JD Journal » Republican Party

Ex GOP Candidate Jon Huntsman Sued for Unpaid Rent

danielj — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:53:35 +0000

Jon Huntsman sued for over 40K

Ex-GOP Candidate Jon Huntsman is out of the race but still paying for it: Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe are suing his campaign for unpaid rent for their use in 2011 of a Washington office on 15th Street, next door to the Washington Post. They claim that by August, Jon Huntsman’s campaign had stop paying the agreed upon rent, and by September, they had packed up and abandoned the office completely and without notice.

Jon Huntsman moved his campaign headquarters to New Hampshire, to intensity his efforts on securing support there. Deflated upon coming in third in the New Hampshire primary where he had banked most his attention, efforts, and funding, Huntsman opted out of his campaign for the nomination in 2012′s presidential election.

His campaign was short-funded from the start, and some commentators viewed him as a long shot for garnering the Republican ticket since his stance is moderate compared to other Republican heavy hitters. Nevertheless, Huntsman’s spokesman has declared the matter “a misunderstanding, both parties are currently working on an agreement.”

The Washington offices ninth floor was subleased at $8.356.83 a month, which adds up in the lawsuit, incorporating the months of unpaid rent from August to December, late charges, and attorney fees, to a total of $41,784.15.

John Huntsman, who moved up from governor of Utah to become President Obama’s ambassador to China, funded his campaign with donations from lawyers and law firms totaling $95,600.

Huntsman declared his withdrawal from the race for campaign presidency on January 16, and backs Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

Minnesota State Governor Announces Running for 2012 Presidential Nomination

EmploymentCrossing — Tue, 24 May 2011 15:41:06 +0000

Minnesota State Governor, Tim Pawlenty, made an announcement during a speech in Iowa town hall on Monday, May 24 of his intention to run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Speculation had been growing before the announcement. Followed up by a online video, Pawlenty talked about the USA’s problems and attacked Obama’s first term in office.

Read the full article here:

Pawlenty announces 2012 presidential bid: “Our country’s in big trouble”

Democrats Meet on Tax Cuts

joshua — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:16:39 +0000

Congress has almost adjourned for the year and when it is gaveled back into session in January, there will be a new Speaker of the House – thanks to the sweeping victories Republicans achieved in the midterm elections. But the people’s business is not yet done for the year and the lame duck Congress is getting ready to move on extending the Bush tax cuts, which will otherwise expire on December 31. Neither party wants to be held responsible for a tax increase in the midst of a slow economic recovery, so in theory this should be a done deal – but not so fast.
Democrats, who still hold majorities in both houses until the new class arrives in January, want to let the tax cuts expire for those making more than a quarter of a million dollars per year, while Republicans insist on extending the tax cuts for everyone. This is a tough sell for a party that ran on fiscal responsibility given the size of the projected deficit and the cost of extending the tax cuts, and it is rapidly becoming an even tougher sell with the deal Senate Republicans reached with their Democrat counterparts and the White House. Under the proposed compromise, all the tax cuts will be extended and Congress will approve an extension of unemployment benefits for the nearly two million Americans set to lose them this holiday season. This combination of decreased revenue and increased spending is precisely the type of government that the Republican party ran against this year, but it is Democrats that are more likely to kill the deal.
Under the Constitution, it is the House that must originate all tax bills and the House bill that passed limits the extension of the tax cuts to the Democrat’s preferred group of those making less than $250,000. If the Senate approves the compromise bill, as is expected, it will have to go back to the House for another vote. In order to get past the House, at least 39 Democrats will have to support the bill, and that’s assuming that it wins unanimous approval from House Republicans which is far from certain. Normally, the political and electoral pressures of passing tax cuts and unemployment extensions in a bad economy would be enough to ensure approval, but this is a lame duck session and outgoing representatives of both parties face no political repercussions for voting their conscience. Several Democrats have privately voiced opposition to the bill, putting Nancy Pelosi, still Speaker for the rest of the month, in a tough spot. As a member of the liberal wing of her party, she now needs to convince her allies in the House to support a measure that none of them find palatable, without it appearing that Democrats have caved to right wing pressure. The topic is reported to have been the subject of a two hour meeting between Democrats leadership and the White House this weekend.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:26:26 +0000

Good morning everybody! Today is Thursday, November 18th. Here’s a quick recap of yesterday’s stories.

