Amazon, Lev Parnas, Jeff Bezos the Washington Post, Brian Ballard

"Amazon has been a top client of Ballard’s for years. In 2018, Amazon paid the firm $280,000 for lobbying services that went beyond trade issues, including business deregulation and infrastructure funding, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Amazon tapped a lobbying firm run by an ally of President Donald Trump to push for government action against vendors selling counterfeit goods – an issue that has come under greater scrutiny during the U.S. trade battle with China.

From July 2018 until March 2019, Amazon has been paying Ballard Partners up to $70,000 each quarter for, in part, lobbying on issues related to “trade and tariff policy,” according to three disclosure reports. However, people familiar with the matter said that the disclosure reports only tell part of the story.

Brian Ballard, a leading fundraiser in Florida for Trump during the 2016 presidential election, has been lobbying members of Trump’s administration and Congress on Amazon’s behalf to fight back against third party vendors who are selling fake products to their customers"

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/04/amazon-paid-a-trump-fundraiser-to-lobby-against-counterfeit-sellers.html

____________

"A prominent Florida lobbying firm, a GOP fundraiser in Tallahassee and a donor to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were subpoenaed in recent weeks by federal prosecutors in New York investigating two South Florida businessmen whose work for President Donald Trump’s personal attorney has placed them near the center of a congressional impeachment inquiry.

Ballard Partners, a powerhouse firm founded in Tallahassee by Republican lobbyist and Trump confidant Brian Ballard, was subpoenaed recently by prosecutors from the Southern District of New York investigating Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, naturalized citizens accused of funneling illegal foreign money into U.S. campaigns.

Subpoenas also went to South Florida businessman Paul Okoloko and, according to CNN, professional fundraiser Meredith O’Rourke."

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article237629109.html