In the Politico Influence newsletter, we read:
FIRST IN PI — VIN WEBER RETURNS TO MERCURY: Former Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.) has returned to his old lobbying firm, less than four months after stepping down amid questions about his work with Paul Manafort for Ukrainian interests. Weber and his firm, Mercury, were hired by Manafort in 2012 to lobby on behalf of a European think tank that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation later revealed was controlled by Viktor Yanukovych , the Ukrainian president at the time. Manafort pleaded guilty to breaking foreign lobbying law, among other crimes, but neither Mercury nor Weber were charged with wrongdoing.
— Instead, Mueller referred the matter to federal prosecutors in New York, who continued to investigate. Weber initially continued to work as a lobbyist while under investigation but stepped down in August , writing in his resignation letter that the ongoing scrutiny of his work with Manafort "has become a distraction for me and for the important work that Mercury is doing for its clients."
— Only weeks later, Weber's lawyer said the Justice Department had told him that Weber was no longer under investigation . With the threat of prosecution removed, Weber felt "a little freer" to return to the firm, he said in an interview. "I really like all the people that I worked with at Mercury," Weber, 67, told PI. "I'm not quite ready to retire." He's still working out exactly which clients he'll represent now that he's back. "Vin Weber is one of the most insightful leaders in Washington DC," Michael McKeon, a partner at the firm, wrote in an email to PI. "We are proud to have him at Mercury."
The Wikipedia entry for Vin Weber notes:
Weber was press secretary to Representative Tom Hagedorn from 1974 to 1975 and a senior aide to Senator Rudy Boschwitz from 1977 to 1980. He had been the co-publisher of Murray County newspaper from 1976 to 1978 and the president of Weber Publishing Company. Weber was a delegate to the Minnesota State Republican conventions in 1972 and 1978. In 1980, at the age of 28, he was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives, defeating Archie Baumann, 53% to 47%. Baumann had been an aide to former Representative Richard Nolan.
Weber chose not to run for reelection in 1992 and retired from Congress following the House banking scandal, in which he was implicated for writing 125 bad checks worth nearly $48,000.[2] As secretary of the House Republican Conference and key adviser to incoming Speaker Newt Gingrich, he was considered one of the architects of the Republicans' success in 1994.[citation needed] He was a commentator on National Public Radio the following year about developments in Congress after the Republicans took control of the House, providing commentary on the "revolution" he had helped create. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting reported that Weber frequently offered his opinions on NPR about health care issues, but never revealed that he was a paid lobbyist for several health insurance giants.[3]
Weber was a member of the now defunct Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and was one of the signers of the PNAC Letter[4] sent to US President Bill Clinton on January 26, 1998, advocating "the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime from power", along with Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and 29 other notable Republicans.[5]
Weber opened and managed the Washington, D.C. branch of lobbying firm Clark & Weinstock. In 2006, home mortgage giant Freddie Mac paid Weber $360,297 to lobby on its behalf to fend off meaningful regulation in the lead-up to the subprime mortgage crisis.[6] Weber also lobbied for Gazprom, Russia's state-owned natural gas company.[7] . . . .
There's more at the Wikipedia entry.
Photo: Former Minnesota Congressman and current lobbyist Vin Weber. Via conservative think tank Center of the American Experiment 2017 post Former Minnesota Congressman Vin Weber Drawn Into Mueller’s Russia Probe.
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