By Hailey Fuchs

With Caitlin Oprysko, Daniel Lippman

LOOKING AT LIV, LIVE ON THE HILL: The chair of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations announced it had issued a subpoena for Saudi Public Investment Fund’s U.S. subsidiary on Wednesday, as the subcommittee held another hearing on the Hill to examine the LIV-PGA Tour deal.

— Chair Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) subpoenaed USSA International LLC, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s U.S. subsidiary for materials related to its U.S. investments. The document calls on USSA International to turn over the information by mid-October, and requests documents related to the PIF’s and USSA International’s investments in professional sports in the U.S. The subpoena also requests materials related to the PIF’s deal with the PGA Tour, the names of the PIF and USSA International’s lobbyists and PR firms, among other information.

— In a letter to subcommittee members, Blumenthal explained that there was little transparency regarding the PIF’s investments in the United States, in part due to exemptions to the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

— ”Beyond outright suppression of potentially negative press, investment can also be used as a tool of influence to promote positive stories and thereby suppress or distract from negative ones,” Blumenthal wrote. “PIF’s PGA Tour investment fits in this bucket because it appears to be a classic attempt at a practice known as ‘sportswashing,’ a ‘phenomenon whereby political leaders use sports to appear important or legitimate on the world stage while stoking nationalism and deflecting attention from chronic social problems and human-rights woes on the home front.’”

— Blumenthal announced his intent to investigate the PIF-PGA Tour deal after the announcement of the LIV Golf and the PGA Tour merger in June. The subcommittee held its first hearing on the matter in July, and has requested that the PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan testify.

— The investment in golf in the United States is far from the PIF’s first investment in prominent U.S. institutions. Among them, the PIF has acquired stakes in Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster, Uber, and Alphabet.

— The subcommittee held a hearing on transparency around the PIF’s investments on Wednesday. Blumenthal criticized the PIF for failing to cooperate with the subcommittee’s investigation. Witnesses discussed the PIF’s golf deal in the context of what they perceive as a larger effort to improve the Saudi reputation.

— The PIF did not return a request for comment.

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to PI. My name is Hailey Fuchs, and I cover money and influence for POLITICO. I’ll be taking the helm of the newsletter for the rest of the week. Please send me all your Influence tips: [email protected] and follow me on X (formerly Twitter): @Hailey_Fuchs

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What makes children’s hospitals different? Designed to meet children's needs, with care provided by specially trained experts, children's hospitals are the primary facilities for specialized care for children and teens – no matter their financial situation. Across the country, children’s hospitals are making it possible for children and their families to experience life’s important moments – from the everyday to the extraordinary. To find out more about the work children’s hospitals are doing, visit madepossible.org.

YOU’VE GOT MAIL — OR NOT: Senate Democrats’ campaign arm is still coming up short in the party’s bid to obtain records about West Virginia governor and GOP Senate candidate Jim Justice.

— Earlier this year, the DSCC sued Justice’s office for refusing to turn the governor’s schedules over as part of a public records request (motions for summary judgment are set to be heard in the lawsuit next month).

— More recently, the committee struck out again last week with a records request for information about the governor’s official government email address — because according to Justice’s office, he doesn’t have one.

— “There is not an official email address issued by the State of West Virginia to the Governor for his personal use,” J. Berkeley Bentley, Justice’s general counsel, wrote in a response last week to the DSCC’s FOIA request for information pertaining to the governor’s email use.

— Bentley went on to add that while there is an email address for the governor, the account is monitored by staff in Justice’s constituent services office, who also monitor submissions through the contact page on the governor’s website, according to a copy of the correspondence shared with PI.

— It’s not unheard of for a governor to eschew email use for official purposes — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner are reportedly among the state executives to forgo official personal emails. But the practice cuts down on communications that could be leaked or turned over to transparency advocates — or, in this case, political rivals.

FIRST IN PI — AUTONOMOUS TRUCKING STARTUP NAMES LOBBYING TEAM: Stack AV, a SoftBank-backed autonomous trucking company that launched publicly last week, has named a pair of industry veterans to steer the startup’s government affairs team. Andrew Woelfling will head up Stack’s lobbying shop and its federal engagement.