Lisa Murkowski won her bid to be returned to Washington as Alaska’s Senator…

Boies Schiller let three female associates go late last week…

Sidley Austin’s Matthew Sheridan was promoted to practice Co-Head…

Mintz Levin Co-Chairs will be the featured speakers at MIT Conference…

McGuire Woods finalized an agreement to combine operations with the Houston-based firm of Nickens Keeton Lawless Farrell & Flack LLP…

Hogan Lovells added two partners to its firm, one in Philadelphia, and one in Washington, D.C….

Murkowski Wins in Alaska

joshua — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 21:38:41 +0000

Lisa Murkowski has won her bid to be returned to Washington as Alaska’s Senator – for now, at least. After losing in the primary to Tea Party favorite and Sarah Palin endorsee Joe Miller, Murkowski fought back with an aggressive write-in campaign, becoming the first Senator elected by write in votes since Strom Thurmond did it in 1954. At the moment she enjoys a comfortable 10,000 vote lead with a little over 8,000 of those votes being challenged by Miller’s campaign, making it highly unlikely that the court will step in. Miller has vowed to take legal action so long as he thinks the math is in his favor, but those numbers will be nearly impossible to overcome.

Murkowski resigned her leadership position within the Republican party when she decided to run a write-in campaign against the official nominee. Although the party seemingly gave her a wink and a nod near the end of the election cycle, the official party support and money went to Miller, so Murkowski returns to Washington owing nothing to the party leadership. At the same time, she is not liked by the Tea Party, putting her in an odd position in the Senate.

Rothstein Disbarment Official

joshua — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:31:41 +0000

In an update to this story, Scott Rothstein, the Florida lawyer accused of running a massive ponzi scheme, has been officially disbarred. Although he submitted his request to the Florida Bar Association earlier this week to have his license stripped, it did not become official until action was taken by the State Supreme Court. The Florida Bar has removed Rothstein from a grievance committee that considers ethics complaints against lawyers as well.

Rothstein also lost his seat on the Fourth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission. Governor Crist, who appointed Rothstein to the seat a few days before Rothstein donated $140,000 to the state Republican Party, suspended him on Tuesday. There is no requirement that a member of the commission be a lawyer. The Republican Party, along with several individual politicians, has returned the donation.

Law Firm Hirings & Firings

Erik Even — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 17:47:17 +0000

Recent laterals and layoffs in the legal sector:

Former Georgia state senator Rusty Paul joins Arnall Golden Gregory, to head the Atlanta law firm’s government affairs & public policy practice. He is a Sandy Springs city councilman, and was previously a federal assistant cabinet secretary and chairman of the state Republican Party. Paul served in the Department of Housing & Urban Development under President George H.W. Bush, as assistant secretary for congressional & intergovernmental affairs. He founded his own government affairs firm, iSquared Communications.

Harold Creel Jr. joins lobbying firm Alcalde & Fay as a partner. Creel is a former federal Maritime Commission chairman under Clinton and GW Bush, and will lobby on behalf of the Cruise Lines International Association. Previously, he was senior counsel to the Merchant Marine subcommittee of the Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. His JD is from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Sir Ian Kennedy joins the UK’s Beachcroft LLP to head its new NHS health advisory service. Kennedy was previously chair of the Healthcare Commission, a member and chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, and a member of both the General Medical Council and the Medicines Commission. He is Emeritus Professor of Health Law, Ethics and Policy at University College London. Kennedy was knighted in 2002 for services to medical law and bioethics.

BGR Group Loses Four

Erik Even — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:11:32 +0000

BGR Group has lost four staffers, including Democratic bigwigs Michael Meehan and David DiMartino.

Meehan and DiMartino were the lobbying firm’s first Democratic hires, when the traditionally Republican firm went bipartisan in 2007.

The pair will head spin-off firm Blue Line Strategic Communications. Two unnamed BGR staffers are joining them.

Meehan was chief of staff to Washington Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, and an adviser on John Kerry’s presidential campaign.

BGR Group is a bipartisan government relations, strategic communications, and investment banking firm with offices in Washington DC and London.