pfeifle off record strat

<div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://yyy.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/08/fbi-oregon-anti-pipeline-jordan-cove-activists</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no lnx</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>
</b></font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Law enforcement groups, including the FBI, have been monitoring opponents of a natural gas infrastructure project in Oregon and circulated intelligence to an email list that included a Republican-aligned anti-environmental PR operative, emails obtained by the Guardian show.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The South Western Oregon Joint Task Force (SWOJTF) and its members were monitoring opponents of the Jordan Cove energy project, a proposal by the Canadian energy company Pembina to build the first-ever liquefied natural gas export terminal on the US west coast, as well as a new 232-mile pipeline that would carry fracked natural gas to the port of Coos Bay.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>The Trump administration has named Jordan Cove as one of its highest-priority infrastructure projects.</b> Jordan Cove opponents have raised concerns about the project’s significant environmental impacts, impacts on public lands, indigenous rights and climate change.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The emails, obtained via open records requests, reflect the increased scrutiny and surveillance to which law enforcement agencies are often subjecting indigenous and environmental groups, activists say.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">'Protesters as terrorists': growing number of states turn anti-pipeline activism into a crime</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> Read more</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>It also comes amid an uptick in civil disobedience and direct actions challenging fossil fuel infrastructure projects – particularly in the wake of the Native American-led struggle against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 and 2017. They also reflect a nationwide tendency for rightwing partisans, law enforcement agencies and the fossil fuel industry to ally with one another in the suppression of such activities.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An email distribution list associated with the taskforce included addressees in the <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">FBI, the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of Justice (DoJ), the National Forest Service (NFS), Oregon state police (OSP), and various Oregon municipal police and sheriffs departments. But some of its recipients are outside any government agency, most notably</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"> Mark Pfeifle, the CEO of the political consultancy Off The Record Strategies.</span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Pfeifle was previously a Bush administration PR adviser on national security. More recently, Pfeifle worked with law enforcement on a counter-information operation against the Dakota Access Pipeline protesters.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When contacted by telephone about the Jordan Cove project, Mr Pfeifle said “I just don’t have anything for you, I’m not up on it,” before ending the conversation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Emails circulated on the SWOJTF email list include activists’ social media posts, emails and rally announcements.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pfeifle appeared on the distribution list of a November 2018 email from the list’s apparent keeper, the<b> Coos county deputy sheriff, Bryan Valencia</b>, which described a recent protest action b<b>y Southern Oregon Rising Tide, a direct action climate justice group.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“These are the<b> tactics that are currently being used to forcibly insert their narrative into the conversation,” </b>Valencia wrote. He noted: “There has long been a call for a ‘Standing Rock’ action by the Klamath Tribe in Klamath county.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Don Gentry, the chairman of the Klamath Tribes, said Valencia’s characterization is false – his tribe has never put out such a call. “We’re working through the readily available channels to get this project stopped,” Gentry said.</font></div><div>
</div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In January 2019, Valencia circulated information on Facebook event attendance to a smaller group of SWOJTF officers, <b>related to an upcoming Oregon department of state lands hearing, to some members of the taskforce, despite stating there was a “lack of a criminal nexus”.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Coos county sheriffs office (CCSO) public information officer, Gabriel Fabrizio, wrote in response to emailed questions that SWOJTF had been set up to “ensure a multi-agency approach to any and all contingencies”.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Fabrizio added: “As potential dangers to the safety of the citizens and businesses of the county are identified, we monitor groups as long as necessary to determine if they will become a danger to others. <b>Once it’s determined a group has not or likely will not conduct criminal activity, we discontinue monitoring.”</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">He also wrote that “Mr Pfiefle has no relationship with the Coos county sheriff’s office or with the SWOJTF. He was involved with training that was presented by the National Sheriffs Association to emergency responders in Coos county.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">He also denied that SWOJTF had been engaged in surveillance. “Surveillance implies an active gathering of data and images, and any monitoring we have conducted has been passive, simply watching for information,” he said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The records reveal the existence of other law enforcement intelligence activities related to monitoring the work of environmental groups.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a November 2018 email to Valencia, a <b>BLM law enforcement analyst noted her role in the “Forest Intelligence Group (FIG)” that is also tracking activists</b>. “I appreciate anything you find, and I am glad to share likewise,” the analyst wrote.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Fabrizio said in an email response to questions that FIG “began its life as a timber investigators meeting in the mid eighties … It has been sharing information about activity including criminal activity in our regions forests since that time. The intent of the group is to identify activities that may require sharing of resources or have an impact across traditional jurisdictional lines.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a telephone interview, a spokesman for the US attorney in Oregon also confirmed the existence of another body mentioned in the emails: a <b>“domestic terrorism working group” </b>led by the assistant US attorney, Craig Gabriel, that meets “roughly quarterly” in Portland. He said that the group was mostly made up of federal agencies but included some local law enforcement.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“It’s really just to discuss any current issues in the domestic terrorism arena. This could be local issues, all the way up to international issues,” the spokesman said. <b>He said protest movements would be “within the scope” of its discussions even if no criminal activity had occurred.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In another email exchange, an FBI agent, Michael Frost, offered “open source and social media training” to the Coos county sheriffs, writing to Valencia that “with the significant social media presence of the anti-pipeline individuals, I figured your office would be a good place to start”.