US attorneys general fly free to luxury hotel in Rome thanks to group funded by corporate interests
They hadn't come for a Pope Francis memorial, though.
At the museum, Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor snapped photos surrounded by a scrum of lawyers and lobbyists. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill smiled as she stood next to an attorney from a firm representing a company her office is suing. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador chatted with the head of a corporate consultancy.
Those attorneys general had all traveled to Rome for free – thanks to an association funded by some of the same companies whose representatives now chatted up the American officials. That group also organized the officials' stay in an opulent, luxury hotel and their chauffeured sightseeing around the Eternal City.
As CNN documented in March, companies have regularly paid to enjoy this kind of special access through the nonprofit Attorney General Alliance, which organizes trips to US resorts and foreign destinations. The AGA's Rome trip offers the most detailed evidence yet of the close access corporate powers gain at these junkets – and of the potential conflicts of interest that come with that arrangement.
Critics say that by accepting luxury trips funded by donations from corporate interests, attorneys general may undermine public trust in their actions, especially their mission to enforce the law against powerful interests.
'It hurts the credibility of the office and the rule of law for attorneys general to use their status to elicit this kind of luxury travel,' said Stephen Gillers, a professor of legal ethics at NYU Law. 'If they really need to meet… how about Chicago in January?'
In a statement to CNN, AGA said the delegation to Rome included meetings with international law enforcement partners and Vatican officials on a range of issues including human trafficking. The trip also included accredited legal educational sessions for the attorneys general.
'The goal of our meeting was to discuss solutions for stronger enforcement of the law and better protection for those who are trafficked as modern-day slaves,' AGA's general counsel Tania Maestas said in the statement.
Maestas said no litigation was discussed during the delegation and defended the attendance of state attorneys general.
'To conflate lawful business travel with a violation of the rule of law is to substitute optics for legality,' Maestas said. 'The credibility of an office is best preserved not by avoiding all activity that might be perceived unfavorably, but by upholding the rule of law.'
A draft itinerary for the week-long Rome trip lists law enforcement meetings on topics like cryptocurrency and human trafficking in the mornings – but also other times blocked off for meals and tourism, like visits to museums and a tour of St. Peter's Basilica. The schedule for Friday listed only an unspecified 'optional excursion' and a 'closing dinner.'
Participants stayed at the five-star Rome Cavalieri hotel, which describes itself as an 'opulent haven' and the 'peak of prestige.' A CNN reporter spotted Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown resting with his eyes closed near the hotel pool on a sunny morning. A spokesperson for Brown's office said he was honored to participate in the trip 'to advance critical international law enforcement partnerships.'
Documents show AGA covered business-class flights to Italy for the attorneys general and their guests. For example, AGA reimbursed Attorney General Brown and his wife for tickets totaling over $14,000, according to copies of the flight receipts obtained by CNN. An AGA staffer also booked tickets for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and his wife, emails obtained through public records requests show. A separate AGA email last year touted the Rome trip as an 'unforgettable experience.'
AGA did not respond to a question about how many attorneys general attended the conference. CNN asked attorneys general offices in all 50 states whether they planned to participate. Thirty-two offices said they were not attending, and 16 did not answer.
Brown's office in Maryland confirmed that he was attending, and after the trip, a spokesperson for Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said that he attended with his family and secured a $100,000 grant from AGA to fight human trafficking. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez also accepted an invitation for the trip, according to an AGA email from November obtained through a records request.
CNN reporters in Rome also observed the attorneys general for Alaska, Idaho and Louisiana.
AGA, which pulled in nearly $27 million in sponsorships between 2019 and 2023 – the last year of records available in public financial reports – largely relies on donations from companies to fund its trips. Attorneys general also pay thousands of dollars per year in membership dues using taxpayer funds.
The group has previously granted varying levels of perks to companies based on how much they have contributed, records show. An AGA document from 2023, for example, promised sponsors who contributed $100,000 access to 'invite-only events' and speaking slots at conferences not available to donors who gave $30,000.