— Woelfling was previously director of public policy and government relations at Argo AI, the self-driving startup that was backed by Ford and Volkswagen before shuttering last year. Stack was started by Argo AI’s founders. Woelfling also did a three-year stint at Ford and is an FCC and John Dingell alum.

— Elizabeth Fishback, who has joined Stack and was also previously at Argo AI, will oversee the startup’s state and local affairs. Fishback has previously worked for Sen. Bob Casey, on the 2016 Clinton campaign and for former Sen. Arlen Specter.

NEW FREEDOMWORKS? “FreedomWorks, the hard-line conservative policy group that helped launch the tea party movement, is attempting a major makeover,” your host reports.

— “One of the most renowned political groups to have branched off from the Koch Brothers’ network has decided to transform itself into a more moderate group, one sounding traditionally libertarian notes while pursuing the types of ideological compromise it used to eschew.”

— “In a presentation intended for donors, lawmakers and others obtained by POLITICO, the group called for a ‘New FreedomWorks for a New World.’ The presentation outlined the beliefs of independent voters who embrace such concepts as ‘climate realism’ and ‘abortion options.’”

A message from Children's Hospital Association:

— Regan Smith has joined the News/Media Alliance as senior vice president and general counsel, Morning Tech reports. She most recently was head of public policy for Spotify and is the former general counsel and associate register of copyrights at the U.S. Copyright Office.

— Hannah Lewbel is now senior technical adviser to the CIO at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She most recently was partner director of engineering for Xbox gaming experiences at Microsoft.

— Sam Lyman is now director of public policy for Riot Platforms. He was policy director at the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation and is a U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Orrin Hatch alum.

— Graham Hall is now government affairs manager on Tyson Foods’ state government relations team. He most recently was director for government relations at Van Scoyoc Associates.

— Ilana Marcus Drimmer is joining Javelin as director of strategic development. She was a producer for NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

— Dylan Carson is joining Manatt, Phelps & Phillips as a litigation and antitrust partner. He was previously outside trial counsel retained by the California attorney general’s antitrust section.

— Emily Williams is digital director for Florida Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s Senate campaign. Williams is a Precision, Jaime Harrison and Everytown alum.

— Maria Giannopoulos is director of marketing and digital for the 2024 Republican National Convention. She was previously on the civics outreach team at Google.

— The Wallace Foundation has selected Robin V. Harris as its new vice president of communications. Harris is currently the vice president of strategic communications at The Education Trust.

None.

A message from Children's Hospital Association:

Children’s hospitals play a central role in advancing the health of all children – from prevention to critical care. Of the 6,000 hospitals across the country, only 200 are children’s hospitals and these specialized hospitals and health systems educate and train the majority of pediatricians and pediatric specialists.

Children’s hospitals are where the most complex pediatric care happens and are often the only location in an entire state or region of the country where the sickest children can receive the lifesaving care they need.

Because of children’s hospitals, key moments are made possible in our children’s lives – from first dances to family camping trips, birthdays to graduations – children’s hospitals are on the front line of children’s health care, treating children across the country regardless of circumstances or ability to pay. Learn more.

Conservative American PAC (PAC)

Leaders in Action (Super PAC)

People Over Profits (Super PAC)

Nursing Education Equity & Diversity (PAC)

Yellowstone Strategies: Freemyer & Associates PC

RBW Group, LLC: Flogistix, LP

Forbes-Tate: International Wood Products Association

Locke Lord LLP: Globe Life, Inc.

Health And Medicine Counsel, LLC: Prevent Blindness

The Vogel Group: Mint Innovation

Michael Best Strategies LLC: M&C Saatchi World Services

MV Transportation, Inc.: MV Transportation, Inc.

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: Veterans Care Coordination

Navigators Global LLC (Formerly DC Navigators, LLC): NetEase Information Technology Corporation

DuVal And Associates: Resolution Copper

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP: Contura Energy Services, LLC.

AND Partners LLC: Unity Resources Group

Trimpa Group, LLC: American Vapor Manufacturers

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