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The flyer for the training promises law enforcement officers information on tracking individuals online while minimizing their “digital footprint”, and indicates that it would be hosted by yet another law enforcement “task force”: the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Portland.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A spokesperson for the FBI’s Portland field office said in an email: “The FBI does not comment on what may or may not be an ongoing investigation. <b>However, it is important to note that the FBI can never initiate an investigation based solely on first amendment-protected activity.”</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On the training session, the spokesperson said: “The FBI’s Portland field office regularly provides training to local law enforcement agencies. This training covers a wide range of law enforcement topics, including<b> appropriate and legal use of open source material in investigations.”</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Fabrizio said that the offer of training had not been taken up.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Although Coos Bay is located more than 200 miles away from Portland, the Portland police bureau (PPB) officer Andrew Hearst is also part of the SWOJTF email list. Hearst told Valencia in January 2019: “As always if we hear anything about our people heading down to your area we will alert asap.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jordan Cove opponents expressed alarm upon learning about the level of scrutiny they are receiving from so many different law enforcement entities.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“It is outrageous that our Oregon public agencies are actually working to plan how to stifle the very southern Oregonians whose drinking water, property and communities are threatened by this project,” said Sylvia Mangan, a retired public health nurse who lives on one of the proposed pipeline routes.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Asked why Pfeifle was included in the distribution of intelligence on protest groups, Fabrizio wrote: “Open source information is posted on public forums and not considered sensitive.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">He added: “Anyone who may be affected by potential actions are involved as an effort in community outreach and according to the tenets of community policing.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Pfeifle</b> previously described his work with law enforcement at Standing Rock during a 2017 presentation to oil, gas and banking executives during a pipeline conference in Houston. “<b>A lot of things that we were doing were being done to put a marker down for the protesters. And, ‘OK, if you’re going to go protest somewhere? There’s going to be consequences from it.’”</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In an email comment, the ACLU of Oregon questioned the legality of the activities revealed in the emails.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>“Monitoring and compiling information about Oregonians’ political or social views, activities, or associations violates Oregon law,”</b> said the spokeswoman Sarah Armstrong.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Lauren Regan, the executive director of the Oregon-based Civil Liberties Defense Center, says the SWOJTF’s activities reflect a nationwide trend. “<b>Police and corporations are working together to suppress movements against fossil fuels,”</b> she said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Holly Mills of Southern Oregon Rising Tide, a group regularly subjected to scrutiny in the records obtained by the Guardian, said:<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> “We know that the state, police and corporations have often tried to stop movements like this one by using fear as a tactic and repressing dissent. We have prepared ourselves with this in mind, and we communicate on social media and over email with the assumption that cops might be reading.”</span></font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/org/trees-of-liberty/">http://conservativetransparency.org/org/trees-of-liberty/</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">arlington 501c4</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><b style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);">Trees of Liberty was a short-lived 501(c)(4) front group funded by the Koch brothers’ “secret bank,” <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/org/freedom-partners/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Freedom Partners</a>, and set up by a political strategy firm affiliated with the Koch brothers, <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/org/aegis-strategic-aegis-pac" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Aegis Strategic</a>, to intervene in the 2014 Iowa Senate Republican Primaries.</b> <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">ToL supported now-Sen. Joni Ernst, <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/04/26/ad-attacks-jacobs-cap-trade/8189043/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">running ads</a> attacking her opponent, businessman Mark Jacobs. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);">A spokesman for the organization </span><a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/04/26/ad-attacks-jacobs-cap-trade/8189043/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">claimed</a><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"> its mission was “to educate and engage citizens on national and state economic policy issues.” However, the group was active very briefly, and in that time its only activities were attacks on Jacobs – via a website and a significant ad buy.</span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/04/26/ad-attacks-jacobs-cap-trade/8189043/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">ad purchase</a> was for $257,000, although only a few thousand dollars’ worth of ads are <a href="http://politicaladsleuth.com/search/?q=Trees+of+Liberty" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">documented</a> in the FCC databases, and aired <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/04/26/ad-attacks-jacobs-cap-trade/8189043/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">throughout the state</a>, focusing on Jacobs’ supposed <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/04/26/ad-attacks-jacobs-cap-trade/8189043/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">prior support</a> for cap-and-trade legislation to combat climate change.</b> This spending reportedly came from and went back into the Koch network – <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/the-kochs-vs-the-gop-215672" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">according</a> to Politico, “sources tell POLITICO that Trees of Liberty got its cash from Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce… it spent $347,000 ― about 80 percent of all the cash it brought in ― on ‘advertising,’ all of which went through i360, a data analytics and ad buying company owned by Freedom Partners.