One donor listed in previous AGA documents is WilmerHale, an international law firm that represents companies across a range of industries. One of the firm's partners, Paul Connell, attended the AGA trip to Rome, where he joined at least three state attorneys general and other business representatives for a tour of the Vatican Museums.
After exiting the delegation's tour bus, Connell stood beside Louisiana Attorney General Murrill at one point.
This year, Murrill joined a dozen other Republican attorneys general in a lawsuit against investment companies alleging an anticompetitive conspiracy restricting coal production. Connell's firm WilmerHale represents asset management company BlackRock in the case. The defendants in the lawsuit have argued the case 'spins a farfetched theory' and fails to offer facts that demonstrate a conspiracy.
Connell is not listed in court records as one of WilmerHale's attorneys working on the case. Asked what, if anything, Connell discussed with Murrill on the trip, a WilmerHale spokesperson said conversations between firms and clients are privileged and noted that the Louisiana Department of Justice is a firm client.
Murrill's office did not respond to a question about whether her attendance and interaction with Connell in Rome posed a potential conflict of interest related to the BlackRock case.
In an interview on the podcast Legal Speak last month, Murrill encouraged companies to engage with state attorneys general offices, though she seemed to acknowledge that access through AGA comes at a price.
'It also can depend on the size of your business, what can you afford?' Murrill said. 'The Attorney General Alliance is a membership organization but it has enormous value because you can engage on the front end … and you can meet a lot of attorney generals including your own in the states where you do business.'
As the AGA tour group joined the line for the Vatican Museums, other corporate attorneys and lobbyists identified by CNN could be seen standing alongside the attorneys general. Among them was Kia Floyd, the vice president of state and local policy for General Motors, which was listed in a 2023 AGA document as one of the group's sponsors. General Motors and Floyd did not respond to requests for comment.
In the last year, General Motors was sued in separate cases by Texas and Arkansas over allegations regarding the company's handling of private customer data. General Motors has denied the allegations and stated in court it has provided all necessary information for consumers to assess its products.
A spokesperson for Arkansas Attorney General Griffin said his boss 'met and exchanged pleasantries with Ms. Floyd but did not discuss the lawsuit against General Motors, which we are pursuing aggressively to hold GM accountable.' The Texas attorney general's office did not respond to a question about whether he joined the Rome trip.
Others identified in the Vatican tour group include Andrew Cook, a partner at the law firm Orrick, and Preston Baldwin, the CEO of corporate strategy firm, Centerpoint360. CNN confirmed their attendance by reaching their rooms at the Rome Cavalieri. They did not respond to requests for comment.
'What I often counsel clients is state AGs are enormously important. You can't neglect them. You have to go right to them… having a game plan put in place is really important,' Cook said during a webinar for the Federalist Society last year.
Gillers, the NYU professor, said he doesn't fault private companies for seeking to influence state officials.
'I don't blame them,' he said. 'I blame the attorneys general for going. They should just say no.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
22 minutes ago
- The Hill
Democrats seek to leverage Trump's low approval ratings
Democrats must center their political arguments around rising costs since President Trump took office so their struggling party can capitalize on his dismal polling numbers, political strategists tell The Hill. Relatable messaging on affordability is how Democrats can criticize Trump effectively and show voters that they represent the interests of working-class Americans, many of whom supported the president during the 2024 presidential election. They must shift from the usual broad-stroke statements that have previously fallen flat with voters. Instead, the message should be tailored to the price of specific items — like beef or timber — that have spiked during the early months of the Trump administration. 