The PGA Tour‘s longtime law firm is being paid to lobby the House, the Senate, and President Joe Biden’s White House over issues related to the PGA’s Saudi government-backed rival, financial filings indicate.
DLA Piper, a prominent global law firm, filed a lobbying disclosure this week revealing it had been paid $120,000 by its client, the PGA Tour, to lobby Congress and the “Executive Office of the President” on a range of issues, including “Saudi Golf League proposals.” The disclosure covered the second quarter, April to June, for 2022.
The PGA said last week that it is being investigated by the Justice Department, apparently related to allegations of anti-competitive practices tied to its opposition to the new LIV Golf Series backed by the government of Saudi Arabia.
The lobbying firm had also been paid $70,000 by the PGA between January and March to lobby Congress and the Biden White House about the Saudi golf league and multiple other issues. It appears the law firm, which has lobbied for the PGA for years, first began its lobbying related to the Saudi golf effort in the second quarter of 2021, when it was paid $70,000 to target the House, Senate, and White House, followed by $50,000 the next quarter to do the same, then $50,000 in the final quarter of 2021 when it was paid $50,000 to target the House and Senate. The White House was added back to the lobbying target list this year.
DOJ INVESTIGATING PGA TOUR OVER ITS OPPOSITION TO SAUDI RIVAL
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland last week “to raise concerns about the timing of your administration’s investigation into the PGA Tour” coming at the same time as Biden’s controversial trip to Saudi Arabia.
“I am concerned about whether members of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, or any other member of your administration, was involved in the investigation recently being made public,” Cornyn told Garland. “I also have questions about whether your administration had any contact with the Saudi Arabian government about the investigation, either before it opened or afterwards.”
The PGA suspended the 17 PGA members who agreed to compete in the first LIV Golf International Series event back in June. The tour confirmed its knowledge of the alleged DOJ investigation with the Washington Examiner earlier this month.
“This was not unexpected,” said Joel Schuchmann, the senior vice president for communications with the PGA. “We went through this in 1994, and we are confident in a similar outcome.”
The Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into the tour in 1994, but commissioners voted 4-0 to end the investigation in 1995. The Justice Department declined to comment.
The LIV Golf Invitational announced a $2 billion investment in May, with money reportedly coming from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Saudi government’s massive sovereign wealth fund.
“We have a long-term vision and we’re here to stay,” Greg Norman, the CEO of LIV Golf Investments, said in the announcement. “We’re going to grow the game, give more opportunities to players, and create a more entertaining product for fans.”
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has repeatedly defended the PGA’s decision.
The Saudi-funded LIV Golf Series is slated to be hosted at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, at the end of July. Former President Donald Trump attacked the PGA and defended LIV on Truth Social this week.
“All of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,” Trump wrote, according to Fox Sports.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The 9/11 Families United advocacy group criticized Trump’s decision to host the Saudi golf event, saying on Sunday that it “simply cannot understand how you could agree to accept money from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s golf league to host their tournament at your golf course.”
Although Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks, the 9/11 victims’ families have pointed to links such as Omar al Bayoumi, said to have been a former Saudi intelligence officer, and Fahad al Thumairy, a former Saudi Consulate official who helped lead the King Fahd Mosque and who had contacts with Khalid al Mihdhar and Nawaf al Hazmi, two of the 15 Saudis among the 19 hijackers.
In June, 9/11 Families United also wrote a letter to golfers, including Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, criticizing them for participating in the Saudi-backed golf venture.
Mickelson said last month: “I don’t condone human rights violations at all,” but “I’ve also seen the good that the game of golf has done throughout history, and I believe LIV Golf is going to do a lot of good for the game of golf as well.”