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On the group’s website – www.RealMarkJacobs.com – <a href="http://www.veritaspac.com/2014/04/26/mark-jacobs-most-vulnerable-candidate/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">further attacks</a> were made on Jacobs’ position on Common Core, as well as the implication that he “helped enable passage of Obamacare through his personal support of… Arlen Specter.” Additionally, a <a href="https://twitter.com/real_markjacobs" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">twitter account</a> @Real_MarkJacobs listing the ToL website as its URL claimed to be “The Official Account of the Real Mark Jacobs. Give Me A Call” and listed Jacobs’ <a href="http://db.desmoinesregister.com/iowans-running-for-office-2014" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">actual</a> campaign contact number. This would appear to have been in clear violation of Twitter’s rules governing parody or commentary accounts, which <a href="https://support.twitter.com/articles/106373" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">require</a> both the account bio and name to identify the account as a fake.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The only individual publicly associated with the group was the spokesman, identified as Mark Pfeifle. </b><a href="http://qctimes.com/news/local/government-and-politics/elections/outside-group-targets-jacobs/article_d09a64d6-c84f-5c2c-9260-f70e96fcc853.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">According to the Quad City Times</a>, Pfeifle was “a former national security official in the George W. Bush administration” as well as “president of Off The Record Strategies.” OTR Strategies, in turn, was a secretive political consulting firm – the <a href="http://www.otrstrategies.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">website</a> features the quote: “If we told you exactly what we do, we’d have to go on the record,” and the firm’s Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/OTRStrategies/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">profile picture</a> is a folder marked “Confidential.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Despite Pfeifle’s firm’s secrecy, there are clear political and personal ties to the <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/individual/koch-brothers/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Koch brothers’</a> network, which <a href="http://realkochfacts.com/more-koch-money-for-top-crony-joni-ernst/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">pushed hard</a> for the election of Sen. Ernst. In fact, Politico <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/the-kochs-vs-the-gop-215672" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">confirmed</a> that Trees of Liberty was set up by a Koch-backed for-profit consulting firm, <b>Aegis Strategic</b>, which similarly set up a dark money group in Kentucky to attack opponents of Hal Heiner’s gubernatorial bid. Trees of Liberty shares an address with Aegis Strategic, which reportedly receives most of its revenue from a contract with Freedom Partners.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Besides the likely contract with Koch-backed Aegis, there are additional reasons to suspect that OTR works closely with the Koch network. OTR Strategies followed 57 accounts on Twitter as of November 9, 2015; of those, 11% belonged to groups affiliated with the Koch network, including an <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/org/americans-for-prosperity-americans-for-prosperity-foundation/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Americans for Prosperity</a> state affiliate, <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/org/freedom-partners/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Freedom Partners</a>, Generation Opportunity, <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/org/the-libre-initiative/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">LIBRE Initiative</a> and its head, Daniel Garza, who also worked in the Bush White House. OTR has <a href="https://twitter.com/LIBREinitiative/status/494479678166827008" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">retweeted</a> LIBRE, and Pfeifle <a href="https://twitter.com/pfeifle/status/279704871614169088" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">called</a> LIBRE’s Florida State Director, Cesar Grajales a “fella [Pfeifle was] proud to have worked with.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><b style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);">Pfeifle, whose firm <a href="http://qctimes.com/news/local/government-and-politics/elections/outside-group-targets-jacobs/article_d09a64d6-c84f-5c2c-9260-f70e96fcc853.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">promises</a> “private counsel and public results” spent 2014 and 2015 writing <a href="http://thehill.com/opinion/op-ed/249005-ending-ex-im-is-not-unilateral-disarmament" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">several</a> <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2015/05/20/pfeifle-congress-ex-bank/27600527/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">articles</a> <a href="http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/othervoices/former-deputy-national-security-adviser-corporate-welfare-leads-to-crazy/article_d10f1926-f8ab-11e4-9504-0ba56c067b7f.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">attacking</a> the Export-Import Bank, a Koch priority. </b><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);">One of those articles was </span><a href="https://twitter.com/pfeifle/status/601000925185056769" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">retweeted</a><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"> by the Freedom Partners’ Ex-Im Exposed account. In one </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Wall Street Journal <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-peculiar-uses-of-a-taxpayer-bank-1430085289?alg=y" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">op-ed</a>, Pfeifle’s language closely <a href="http://video.foxnews.com/v/4293481349001/power-play--afps-big-2016-push/?#sp=show-clips" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">mirrored</a> <a href="http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/03/30/sc-needs-break-ex-bank/70678562/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">arguments</a> made against Ex-Im by Freedom Partners and AFP officials. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);">In an </span><a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/04/08/the_lefts_billionaire_outsider_hypocrisy_122196.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">even stranger op-ed</a><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"> for RealClearPolitics, Pfeifle attacks anti-Koch political ads and rhetoric without ever mentioning the name “Koch,” despite referencing specific comments made about the Brothers and jokes made on the pronunciation of their last name. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Pfiefle has also <a href="https://www.leadershipinstitute.org/training/contact.cfm?FacultyID=485900" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">served</a> as a lecturer for the <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/org/independence-institute" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Independence Institute</a>, </span><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);">a grassroots-training organization in Colorado which received significant Koch funding through </span><a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/org/donorstrust-donors-capital-fund/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">DonorsTrust, Donors Capital Fund</a><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"> and the </span><a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/donor/state-policy-network/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">State Policy Network</a><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);">.</span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><b style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);">His work at Trees of Liberty in Iowa also helped compliment the work of a major Koch donor, <a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/individual/robert-mercer/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Bob Mercer</a>.