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The 64-minute recording of Sullivan's June meeting with Bonnen and another top House Republican, then-GOP caucus chair Dustin Burrows, was posted on Sullivan's website and the website of WBAP, a talk radio station in Dallas on which Sullivan appeared Tuesday morning. Almost all of the members of these committees, 134 out of 142, or 94%, received a financial contribution from a Big Tech corporate PAC or lobbyist in 2020. As a minimum measure, corporations should be required to disclose their political spending, as a petition pending consideration at the Securities and Exchange Commission requests. [47] Sara Harrison, Big Techs Year of Big Political Spending, Markup (December 24, 2020), https://themarkup.org/2020-in-review/2020/12/24/big-techs-year-of-big-political-spending. In addition, He wasnt like he is now, she said. Tables 1 through 4 in the Appendix list the amount of campaign contributions the members of these committees have received from Big Tech PACs and lobbyists. Cash and Hunt both said his politics never clouded his reporting. After the Herald, Sullivan moved on to the The Facts which happens to be Bonnen's hometown newspaper. Michael J. Sullivan (born October 3, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts (20012009) and Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (20062009). The 2022 federal midterm elections cost more than $8.9 billion, blowing past the inflation-adjusted $7.1 billion spent on the 2018 midterm elections. company profile page along with the rest of the general data. [42] Hayley Tsukayama, Virginias Weak Privacy Bill Is Just What Big Tech Wants, EFFs Deeplinks Blog (February 25, 2021), https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/02/virginias-weak-privacy-bill-just-what-big-tech-wants. Sales, Account Management and P&L responsibility of all . Sullivan first disclosed in late July that the June meeting happened, saying that Bonnen offered his advocacy group, Empower Texans, media credentials on the House floor if the group targeted 10 Republican members of the Texas House. "All this tape is going to do is make me fight harder," Beckley said. In just the past 10 years, Big Tech companies swiftly constructed their lobbying operation to become among the largest in the country. During his time on campus, he was editor of the school newspaper Sagebrush. ", About halfway through the conversation, Bonnen reiterated to Sullivan that Burrows would list members to potentially target in the 2020 primaries, saying he had "some folks if you want to go pop.". Sullivan, gathered 66,164 votes, or 36%, whereas state Representative Dan Winslow, collected 24,057, or 13% of the votes, with 99 percent of precincts reporting shortly before 11:30 pm, on April 30, 2013. Before Bonnen made his offer, he also disparaged a number of House Democrats. Roughly nine minutes into the recording, after discussing Sullivans recent trip to Europe, Bonnen tells Sullivan hes trying to win in 2020 in November., Is there any way that for 2020 we sort of say lets not spend millions of dollars fighting in primaries when we need to spend millions of dollars trying to win in November, Bonnen says. Until Tuesday, there had been a mixed bag of reviews on the allegations though essentially every Republican or Democrat who was asked about it called on Sullivan to release the recording. OpenSecrets. Braddock also was banned from the Senate floor this past session for tweeting something that offended Patrick. In addition to writing news stories, Sullivan had a weekly opinion column at The Facts in whichhe flexed some right-wing muscle. Ill do what [Lt. Gov. Massingill said it best, Bonnen recalled. if we've collected "Sales Lead Information" for a given company, it will be displayed on the They are now the parents to three children and continue to live in Alabama where they are raising their family. Most recently he served as a senior advisor to Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak and Clark County Commission Chair Marilyn Kirkpatrick. Except for the Revolving Door section, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License by OpenSecrets.org. The most important thing is to figure out what you believe, then stand up for it. And we have a good relationship. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Stand with us in our mission to discover and uncover the story of North Texas, Michael Quinn Sullivan's secret audio of Texas House speaker blurs line between journalism, activism, (Erich Schlegel/Special Contribut / The Dallas Morning News), partially motivated by concern that the contents would damage, according to evidence collected by the Texas Ethics Commission, What we know after 3 children killed, 2 wounded at Ellis County home, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defers comment on revival of sexual harassment lawsuit. From 2016 to 2018, Amazon nearly doubled its number of lobbyists, and for the first time matched the size of Googles ranks. 120 N. 44th Street, Suite 310 Children: Joseph, Kelly, Allyson, James. A 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization, 1100 13th Street, NW, Suite 800 In the 2010 election cycle, these four companies spent $19.2 million lobbying Congress. "We would be thrilled to see Clardy, somebody else, come back in that district.". In the 2018 election cycle, candidates and PACs reported receiving about $4.7 million from the Empower Texans PAC. [2] Katie Benner et al., Facebook Engages in Housing Discrimination With Its Ad Practices, U.S. Says, N. Y. Public Citizen analyzed three main campaign contribution streams that will benefit Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google as they work to fight new oversight and regulation: company Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions, company employee contributions of $1,000 or more to a recipient in a cycle, and contributions from the lobbyists that advocate on their behalf. In recent years, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have all come under increased scrutiny for threatening our privacy, democracy, small businesses, and workers. Some of his clients and former clients include ACFSA, Free The Hops, IW Pharmacy, the National Rifle Association of America, Oasis Legal Finance, The Pawn Council of Alabama, and The Wine Institute. Ultimately, she said, the entire experience has made her more determined than ever to win reelection. Associate Bolles & Pritchard, 19831990. Though there are glimpses of the old reporter she once knew, said Cash, now a retired journalism professor. Blitz Ahead of Zuckerberg Testimony, Tech Transparency Project (March 9, 2021), https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/facebook-launches-pr-blitz-ahead-of-zuckerberg-testimony. Once registered with the state, lobbyists are forbidden from certain interactions with lawmakers and must disclose many