Ken Vogel

Devils' Advocates: The Hidden Story of Rudy Giuliani, Hunter Biden, and the Washington Insiders on the Payrolls of Corrupt Foreign Interests Amazon.com: Devils' Advocates: The Hidden Story of Rudy Giuliani, Hunter Biden, and the Washington Insiders on the Payrolls of Corrupt Foreign Interests: 9780063341210: Vogel, Kenneth P.: Books

This story is excerpted from my new book, which comes out next week & is available for preorder: www.amazon.com/Devils-Advoc...

A congressional lobbying filing.

Diddy is not the only rapper openly seeking a Trump pardon.

Torence Hatch Jr., a/k/a Boosie BadAzz, has hired the convicted felons Jack Burkman & Jacob Wohl to lobby for a pardon for a firearms charge on which he is to be sentenced in November. lda.senate.gov/filings/publ...

h/t @legistorm.com

Hunter Biden Pursued a Deal to Sell Land Around the U.S. Embassy in Romania

NEW: In 2017, Hunter Biden pursued a deal to sell land around the US Embassy in Romania, & possibly the land on which the embassy sat, to a joint venture that included a Chinese government-linked company.

The venture, & the Chinese company, collapsed before the deal went anywhere.

Quite the postcard received by the federal judge considering a challenge to Trump's threats to deport noncitizens for pro-Palestinian protests.

The judge (a Reagan appointee) nonetheless ruled today that the threats infringed on protestors' 1st Amendment rights. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/u...

Former Trump campaign manager Brad @Parscale last month signed a $1.5M/month contract to implement a social media campaign targeting Gen Z audiences on behalf of the Israeli government. efile.fara.gov/docs/7649-Ex...

YouTube Settles Trump Lawsuit Over Account Suspension for $24.5 Million

If Trump didn't have the power of the WH behind him, YouTube would not have settled, Trump's lawyer acknowledged.

“If he hadn’t been re-elected, we’d be in court forever,” said John Coale. “Then the president gets re-elected & things look a lot better.”

Exclusive | YouTube to Pay $24.5 Million to Settle Lawsuit Brought by Trump The Google subsidiary is the final Big Tech company to resolve a trio of personal lawsuits that Donald Trump filed against social-media platforms.

YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5M to settle the lawsuit Trump brought in response to being suspended from the platform after Jan. 6.

Most of the $ will go to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall & is earmarked for the construction of a WH ballroom.

The place to be in October—from a Blue Angels party to speakers like Steven Pinker, @joycewhitevance.bsky.social @maryroach.bsky.social Gretchen Whitmer @kenvogel.bsky.social @timbl.bsky.social @brewster.kahle.org Shaka Senghor @ebakerwhite.bsky.social & more

commonwealthclub.org/events

How the Mets lost their groove: Inside baseball’s biggest collapse Talented, yes, but this year's Mets lacked sizzle. They were MLB's only team never to mount a ninth-inning comeback.

Feels like this story could be written about the Mets every few years:

How the Mets lost their groove: Inside baseball’s biggest collapse.

Conservative Philanthropy CEO to Trump: Don’t Attack Liberal Nonprofits Any revenge by the Trump administration against liberal foundations and other groups “is going to come back to haunt us,” Lawson Bader of DonorsTrust tells @gekaminsky.

The CEO of the GOP-aligned dark money hub Donors Trust (which has routed $2B to Heritage, Turning Point USA & other orgs) is cautioning Trump against targeting Soros/Open Society & other Dem-aligned foundations.

Such targeting “is antithetical to philanthropic freedom," says Lawson Bader.

The Eagles are getting so good at blocking field goals/punts that the NFL will probably start pushing to outlaw it.

Trump’s Targeting of Soros Foundations Elicits Fear and Defiance on Left

Trump's targeting of Soros/Open Society could backfire, both sides predict:

Democrats expect OSF has the legal standing &💰to beat any charges & become the Harvard of philanthropy.

Republicans worry that their nonprofits will be investigated the next time Democrats are in the White House.

I get emails

Trump’s Targeting of Soros Foundations Sparks Fear and Defiance on Left

NEW: Responding to a @nytimes.com report that the Trump Justice Department is planning to investigate the Open Society Foundations, @alexsoros.bsky.social said the massive left-leaning philanthropy did nothing wrong & would only stop its work "over my dead body."

Happy birthday to Amber’s own Bobby Shantz. We celebrated today with a proclamation from the mayor.