</b><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"> Mercer was the </span><a href="http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/joni_ernst_bruce_braley_outside_spending_iowa_senate.php" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">financial force</a><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"> behind the American </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Heartland PAC, which <a href="http://theiowarepublican.com/2014/35277/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">also ran</a> anti-Jacobs ads. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"> Bloomberg </span><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-10-23/the-man-who-outkoched-the-kochs" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">referred</a><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"> to Mercer as the man who “out-Koched the Kochs,” since he contributed $2.5 million to the </span><a href="http://conservativetransparency.org/org/freedom-partners-action-fund/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Freedom Partners Action Fund</a><span style="background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);">, compared to Charles and David’s $2 million apiece.</span></font></p></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/1999/dec/15/19991215-123436-4924r/</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">one-day preholiday sale will be held tomorrow, and tomorrow only, at the Gore Store and Bradley Boutique, located in the lobby of Republican National Committee headquarters at 310 First Street SE.</span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“This will be a lifesaver for every harried last-minute shopper,” says RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Gore Store cashier Mark Pfeifle, deputy press secretary of the RNC, calls our attention to colorful Al Gore posters citing his many exaggerations, nifty “I Invented the Internet” Al Gore computer mouse pads, “<b>alpha male” baseball caps</b>, copies of Al Gore’s manifesto, “Earth in the Balance,” (complete with energy-efficient candles to read it by), and much, much more.</span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“The hook is that all of the money from the sale will go directly to the United Way,” says Mr. Pfeifle. “Our goal is to raise more money than Mr. Gore gave to charity in 1997</span></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
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</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpfeifle/</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" /><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">president</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>Company NameOff the Record Strategies</div><div>Dates EmployedSep 2012 – Present  Employment Duration5 yrs</div><div>LocationWashington, DC</div><div>We are strategic communications counselors with decades of highlevel experience and a no-holds barred approach to meeting — and exceeding — our clients’ needs through personal and confidential service.</div><div>
</div><div>We build long-term relationships with our clients by providing superior service and innovative problem solving.</div><div>
</div><div>We’re force multipliers. We provide private counsel and get public results.</div><div>Media (1)This position has 1 media</div><div>OTR - Holiday Newsletter 2015</div><div>OTR - Holiday</div><div>Newsletter 2015</div><div>This media is a document</div><div> The Huffington Post</div><div>blogger</div><div>Company NameThe Huffington Post</div><div>Dates Employed2010 – Present  Employment Duration7 yrs</div><div>LocationWashington D.C. Metro Area</div><div>Blogger</div><div> S4 Inc.</div><div>Vice President</div><div>Company NameS4 Inc.</div><div>Dates EmployedFeb 2009 – Sep 2012  Employment Duration3 yrs 8 mos</div><div>Develops and implements communication and outreach strategies to help the company’s clients achieve their goals</div><div>
</div><div>Specific focus on War on Terror, cyber security, military and diplomatic, and non-profit entities</div><div> The National Security Council</div><div>Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Global Outreach</div><div>Company NameThe National Security Council</div><div>Dates EmployedJan 2007 – Jan 2009  Employment Duration2 yrs 1 mo</div><div>LocationWashington D.C. Metro Area</div><div><b>Led successful communication effort to promote President's "surge" of U.S. forces into Iraq; included a personal month-long deployment to Baghdad, Iraq</b></div><div>
</div><div>Developed and directed rapid response and planning "fusion cell" to communicate War on Terror objectives with media, coalitions and Capitol Hill</div><div><b> U.S. Department of Defense</b></div><div>Senior Communications Advisor</div><div>Company NameU.S. Department of Defense</div><div>Dates EmployedApr 2006 – Jan 2007  Employment Duration10 mos</div><div>Developed and implemented outreach and media operations and worked to reform operations of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs</div><div> The White House</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Communication Advisor</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Company NameThe White House</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Dates EmployedOct 2005 – Apr 2006  Employment Duration7 mos</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">LocationWashington D.C. Metro Area</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Led White House efforts to communicate Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom</span>; managed staff of three</div><div> U.S. Department of Treasury</div><div>Director, Social Security Information Center</div><div>Company NameU.S. Department of Treasury</div><div>Dates EmployedJan 2005 – Oct 2005  Employment Duration10 mos</div><div>Led Presidential initiative to<b> pass Social Security reform</b></div><div>
</div><div>Implemented massive campaign to communicate need to strengthen retirement system</div><div>Launched March to May "60 Stops in 60 Days" campaign that produced 166 stops by administration officials, in 127 cities, more than 500 radio interviews, </div><div>
</div><div>Authored opinion columns reaching nearly 8 million readers, and a<b> Social Security Radio Day</b>" achieved 15 to 20 million listeners</div><div><b> Republican National Committee</b></div><div>Communications Advisor</div><div>Company NameRepublican National Committee</div><div>Dates EmployedSep 2004 – Nov 2004  Employment Duration3 mos</div><div>LocationWashington D.C. Metro Area</div><div>Primary media spokesman for Bush campaign and RNC in battleground state of Pennsylvania</div><div><b> Republican National Convention</b></div><div>Communication Director</div><div>Company NameRepublican National Convention</div><div>Dates EmployedMar 2004 – Sep 2004  Employment Duration7 mos</div><div>LocationGreater New York City Area</div><div>Led communication effort for convention to re-nominate President Bush, resulting in immediate 13-point bounce in public polling</div><div>
</div><div>Spearheaded media operations that produced 3400 TV, print, radio and web interviews</div><div>
</div><div>Managed 225 staff and volunteers </div><div>
