[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 84 (Monday, May 20, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E632-E633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         MASHPEE WAMPANOAG TRIBE RESERVATION REAFFIRMATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 15, 2019

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following 
article from the Daily Beast regarding consideration of H.R. 312.

                  [From the Daily Beast, May 14, 2019]

A Dark Money Group Is Running Stunningly Racist Elizabeth Warren Ads in 
                         Order To Kill a Casino

       A racist ad targeting Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and an 
     obscure bill to allow a Native American tribe to open a 
     casino in Massachusetts is connected to a longtime 
     conservative, dark money operative, The Daily Beast has 
     learned.
       The Coalition to Restore American Values has been running 
     ads since November 2018 that, among other things, feature 
     Warren in an Indian headdress and warn against her ``casino 
     plan.'' The group was registered to David R. Langdon, a long 
     time culture warrior, in July 2018, according to Ohio state 
     records.
       The online ad was one of the first public salvos linking 
     Warren to the project in an attempt to rally conservatives 
     against legislation recognizing a Native American tribe 
     seeking a new casino in Massachusetts. President Donald Trump 
     himself has since declared his opposition to the legislation 
     last week in a tweet that dubbed Warren ``Pocahontas.''
       The Coalition to Restore American Values has been trying to 
     tie Warren to the measure since last year. In September, it 
     ran an ad in The Hill newspaper, declaring in block letters 
     ``Pocahontas' End Run On POTUS and the U.S. DOI'', using 
     President Trump's favorite racist nickname for the 
     Massachusetts Senator. An accompanying website, 
     nofauxcasino.com, features Warren in Native American garb 
     beside a graphic depicting ``The Fauxcahontas Casino.''
       Langdon is an Ohio-based lawyer who also serves as 
     treasurer for the Campaign for American Principles, the 
     political arm of the American Principles Project, a 
     conservative advocacy outfit. And APP, it turns out, put the 
     Coalition to Restore American Values ad on Congress's radar.
       Last week, Jon Schweppe, APP's director of government 
     affairs, reached out to Jeff Small, executive director of the 
     Congressional Western Caucus and a senior adviser to Rep. 
     Paul Gosar (R-AZ), urging the congressman to oppose 
     legislation recognizing the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe in 
     Massachusetts. The tribe plans to build a casino in Taunton, 
     MA, and Schweppe explicitly invoked Warren in pressing for 
     Gosar to oppose the measure.
       ``Warren's involvement is especially strange, given her 
     past ideological opposition to casino gambling and her record 
     of voting against gambling expansion--could this be about 
     image rehabilitation after years of embellishing her fake 
     Native American ancestry?'' Schweppe wrote, before linking to 
     the Coalition to Restore American Values ad.
       Warren, who was a co-sponsor of the bill in the last 
     Congress, is not actually involved in the bill at issue. In 
     fact, the legislation doesn't even have a Senate companion. 
     But when Gosar circulated a ``Dear Colleague'' letter last 
     week urging his colleagues to oppose the bill, he too invoked 
     Warren's supposed involvement. He also included a link to 
     Schweppe's email.
       In an email to The Daily Beast, Schweppe downplayed ties 
     between APP and CRAV. ``I'm fairly certain [Langdon] does 
     work for dozens of groups on the conservative side of 
     things,'' he wrote.
       Langdon did not respond to a request for comment.
       But the connections don't end there. CRAV's website was 
     designed by the Drogin Group, a conservative digital vendor, 
     according to the firm's website. That website also boasts a 
     testimonial from APP executive director Terry Schilling, who 
     touts Drogin as ``a well-rounded digital media vendor that is 
     technically savvy and can also offer website design, brand 
     strategy and messaging.'' The Campaign for American 
     Principles engaged Drogin's services as late as October 2018 
     for digital advertising attacking Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), 
     according to Federal Election Commission records.
       Schweppe did not respond when asked directly if his group 
     has any affiliation with CRAV.
       Langdon's and American Principles Project's involvement in 
     the push against

[[Page E633]]

     the bill shows the degree to which the 2020 election is 
     injecting itself into issues as seemingly obscure and 
     regional as the recognition of a Native American tribe and 
     its plans for a casino. Warren has been routinely criticized 
     by Trump and others for claiming Native American heritage--
     though there's no evidence it secured her a post or a job.
       But some opposition to the casino measure seems to be 
     rooted in money as much as politics.
       Several Trump-connected lobbying groups have been hired on 
     behalf of Twin River Management Group, which owns a Rhode 
     Island-based casino that would compete with Mashpee 
     Wampanoag's casino if they get the greenlight from Congress.
       One firm hired by Twin River is run by Trump adviser Matt 
     Schlapp, who has, since January, been lobbying Congress and 
     the White House on their behalf. Twin River has paid his 
     firm, Cove Strategies, $30,000 for its work so far this year.
       An hour after Schlapp tweeted his opposition to the bill 
     last Wednesday, President Trump himself tweeted his own call 
     to kill the legislation--a move that effectively scuttled 
     Republican support and stalled its progress on the House 
     floor.
       The legislation is expected to be up for a vote again on 
     May 15. Without congressional action to enshrine their tribal 
     rights, the casino deal in Taunton, Massachusetts will fall 
     through.
       Unlike Schlapp, APP doesn't appear to have a vested 
     financial interest in the Mashpee Wampanoag issue. Its top 
     donors over the past few years include major conservative 
     funders such as the Mercer family, the Lynde and Harry 
     Bradley Foundation, Missouri roofing magnate David Humphreys, 
     and Equinox Partners president Sean Fieler, according to 
     financial records left unredacted on the website of Florida's 
     secretary of state.
       None of those funders appear to have an immediate interest 
     in the construction of a new Massachusetts casino. Instead, 
     APP's opposition appears rooted entirely in Warren's 
     perceived involvement in the issue--and her ongoing campaign 
     for the White House.
       The legislation pulled from the House floor last week, 
     Schweppe wrote, ``amounted to a taxpayer bailout for a 
     corrupt casino conglomerate, which wouldn't stand to benefit 
     American families but would stand to benefit Senator Liz 
     Warren, one of the leading Democratic candidates for 
     President.''

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