TechFlow news, October 25 — According to Politico, Ches McDowell, a hunting partner of Donald Trump Jr. and a North Carolina-based lobbyist, is becoming one of Washington's most lucrative lobbyists. His firm, Checkmate Government Relations, has generated $7.1 million in revenue over the past three months alone, despite having only opened its Washington office earlier this year.
Disclosure reports show that Binance hired McDowell at the end of September to lobby the White House and the Treasury Department on financial policy issues and "executive relief" matters. Binance paid Checkmate $450,000 for his work over the past month.
However, CZ's efforts to seek a pardon began long before this. As early as February this year—just three weeks after Trump was sworn in as U.S. president—both Binance and CZ himself separately hired prominent cryptocurrency attorney Teresa Goody Guillén. Trump had considered appointing her as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Her law firm’s filings indicate it has received a total of $290,000 from Binance and CZ combined so far this year.
Neither McDowell nor Goody Guillén responded to requests for comment.
