Ukraine invasion leads US lobbyists to ditch Russian clients

By BRIAN SLODYSKO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A half-dozen U.S. lobbying firms have severed ties with Russian-linked businesses over the past week. It represents a dramatic pullback for an industry that typically has few qualms about representing controversial interests. Records show that firms including McLarty Associates, BGR Government Affairs and Venable LLP abruptly canceled contracts that have yielded millions of dollars in lobbying fees in recent years. Among their now former clients are the now-canceled Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was supposed to deliver Russian gas to Germany, as well as Russian state-controlled banks. The rush to cancel offers a measure of the potency of the Biden administration’s new sanctions.