini Parti (a PI alum) take a critical look at what's going on at America First Policies, a nonprofit allied with Trump, and its affiliated super PAC, America First Action. "'It is a lifestyle PAC to help enrich a bunch of consultants,' said one Republican strategist, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. 'It is a PAC to throw parties, to drink, and to raise a lot of money. Every month you read about a new consultant — Sean Spicer, Don Jr.'s girlfriend. Everyone's on payroll.'" Full story.
JOBS REPORT:
— Joel Payne has joined MWWPR as vice president of corporate communications. He was previously a public affairs specialist at Qorvis MSLGROUP.
— Bayly Hassell has joined UnidosUS, the nonprofit formerly known as the National Council of La Raza, as a legislative analyst. She previously worked for Rep. David Price (D-N.C.).
— The Petrizzo Group has added Bess Hughes as a director. She was previously a vice president at Pearson & Associates.
NEW JOINT FUNDRAISERS:
Cisneros Victory Fund (Gil Cisneros, California Democratic Party)
Colin Allred Victory Fund (Colin Allred, Texas Democratic Party)
Durbin Londrigan Victory Fund (Sen. Dick Durbin, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan)
Women Leadership Committee (Reps. Martha McSally and Mimi Walters, Making Investments Majority Insured PAC, Thunderbolt PAC)
NEW PACS:
Building Stronger Communities (Super PAC)
Clowns SuperPAC (Unknown)
Hill Swing Left Fund 2018 (Unknown)
North Texas Dems PAC (PAC)
People's Action Movement Politics (Super PAC)
The Progressive America PAC (Unknown)
NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS:
Alpine Group, Inc.: Life Care Centers of America Inc.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Pinterest, Inc.
Capitol Decisions, Inc.: American Addiction Centers, Inc.
Ernst & Young LLP (Washington Council Ernst & Young): California Schools Voluntary Employee Benefits Assoc. (VEBA)
Navigators Global LLC (Formerly DC Navigators, LLC): CBRS Alliance
S-3 Group: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc.
SK Hynix America, Inc.: SK Hynix America, Inc.
Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson & Perry, LLP: Sitka Tribe of Alaska
Van Scoyoc Associates: American Addiction Centers, Inc.
Venable LLP: Town of Mashpee
NEW LOBBYING TERMINATIONS:
Baker & Botts, LLP: Andrews County Holdings, Inc.
Baker & Botts, LLP: Champlain VT, LLC
Baker & Botts, LLP: National Housing Compliance
Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, Inc.: Yahoo (Income Disclosed By Oath Inc )
Skipper Group: Baron Critical Weather Intelligence
Skipper Group: DESE Research, Incorporated
Theodoric Meyer @theodoricmeyer
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About The Author : Theodoric Meyer
Theodoric Meyer covers lobbying for POLITICO and writes the POLITICO Influence newsletter. He previously covered the 2016 campaign for POLITICO and worked as a reporting fellow for ProPublica in New York. He was a lead reporter on ProPublica's "After the Flood" series on the federal government's troubled flood insurance program, which won the Deadline Club Award for Local Reporting. He's a graduate of McGill University and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
About The Author : Marianne LeVine
Marianne LeVine is a reporter at POLITICO who covers lobbying and co- authors POLITICO Influence. Prior to her stint on the lobbying beat, Marianne covered labor policy for POLITICO Pro, writing about regulations related to overtime pay, retirement advice and occupational health and safety. Her reporting in 2016 about domestic abuse allegations against President Donald Trump's first nominee for labor secretary, Andrew Puzder, was a key part of the debate surrounding his nomination, which he ultimately withdrew. Prior to working at POLITICO, Marianne was an intern in the Los Angeles Times' Washington, D.C. bureau.
She graduated from Stanford undergrad in 2013, with degrees in International Relations and French and completed Stanford's Graduate Program in Journalism in 2014.
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