</div><div>Conceived and implemented first-ever daily Spanish-language </div><div>press briefings at national convention </div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Directed powerful Internet operation and launched first-ever "Bloggers' Corner," attracting more than 40 million web visitors</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> U.S. Department of Interior</span></div><div>Press Secretary</div><div>Company NameU.S. Department of Interior</div><div>Dates EmployedDec 2002 – Mar 2004  Employment Duration1 yr 4 mos</div><div>LocationWashington D.C. Metro Area - and wonderful areas across the nation</div><div>Planned and implemented media strategy for 70,000-employee department with $11 billion budget</div><div> Forrester for United States Senate</div><div>Communications and Policy Director</div><div>Company NameForrester for United States Senate</div><div>Dates EmployedJul 2002 – Nov 2002  Employment Duration5 mos</div><div>LocationNew Jersey</div><div><b>Directed intense earned and paid media operation that forced U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli out of race one month before general election</b></div><div> U.S. Department of the Interior</div><div>Press Secretary</div><div>Company NameU.S. Department of the Interior</div><div>Dates EmployedFeb 2001 – Jul 2002  Employment Duration1 yr 6 mos</div><div>LocationWashington D.C. Metro Area - and wonderful areas across the nation</div><div> Republican National Committee </div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Deputy Communications Director, Deputy Press Secretary, Radio Director</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Company Name <b>Republican National Committee</b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Dates Employed Jun 1997 – Feb 2001  Employment Duration 3 yrs 9 mos</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">LocationWashington D.C. Metro Area</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Led campaign to <b>discredit Vice President Al Gore </b>with unprecedented earned media operation using billboards, targeted television advertisements, compact discs, and the "Gore Store" </span></div><div>Managed staff of 20, including overseeing Internet, press, television and radio divisions</div><div>Frequent guest on local and national radio and television programs</div><div>Wrote press releases, coordinated radio interviews, recorded and disseminated radio actualities</div><div>
</div><div> Associated Press</div><div>Stringer</div><div>Company NameAssociated Press</div><div>Dates EmployedMay 1996 – May 1997  Employment Duration1 yr 1 mo</div><div>LocationGrand Forks, North Dakota Area</div><div>Wrote news, sports and feature stories</div><div> Grand Forks Air Force Base</div><div>Marketing and Advertising Director</div><div>
</div><div>Company NameGrand Forks Air Force Base</div><div>Dates EmployedAug 1995 – May 1997  Employment Duration1 yr 10 mos</div><div>Coordinated publishing, advertising and delivery  </div><div>
</div><div>7/18 scrape</div><div><div>Wynona Redmond</div><div>President at Wyn-Win Communications</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Michael Hartley</div><div>President at Swing State Strategies, LLC</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Randall Thompson</div><div>
</div><div>Ryan P. McLaughlin</div><div>President/CEO, Mac Strategies Group, Inc.</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Stacey Gaswirth</div><div>Public Relations & Communication Strategist</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>George Arzt</div><div>
</div><div>Christina Rae</div><div>
</div><div>Chris Wahl</div><div>President at Southwest Strategies</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Andres Ramirez</div><div>President at Ramirez Group</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Tanya Churchmuch</div><div>President, MuchPR</div></div><div>----</div><div>
</div><div>Viewed</div><div>Ron Bonjean</div><div>Ron Bonjean  3rd degree connection 3rd</div><div>Partner at ROKK Solutions</div><div>Kevin Madden</div><div>Kevin Madden  3rd degree connection 3rd</div><div>Partner at Hamilton Place Strategies</div><div>Karen Lucey</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Karen Lucey  3rd degree connection 3rd</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Founder and CEO, Off The Record. Social Media Consultant & <b>Celebrity Social Media Manager</b></span></div><div>Phil English</div><div>Phil English  3rd degree connection 3rd</div><div>Co-Chair, <b>Government Relations Group, Arent Fox LLP</b></div><div>Ed Patru</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Ed Patru  3rd degree connection 3rd</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Vice President at DCI Group</span></div><div>Matthew Hunter</div><div>Matthew Hunter  3rd degree connection 3rd</div><div>Senior Advisor, The Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress</div><div>David Avella</div><div>David Avella  3rd degree connection 3rd</div><div>Chairman at <b>GOPAC,</b> Inc.</div><div>Beau Baiocchi</div><div>Beau Baiocchi</div><div>Student at The George Washington University</div><div>Taylor Dumaine</div><div>Taylor Dumaine</div><div>Vice President Fraternity Development at Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women</div><div>Bryan Dickinson</div><div>Bryan Dickinson</div><div>Student at The George Washington University</div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">activ suppress monitor for big chem co monsanto?</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://delvedc.com/project/major-chemical-manufacturer/">
</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://delvedc.com/project/major-chemical-manufacturer/">https://delvedc.com/project/major-chemical-manufacturer/</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.otrstrategies.com/about3</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2013 mofo</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p class="font_8" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; text-align: justify;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 1.4em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ark most recently served as Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Global Outreach at the White House. </font></span></p><p class="font_8" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; text-align: justify;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p><p class="font_8" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.4em; text-align: justify;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 1.4em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pfeifle led the successful communication effort to promote the president’s “surge” of U.S. forces into Iraq and international communication initiatives to de-legitimize al Qaeda. <b>From 2001 to 2004, as press secretary and later as Communications Director for Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Pfeifle created messages to pass energy and conservation legislation and the president’s Healthy Forest Initiative. In 2004, as director of communications for the 2004 Republican National Convention</b>, Pfeifle was awarded the prestigious Pollie Award for Best Overall Internet Campaign and the Silver Award for best use of a website for persuasion. He is an accomplished public speaker, talking on emerging technologies and social media at many venues, including the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-pfeifle/social-media-political-activism_b_1594287.html" target="blank" data-content="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-pfeifle/social-media-political-activism_b_1594287.html" data-type="external" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="color_13" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Oxford Union Society</span></a>, regarded as one of the most prestigious venues for open forum debate hosting the likes of the Dalai Lama, John McCain, and Stephen Hawking.