The S.E.C. Dropped a Complaint Against Its Chairman’s Former Client

NEW: In 2018, Paul Atkins was paid $1,450/hour by Devon Archer's defense team as it fought charges that Archer defrauded victims out of $60m.

Last week, the Atkins-led Securities & Exchange Commission dismissed a case that could have recouped the victims' money.

The SEC says Atkins recused himself

Glenn Howerton, sporting a Four Seasons Total Landscaping shirt while tailgating outside the Linc.

Here’s what happens when big-time lobbyists become big-name Trump officials Attorney General Pam Bondi, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles were lobbyists in their past lives. Their former firms are reaping the benefits.

The Swamp, Undrained:

▶️ Ballard Partners has lobbied for 10 clients this year with the Justice Dept, which is headed by a former Ballard lobbyist, AG Pam Bondi.

▶️ BGR Group has lobbied for 19 clients with the Transportation Dept, which is headed by a former BGR lobbyist, Secretary Sean Duffy.

FWIW: Cava’s harissa & tzatziki are 🤤

Trump Justice Dept. Closed Investigation Into Tom Homan for Accepting Bag of Cash

The $50k in cash paid by undercover FBI agents to Tom Homan was inside a bag from the fast casual restaurant chain Cava, the @nytimes.com reports.

The sting grew out of a long-running counterintelligence investigation that had not been targeting Homan.

Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. Trump's DOJ shut it down. The FBI and Justice officials closed the investigation, which a Justice Department appointee had called a “deep state” probe in early 2025.

Exactly one year ago today, Tom Homan was secretly recorded on camera accepting $50k in cash from undercover FBI agents posing as contractors, after Homan indicated he would help them win contracts for them once he was in office.

The investigation stalled under Trump, per this stunning MSNBC report

Ted Cruz says FCC chair sounded like a mafia boss in threats against ABC over Jimmy Kimmel U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz says FCC chairman Brendan Carr sounded more like an organized crime boss than a federal regulator when he threatened to yank ABC’s license...

Ted Cruz rebukes FCC chair Brendan Carr over his ABC/Kimmel threat:

“That’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’”

“If the government gets in the business of saying … ‘we’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like,’ that will end up bad for conservatives.”

The S.E.C. Drops Efforts to Recoup Funds From Trump Clemency Recipients

NEW: The SEC quietly dismissed complaints against 3 people who were granted clemency by Trump for frauds that collectively bilked victims out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now, Devon Archer, Trevor Milton & Carlos Watson won't have to pay any money that could be used to make victims whole.

Did a Brooklyn Couple Kill a Neighbor’s Trees for a Better View in Maine?

Kathleen Hackett co-wrote 2 books on Maine houses that extol her “reverence for the land.”

*Her family repeatedly asked an elderly neighbor to chop down trees blocking their view of Penobscot Bay, but the neighbor refused.

**Now, Hackett's husband is accused of killing the trees by poisoning.

Since SCOTUS's Citizens United decision in 2010, critics have mostly pushed incremental reforms to try to stanch the flow of big $ into politics unleashed by the decision.

But @thmoore.bsky.social argues states can effectively neutralize the decision's impact by reworking their corporations laws.

Joe Biden Is Struggling to Cash In on His Presidency Companies are reluctant to hire the former president as a paid speaker due to his unpopularity and fear of retribution from Trump.

Checking in on the Bidens:

Joe Biden is struggling to find $ for his library, & audiences for his $300k-$500k speeches.

Likewise, Hunter Biden in March told a judge presiding over a divorce matter: “I was expecting to obtain paid speaking engagements & paid appearances, but that has not happened.”

X can keep its lawsuit against Media Matters in federal court in Texas, a judge ruled on Tuesday, rejecting arguments that the venue was improper & the case should be moved to friendly terrain for @mmfa.bsky.social in California.

Trump Invokes Kirk’s Killing in Justifying Measures to Silence Opponents

NEW: Some on the right worry that targeting hate speech could backfire against them next time Democrats are in power by opening “a Pandora’s box that we could all come to regret.”

At a Dubai Conference, Trump’s Conflicts Take Center Stage

Incorrect.
Front page of the business section on 5/2/2025:

At a Dubai Conference, Trump’s Conflicts Take Center Stage

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/u...

Anatomy of Two Giant Deals: The U.A.E. Got Chips. The Trump Team Got Crypto Riches.

In May, the Trump family's crypto start-up @worldlibertyfi.bsky.social announced a UAE investment of $2B.

2 weeks later, the WH agreed to allow the UAE access to coveted AI chips.

The 2 deals are more connected than previously known, even spurring conflict of interest concerns inside the Trump WH.