'Talk about the price of beef,' said Republican strategist Susan Del Percio, who doesn't support Trump, adding that the approach mirrors a strategy the president took during the campaign last year to defeat then-Vice President Kamala Harris. 'Just like Donald Trump talked about eggs, it's more than talking about the economy. It's making it relatable, and nothing is more relatable than hamburgers and a barbecue.' As fall inches closer, Democrats need to telegraph that message in town halls, in interviews and on social media to reach mass audiences in purple and even red districts, strategists say. 'Every minute of every day should be spent talking about rising costs,' said one Democratic strategist who has been in conversations where affordability has been the central topic of how Democrats find their way out of the wilderness. 'Every second that's not spent on talking about affordability, we're losing the argument.' Democrats say they are trying to seize upon the opportunity now, when Republicans are divided on the controversy surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, which has dominated the headlines this month, putting Trump and Republican lawmakers on defense. But some strategists are weary of how much Democrats need to emphasize messaging, even with 2026 midterms on the horizon. 'Messaging is not necessarily the determining factor in midterm elections ever by the party out of power,' seasoned Democratic strategist Garry South said. 'It is a referendum on the party in power.' Trump has stumbled on issues including tariffs and immigration, weakening his position from when he entered office more than six months ago. This week, a Silver Bulletin poll conducted by pollster Nate Silver showed that Trump's approval ratings steadily decreased from 52 percent to 44 percent during his first four months in office. And in recent months, the same poll revealed that Trump's approval ratings have hovered in the mid-40s, some of their lowest levels across his two terms. In the past two weeks, separate CNN-SSRS polling and Quinnipiac University polling have shown Trump's approval ratings as low as 42 percent and 40 percent, respectively. In recent days, some Republican lawmakers have sought to cocoon themselves until the Epstein storm passes, further inviting Democrats to fill the void. '[Republicans] are scared of their voters. They're scared of the president,' Democratic strategist Basil Smikle said. 'Go in areas where Republicans won't go, in areas where Republicans are. But countermessage. You may not win every day, but you may get a few voters to pay attention.' 'There are a lot of independents that are souring on the president and on the administration, and I think that's where there's opportunity,' Smikle added, referring to voters who can move the needle for Democrats in future election cycles. 'There are not going to be many Republicans that Democrats are going to get, so this is really about independents.' Even in the first six months of the Trump presidency, Republicans have given Democrats a gift in terms of strategy and messaging, Democratic operatives say. And while Democrats had traditionally gone after Trump himself in recent cycles, operatives say they should take aim at the Republican Party as a whole. 'They should talk about how Republicans are focused on protecting the president while the dangers of the big ugly bill are looming,' Smikle said. 'That, I think, is probably the most salient message here, that some of the most wealthy and powerful in this country are not just hoarding the money, they are also protecting themselves' with tax cuts in the 'big, beautiful bill.' Smikle added that Democrats need to follow that up with alternatives to Republican policies. '[Democrats] have got to offer something in return. They've got to give voters an opportunity to vote for something as opposed to just against something.' Other strategists say that right now, the best thing Democrats can do is not interfere and let Trump continue driving his approval ratings into the ground. 'Based on the Napoleonic principle that one should never interfere with an enemy when he's in the process of destroying himself, I'm not sure there's a lot Democrats proactively need to do,' South said. He added that midterms have historically been 'throw-the-bums out' elections that reflect exclusively the party in power. 'Republicans have that trifecta, the White House, the Senate, the House, and they're going to pay a price for it in 2026 no matter what Democrats do.'