</font></span></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">OMG</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/07/20/emails-bush-iraq-war-pr-delve-off-the-record-strategies-dakota-access-pipeline">https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/07/20/emails-bush-iraq-war-pr-delve-off-the-record-strategies-dakota-access-pipeline</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="min-height: 280px;"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><em><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">By Steve Horn and <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/accounts/profile/chwaltman/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Curtis Waltman</a>,</span> MuckRock</font></strong></em></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">Behind the scenes, as law enforcement officials tried to stem protests against the </span><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/energy-transfer-partners-bakken-oil-pipeline-through-iowa" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Dakota Access pipeline</a>, alumni from the George W. Bush White House were leading <span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">a crisis communications effort to discredit pipeline protesters</span>.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">Emails show that the firms Delve and Off the Record Strategies, </span>apparently working on contract with the <b>National Sheriffs’ Association</b>, worked in secret on talking points, media outreach, and communications training for law enforcement dealing with Dakota Access opponents mobilized at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Cannon Ball,</span> North Dakota. This revelation comes from <span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">documents obtained via an open records request </span>from the Laramie County Sheriff's Department in Wyoming.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">As previously reported by DeSmog, the <span class="caps">GOP</span>-connected firm <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/dci-group" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="caps">DCI</span> Group</a> led the forward-facing public relations efforts for Dakota Access via a front group called <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/09/15/dakota-access-pipeline-fake-twitter-accounts-dci-group" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Midwest Alliance for Infrastructure Now (<span class="caps">MAIN</span>)</a>. Today <span class="caps">MAIN</span> has morphed into a national effort known as <a href="http://gainnow.org/about-us/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Grow America’s Infrastructure Now (<span class="caps">GAIN</span>)</a>.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><a href="https://delvedc.com/about/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Delve</a> is</span> an opposition research firm run by Jeff Berkowitz, former Republican National Committee research director and official in the George W. Bush White House. His company led research efforts on behalf of the National Sheriffs' Association.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b><a href="https://www.otrstrategies.com/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Off the Record Strategies</a>, meanwhile, guided the sheriffs’ behind-the-scenes communications strategy. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Mark%20Pfeifle%20%20LinkedIn.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Pfeifle</a> runs the secretive firm,</b> Off the Record Strategies, and served as communications advisor in the George W. Bush administration, leading <span class="caps">PR</span> efforts for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">The National Sheriffs’ Association, </span>a trade group for sheriffs, has been <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/04/27/dakota-access-sheriffs-lobbying-military-gear" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">lobbying the federal government</a> for additional surplus military gear from the Department of Defense under the auspices of its 1033 program</b>. The association was also the central organizing vehicle which brought hundreds of out-of-state cops to Standing Rock via the <b><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/10/27/emergency-assistance-law-dakota-access-pipeline-out-state-cops" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Emergency Management Assistance Compact (<span class="caps">EMAC</span>)</a>.</b></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Law enforcement present at Standing Rock under<b> <span class="caps">EMAC</span> came under fire for a heavy-handed and overtly military-like response to pipeline protesters. </b></font></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">'Guns, Knives, Etc.'</font></span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">According to an <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Fwd%20ND%20Talking%20Points.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">October 4, 2016 email</a> sent by Chelsea Rider, content strategist for the sheriffs’ association, Pfeifle drafted the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Draft%20talking%20points.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">talking points</a> used by law enforcement in an attempt to discredit the anti-Dakota Access movement. Representatives of that</span> movement referred to themselves as “water protectors” because they opposed the pipeline crossing Lake Oahe and the Missouri River, a source of drinking water for the Standing Rock Sioux and others downriver.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The document attached to that email, according to its metadata, indicates it was indeed written by Pfeifle,</span> and then given to the </span>acting public information officer, <a href="https://www.ndaco.org/about-ndaco/staff/27892/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Donnell Hushka</a> of the North Dakota Association of Counties, who <span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">handled information related to the protests at Standing Rock</span>.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The talking points purported that the movement was led by “<b>out-of-state agitators”</b> with gang and drug-dealing ties, had connections to “anarchists” and “Palestinian activists,” used violence, and possessed “guns, knives, etc.</span>”<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> In addition, the messaging included calls to “follow the money” in pursuit of potential funding support from liberal elites such as George Soros and Tom Steyer.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><img alt="" src="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Screen%20Shot%202017-07-18%20at%2012.48.16%20AM.png" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: 395px; width: 550px;" />
<em>Credit: Laramie County Sheriffs' Department</em></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On October 5, Pfeifle sent a <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Mark%20Pfeifle%20Email.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">follow-up email</a> to Hushka and other sheriffs’ association staff, including its executive director Jonathan Thompson, in response to an <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Press%20Conference%20Script%20Email.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">email sent by Thompson</a>. Thompson’s email recommended changes for a press conference script drafted by Hushka.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>Importantly, we need to make sure we are pushing the primary message before the actual press conference begins, we want questions asked about who is [sic] protesters,” wrote Thompson in his email. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“Must focus on the why this happening. This <b>not for altruistic reasons,</b> but nothing less than a desire to <b>‘occupy,</b> threaten and intimidate,’ not peaceful protest. There those that want nothing more than using thug-like tactics, rumors and outright lights to distort what is really happening.”</span></font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pfeifle agreed in his email, and suggested following the press conference with outreach to friendly media outlets to amplify the message.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><img alt="" src="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Screen%20Shot%202017-07-19%20at%202.25.07%20AM.png" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: 225px; width: 833px;" />
