New Report Reveals Laxalt’s Work for DC Lobbying Firm

An explosive new story from The Nevada Independent reveals how failed, corrupt politician Adam Laxalt has leveraged his political connections to right-wing donors and corporate special interests to cash in after his losing campaign for Governor in 2018. In just two years, Laxalt pulled in $2.2 million representing shady clients at a Washington, DC law firm, including a lobbying group funded by the late Sheldon Adelson, who was a top Laxalt campaign donor.

According to The Nevada Independent, Laxalt has been working for the “Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling,” a lobbying group funded by the late Adelson that has paid Laxalt’s firm $150,000 to lobby on its behalf. Laxalt’s work with the lobbying group shows how Laxalt is using his political connections to line his own pockets.

Laxalt is also being paid by campaign donors, including a timeshare company that donated $30,000 to his failed gubernatorial campaign and right-wing interests like Breitbart.

This is not the first time Laxalt has faced questions surrounding his work on behalf of the Adelson family, who had contributed more than $1 million to his political campaigns and groups backing him. As Attorney General, Laxalt was caught on tape pressuring the state gaming regulator to help Adelson, and the pay-to-play scandal became so distracting that regulators asked Laxalt to recuse himself from the case. 

Statement from Nevada Democratic Spokesperson, Andy Orellana: 

“Adam Laxalt was a corrupt Attorney General and this new reporting reveals how he has cashed in with the very same corporate special interests who fund his political campaigns. Laxalt’s work on behalf of a lobbying group funded by one of his biggest campaign backers raises serious questions about whether he’s running for office to line his own pockets. One thing is clear: Laxalt is the same shady, sleazy opportunist Nevadans rejected in 2018, and he’s only running for Senate to boost himself and the special interests who back him.” 

Nevada Independent: Between campaigns, Laxalt turned to lucrative private practice, right-wing litigation

By Riley Snyder // December 16th, 2021

As co-chair of President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign in Nevada, Adam Laxalt was no stranger to the public spotlight.

But beyond the former attorney general’s much-publicized and ultimately unsuccessful efforts to overturn the results of Nevada’s 2020 election, Laxalt remained busy between his 2018 gubernatorial loss and his August 2021 candidate filing for the state’s 2022 U.S. Senate race, where he is the presumed Republican Party frontrunner to challenge incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).

Publicly, Laxalt during that time took on two prominent roles — partner at the well-known law firm Cooper & Kirk, PLLC and outside counsel for Americans for Public Trust, a right-of-center watchdog group that has challenged and filed ethics complaints against Democratic candidates and elected officials.

His personal financial disclosure filed on Monday shines more light on how Laxalt moved to a lucrative private practice after his defeat in 2018, representing a broad range of clients while getting publicly involved in cases challenging stay-at-home orders and election processes.

Most notably, the disclosure gives a fuller view of Laxalt’s work for Cooper & Kirk — a prominent litigation firm founded by appellate attorney Charles J. Cooper, with alumni of the firm including U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Tom Cotton (R-AR). Laxalt announced that he would join the firm as a partner in March 2019, saying he would be based in Reno but maintain offices in Las Vegas and Washington D.C..

According to his financial disclosure, Laxalt reported income of $2.2 million through the law firm as a “partnership distribution,” a direct payment from a partnership to an individual partner, with the payout taxed once it reaches the individual’s hands. As attorney general, Laxalt brought in a salary of $141,000.

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Though his profile is no longer listed on Cooper & Kirk’s website, a spokesman for the firm confirmed in November that Laxalt is still a partner with the firm. Laxalt’s financial disclosure form also states that he is employed by the firm.

Through his financial disclosure, Laxalt also reported receiving income from 10 additional sources beyond Cooper & Kirk for providing “legal services.” His campaign did not respond to a request for comment as to whether those sources of income were related to his employment with the law firm.

Notably, Laxalt listed the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling as one of his sources of income. 

The lobbying group, which was founded and funded by the late casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, strongly opposes the expansion of online gambling — including staunch support for the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2019 memorandum on the federal Wire Act that put the future of the online gambling industry in limbo.

Adelson was a major donor to Laxalt, who as attorney general in 2015 said he would sign on to a letter circulating among other state attorneys general in support of federal legislation to outright ban online gaming.

The Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling paid $150,000 to Cooper & Kirk in 2017 for lobbying efforts, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Laxalt also reported the following additional sources of income above $5,000, the reporting level required in the disclosure report:

• Appriss Inc., a firm that developed the victim notification service known as Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE). As attorney general, Laxalt’s office was the first in the nation to adopt an “enhanced” version of the software.
• The Baupost Group, a large Boston-based hedge fund
• Bestbet Jacksonville, a poker room in Florida with two locations
• Breitbart News Network, LLC, a right-of-center online news website
• FreeSUP SoCal, a trade group for the stand-up paddleboard industry that opposes classifying them as “vessels” — and requirements for a life jacket while in use.
• Keith Royal Johnson, a Kenosha, Wisconsin man. A search of Wisconsin and federal court records returned no relevant results.
• Starpoint Resort Group Inc., a timeshare company located in Las Vegas. The company contributed $30,000 to Laxalt’s gubernatorial campaign in 2018.
• Strandview Enterprises LLC, a Las Vegas-based business registered to attorney Michael L. Peters.

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