The Hill
22 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump tightens reins on foreign students in multifront immigration crackdown on universities
President Trump is making it harder and harder for international students and immigrants to pursue higher education in the U.S. Dreamers, foreign students seeking visas and potentially even those looking to work in the country after graduation have all found themselves caught in the crossfire as Trump seeks to curb immigration while also cracking down on colleges and universities. 'It certainly did strike me that universities kept coming up as a very attractive target, and as a place where a lot of things that might not be really noticeable for another few years are becoming noticeable just in the scope of a few months,' said Dara Lind, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. The most recent Trump administration action came against Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, those who came to the country undocumented as children who are allowed to renew their status every two years to avoid deportation. The Education Department announced last week it was investigating five universities for scholarship programs they have for DACA recipients, arguing the policies are unfair to U.S. citizens. 'As we mark President Trump's historic six months back in the White House, we are expanding our enforcement efforts to protect American students and lawful residents from invidious national origin discrimination of the kind alleged here,' said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. Foreign students coming to the U.S. now must go through a new social media check when applying for a visa, which has resulted in individuals purging their online accounts of any information that could be considered controversial. For those who have been studying in the U.S. over the past six months, life has been a whirlwind. Thousands were taken off the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a reporting system that gives information about international students to the Department of Homeland Security — then later reinstated after an uproar. Multiple students and faculty have been arrested and targeted for deportation after participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, with the State Department alleging they pose a risk to U.S. foreign policy. Most of the individuals have been released from custody but are still facing deportation trials. 'I think they decided to target universities, particularly after the campus protests that happened in the previous year, and they've been looking for different leverage points to be able to force the universities to act in a way that Trump officials want them to act,' said Stuart Anderson, executive director for the National Foundation for American Policy. 'One point of leverage has been research funds, because that involves a large amount of money. But another part, another part of that leverage has been international student policy, because it's something that the federal government does have power over,' Anderson added. Advocates argue universities need to be willing to step up and fight back, despite the risk of federal funding pauses that have fallen on multiple institutions. 'We need to leverage all the levers that we have at our disposal, everything from comment letters when there are proposed rules, to legal action when that's appropriate, to really understanding how we navigate these different, evolving and complicated immigration policies in a way that continues our compliance with the law and support our students,' said Miriam Feldblum, president and CEO of the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. 'It's not one type of actions that we need to take. We need to be attuned and nimble to take a variety of actions in order to support our campuses and communities,' Feldblum added. The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. International students who are at universities specifically targeted by the Trump administration, such as Harvard and Columbia, have even larger concerns. The administration tried to take away Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students, though the courts have so far rejected that move. The federal government has not given up, however, and launched an additional investigation into Harvard's compliance with enrolling foreign students. Separately, Columbia last week said it would in the future tell the Trump administration if an international student is expelled, one of a list of reforms to which the school agreed in order to get federal funds unfrozen. 'The administration has already identified universities — particularly a few elite universities — as individual targets for its culture war. That going after Columbia, going after Harvard — in a lot of respects, they've already identified that these are battles that they want to pick and that they want to have publicity in picking on them,' said Lind. Advocates worry the Trump administration will also seek to end a program that allows international students to work for a year in the U.S. after they graduate or require foreign students to apply for extensions if their studies take longer than originally predicted. 'You would get, eventually, hundreds or thousands of extensions a year, potentially and it would discourage international students from coming to United States, particularly if the extensions were not approved easily or regularly or if it was going to interfere with people being able to study or continue to study,' Anderson said.
The Hill
22 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump opens new golf course in Scotland
President Trump on Tuesday opened his new golf course in Aberdeen, playing a round of golf before returning back to Washington, D.C. after his swing in Scotland. 'We'll play it very quickly and then I go back to D.C. and we put out fires all over the world,' Trump said at the opening ceremony. 'We did one yesterday, as you know, we stopped the war,' he continued, referring to Thailand and Cambodia agreeing to a ceasefire to end five days of fighting. 'That's much more important than playing golf. As much as I like it, it's much more important,' The president, surrounded by his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., cut a long red ribbon to mark the official opening. The president's signature song, 'YMCA,' played at the course and then the family exited the tee area before he hit a drive. After he hit a drive, Eric Trump did the same, followed by Irish professional golfer Paul McGinley and American professional golfer Rich Beem. The president watched and then walked along to continue his round of golf. Before exiting to go play, Trump responded to a shouted question on what he would say to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid the war in Gaza. He responded that he's 'trying to get things straightened out' The president called the Aberdeen course 'an unbelievable development' during his remarks. 'I guess we're going to be hitting a couple of balls. And we're going to play the round,' he added. 'I'll be playing quickly and then I'll be heading back. I look forward to that but I really look forward to playing.' Trump also thanked the media for being 'terrific' during the trip and said they're 'wonderful news' and not 'fake news' as of Tuesday. The president's sons spoke before the president and Eric Trump said the course started as a 'passion project for my father.' The new 18-hole course is outside of Aberdeen and will be named after his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born in Scotland. Trump owns two other golf courses in Scotland — a separate one in Aberdeen that opened in 2012 and one at Turnberry that opened in 2014.