<em>Credit: Laramie County Sheriffs' Department</em></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">One of those outlets was the Say Anything Blog, run by Rob Port, who the next day, October 6, ran a blog post featuring many of the themes found in the talking points: “</span><a href="https://www.sayanythingblog.com/entry/85-percent-arrested-nodapl-protesters-outside-north-dakota/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Over 85 Percent of Arrested #NoDAPL Protesters Are From Outside of North Dakota</a>.”</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>In his email, </b><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><b>Pfeifle had suggested reaching out to Port, who also <a href="http://www.inforum.com/news/4112097-rob-port-begin-daily-one-hour-show-wday-radio" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">hosts a radio show</a> on <span class="caps">WDAY</span> <span class="caps">AM</span>-970</b> and regularly wrote blog posts in support of Dakota Access during the Standing Rock stand-off. When Port's piece went online, Pfeifle wrote an email that same day to the Delve team, sheriffs' association staff, Hushka, and others asking an association staffer to share the piece on social media.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><img alt="" src="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Screen%20Shot%202017-07-19%20at%209.27.05%20PM.png" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: 521px; width: 550px;" />
<em>Credit: Laramie County Sheriffs' Department</em></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Though since removed from his blog, the Web Archive shows that Port formerly <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Say%20Anything%20Site%20Announcement%20Joining%20The%20North%20Dakota%20Policy%20Council.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">served as a policy fellow</a> for the North Dakota Policy Council, a defunct think-tank that was part of the conservative and corporate-funded <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/state-policy-network" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">State Policy Network (<span class="caps">SPN</span>)</a>. <span class="caps">SPN</span>, as <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2013/12/09/stink-tanks-historical-records-reveal-state-policy-network-created-alec" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">reported in 2013 by DeSmog</a>, was actually created as a message-force-multiplier by and for the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/american-legislative-exchange-council" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">American Legislative Exchange Council (<span class="caps">ALEC</span>)</a>, another conservative and corporate-backed group which produces model legislation that is disseminated to predominantly Republican state legislators nationwide.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Scott Hennen, another conservative radio show host<b> Pfeifle </b>suggested the sheriffs' association target for outreach, actually copied and pasted the association's memo into a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/scotthennen/posts/10154409005297254" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook post</a>, which was then <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Nationalsheriffsassociation/posts/10154664513509623" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">shared by the association</a>.</span> In prefacing the talking points, Hennen also posted a photo of a Palestinian flag which was on the protest site depicted.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“For those who still believe the #NoDAPL protests are all peaceful and prayerful…read this,” read Hennen's Facebook post. “It will help you awaken to smell the coffee. And note the Palestine flag in the photo.”</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On October 7, Hennen also invited Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier on his show to disseminate a similar set of talking points as those conveyed in Hennen's Facebook post.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[img]</font></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Iraq War 'Damage Control'</font></span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><b>Pfeifle, who heads Off the Record Strategies</b>, specializes in “damage control,” according to a 2005 Baltimore Sun story profiling the Bush White House communications strategy to fend off domestic</span> critics of the Iraq War.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>Pfeifle's specialty is damage control. And at the moment, there is more than enough damage surrounding Bush,” The Sun wrote </span>of the campaign Pfeifle co-ran with the host of <span class="caps">MSNBC</span>’s “Deadline: White House,” <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-live/nicolle-wallace-biography" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Nicolle Wallace</a>, who then was a top communications advisor to President Bush. “With public alarm about the war mounting and public trust of Bush plummeting, the White House has gone on the defensive [sic OFFENSE] with a <b>public relations push designed to discredit his opponents. The operation has all the trappings of a political campaign <span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">—</span> including rapid-response statements targeted at opponents, using carefully compiled research</b>.”</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">Pfeifle isn’t the only person with ties to the Iraq War </span>who did public relations for Dakota Access. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/07/05/dakota-access-tigerswan-james-spider-marks-los-angeles-riots" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">James “Spider” Marks</a> led intelligence-gathering for the 2003 “shock and awe” campaign for Operation Iraqi Liberation. Today, he serves as a consultant to <b>Energy Transfer Partners and sits on the advisory board of <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/10/28/private-security-firm-dakota-access-iraq-afghanistan-blackwater" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">TigerSwan</a></b>, the company’s private security firm and a <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/04/27/dakota-access-sheriffs-lobbying-military-gear" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">funder of the National Sheriffs’ Association</a>.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With a tagline of “Private Council/Public Results,” Off the Record Strategies does all of its business behind the scenes and rarely issues public comments.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>If we told you exactly what we do, we’d have to go on the record,” reads its website. “We’re strategic counselors with decades of high-level experience and a no-holds-barred approach to meeting —</span> and exceeding <span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">—</span> our client’s needs through personal and confidential service.”</font></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">Off the Record Strategies </span>'Here to Help'</font></h3><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">In a May 7 webinar convened by the sheriffs’ association, Sheriff Laney and Pfeifle</span> pointed to the October 2016 press conference as an instance of going on the offensive and turning the tables on the “North Dakota nice” attitude. <span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">Their webinar was titled “</span><a href="https://nsa.adobeconnect.com/p3zo4qjvdyjr/?proto=true" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Protest on the Prairie: Law Enforcement Response and Lessons Learned</a>.”