activities on public forms. We reiterate these calls to President Biden to shut the revolving door from government in and out of Big Tech once more. But in recent years, Sullivan has fought to shed his reputation as a legislative lobbyist and gain recognition as legitimate media. Is Plastic Recycling A Lie? Oil Companies Touted Recycling To - NPR Later this week, both the House Democratic and House Republican caucuses are set to be in Austin for already-scheduled meetings. His first job was with the Las Vegas Sun newspaper where he worked as a reporter under the direction of former Nevada Governor Mike OCallaghan. Some of these environmental assessments can take anywhere from two years to 4 years, Shivakumar said. Figure 1 tracks spending among a few representative corporations known to be big Washington players in these three industries: Exxon Mobil (Big Oil), Philip Morris (Big Tobacco), Amazon, and Facebook (Big Tech). Its spun off a number of affiliates with the same goals: Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Truth in Politics and the Texas Scorecard, which has been fashioning itself into a conservative news website since 2015. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Michael J. Sullivan (born October 3, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts (2001-2009) and Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (2006-2009). The group is perhaps best known for playing heavily in Republican primary elections, targeting Republicans it considers "squishy" and backing more hardline conservatives. [20] David Corn & Dan Spinelli, Amazon Has Become a Prime Revolving-Door Destination in Washington, Mother Jones (March 2, 2021), https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/03/amazon-has-become-a-prime-revolving-door-destination-in-washington/. Joe Nixon, a former lawmaker and another Empower Texans attorney, also declined comment. "[5], He spoke before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security in support of the USA PATRIOT Act in May 2005, urging Congress to make the act's surveillance provisions permanent. He criticized welfare and affirmative action, called for prayer in public schools, and once wrote about being "angry" when a woman rebuffed his chivalry as he attempted to open the door for her. Partner McGovern & Sullivan, 19901995. [13] Note that this sum does not represent unique individuals. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Stand with us in our mission to discover and uncover the story of North Texas, Conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan fights lobbyist label, What we know after 3 children killed, 2 wounded at Ellis County home, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defers comment on revival of sexual harassment lawsuit. [1][2] He attended Boston College High School and Boston College, and went onto Suffolk University Law School. American democracy is in jeopardy, from the disastrous Citizens United ruling that flooded our politics with corporate cash to the immoral assault on voting rights. But when you find corruption, which they say they have, you would publish it, he said. They may think in their mind that its legit to withhold evidence of corruption because it would hurt Republicans. Oct. 15, 2019 When a mid-level marketing employee at Facebook learned about her employers $20 million annual spend on lobbying, she barely blinked. Burrows otherwise sounds OK with the list and asks Sullivan to add one more member: state Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound. [26] Ashley Gold, Google Hires Former Obama Staffer to Lead External Affairs, AXIOS (February 22, 2021), https://www.axios.com/google-hires-obama-democrat-white-house-8d354f57-0c78-4d3a-9ee1-5bd812365706.html. Bonnen and Burrows pushed back against those allegations, though the speaker later apologized for saying "terrible things" during the meeting and Burrows resigned as chair of the House GOP Caucus. In total, the five Big Tech lobbyists on this list have contributed over $2 million to campaigns during the 2020 election cycle. Within 48 hours, he had what he needed., We had a hierarchy in my office in Congress. When Public Citizen first reported on Big Techs lobbying spending in 2019, we warned that Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google lobbyists, consultants, lawyers, and allied researchers were quickly descending upon Washington. His legislative scorecards grade lawmakers commitment to spending cuts and fiscal responsibility. He did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Big Techs lobbying spending has only increased since then. Michael Sullivan is an Alabama native who at one time was called Mountain Brooke's "Most Eligible Bachelor." Most of his lobbying activity came out of his practice in Montgomery, Alabama. [30], Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google also sponsor individual academics, who often fail to appropriately disclose conflicts of interest as a result of this funding. Jan 2021 - Mar 20232 years 3 months. DC Abuse Victim's 3 Billboards Called for Stronger Laws. Then the State Laura Sullivan/NPR hide caption. In total, just in 2020, Big Tech PACs and lobbyists have contributed about $3.2 million to lawmakers tasked with regulating them. The recordings release promises to reignite the political storm that surrounded Bonnen after Sullivan went public with his story. Learn More about the distinction between these two components of Public Citizen. Zuckerberg was met with a packed agenda: He started with dinner at a private room in an upscale restaurant with prominent Democrats including Sen. Warner (D-Va.), Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and independent Sen. King (ID-Maine). While it remains to be seen who will fill that role, it seems that Facebook aims for the new lobbying head to be a friendly face to President Biden and the newly empowered Democratic Congress. Laura Sullivan/NPR . One journalist calls these practices the soft corruption of Big Tech, and alleges that the corporations also pay for small businesses to write in local newspapers in the corporate interests favor.[33]. Steve Bresnen, a lobbyist and attorney who is leading the charge against Sullivan, said the integrity of elections may be at stake. Though Bonnen appeared to be absent while Burrows rattled off names, the speaker himself had seemed to allude to the same group early on in the conversation, explicitly mentioning the number 10. [17] Revolving Door Employment History section, Jay Carney, OpenSecrets, https://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/rev_summary.php?id=78737. [22], Sullivan resigned as Acting Director effective January 20, 2009 to make way for incoming President Barack Obama to name his own nominee. The problem, he said, is that Empower Texans are deep-pocketed donors and lobbyists, and under the rules, those groups aren't entitled to floor access.