</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Laney appears to be a prominent figure within the National Sheriffs’ Association. He sits on its Board of Directors, <a href="http://www.wdaz.com/content/cass-county-sheriff-selected-head-national-group-0" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">formerly served</a> on its Special Operations Committee<span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">, and won association awards <a href="http://kfgo.com/news/articles/2017/jun/28/sheriff-laney-receives-2017-nsa-presidents-award/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">in 2017</a> and</span><a href="http://www.policemag.com/channel/patrol/news/2012/01/25/n-d-sheriff-named-sheriff-of-the-year-for-2012.aspx" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> 2012</a>. Within his more than hour-long webinar speech last May, Laney also gave a 17-point “<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/DAPL%20Lessons%20Learned.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="caps">DAPL</span> Lessons Learned</a>” presentation.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On top of his other affiliations, Sheriff Laney is a <a href="https://www.ndaco.org/about-ndaco/board-of-directors/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">member of the Board of Directors</a> for the North Dakota Association of Counties, which received the talking points from Off the Record Strategies and the sheriffs’ association in the October 4 email.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[vid]</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">In October 10 last year, Morton County, North Dakota —</span><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> center of the pipeline protests </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">— </span><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">sent out a request under</span><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> </span><span class="caps" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">EMAC</span><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> for 40 additional law enforcement officers to come to Standing Rock. Laney, and not Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, is</span><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> </span><a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3515782/Morton-County-Civil-Unrest-Situation-EMAC-Request.pdf" target="blank" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none">listed as the point of contact</a><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> on that request. An October 13 article in the Billings Gazette, taking note of how</span><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> </span><a href="http://billingsgazette.com/business/north-dakota-sheriff-out-of-town-almost-constantly-as-pipeline/article_3e0fb15d-dfda-5045-a08b-287b99745334.html" target="blank" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none">little time Laney had been spending at home</a><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> </span><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">in Cass County, refers to Laney as the Dakota Access “operations chief” in Morton County.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The National Sheriffs’ Association and Off the Record Strategies also show notable ties among personnel.</b></font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Patrick Royal, a media strategist who was director of media affairs for the Republican National Committee in the 2008 election, is actually listed as an employee by both the <a href="https://www.sheriffs.org/about-nsa/nsa-staff" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">sheriffs’ association</a> and <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/OTR%20Strategies%20%20TEAM.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Off the Record Strategies</a></b>. Further, <a href="https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/bios/Thompson_John_Bio.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jonathan Thompson</a>, executive director of the National Sheriffs’ Association, formerly worked in the Bush White House with Pfeifle. They both <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/04/prweb2345374.htm" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">went on to work together</a> at a public relations firm named <span class="caps">S4</span> Inc. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/P.%20Edward%20Leffler%20LinkedIn.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">P. Edward Leffler</a> — listed on his LinkedIn page as the director of presidential transition project for the sheriffs’ association — also lists himself as a communication and media relations specialist for Off the Record Strategies.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">Royal, Thompson, and Pfeifle </span><a href="http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/2016/04/28/sheriff-got-pr-help-after-avery-documentary/83537512/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">also worked together</a> on a crisis communications reaction to the popular Netflix documentary series, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_a_Murderer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Making a Murderer</a></em>. According to an email obtained by <span class="caps">USA</span> Today, Manitowoc County Sheriff Rob Hermann consulted with the three of them on best practice response ideas to the hit 10-part series. Neither <span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">Royal, Thompson, nor Pfeifle responded to multiple requests for comment.</span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In an interview with Royal in May about the sheriffs’ association’s coordination of the Standing Rock law enforcement response, Royal responded, “I wouldn’t quite characterize it that way [and] I would say that what we tried to do was work with the local sheriffs to coordinate for them, to get people who would make themselves available.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to the sheriffs' association website, Royal was invited to speak alongside Pfeifle at the association's recent annual meeting held in Reno, Nevada, where they were slated to give two three-hour seminars titled, “<a href="http://www.sheriffs.org/sites/default/files/2017%20Annual%20Agenda%20-%204-10-17.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Communicating in a<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Crisis</span></a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">.”</span> Eventually, the agenda changed and it appears the two did not end up speaking at the meeting, replaced instead by Sheriff Kirchmeier, Sheriff Laney, and a representative from TigerSwan in a <a href="http://www.sheriffs.org/sites/default/files/2017%20Annual%20Agenda%2020170615.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">seminar bearing the same title</a> as the May one given by Laney and Pfeifle.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In his May 7 webinar presentation, Pfeifle told those listening to consider his firm a “resource” to be tapped if necessary during prospective future pipeline battles.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[img]</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>Consider us a resource of the National Sheriff’s Association. </span>This is not the end of our activities to help and support law enforcement in areas where the pipelines could be under protest attack in the next days, months and years. But it’s a continuing activity that we will be available to support you in ways necessary and learn what we learned in North Dakota for areas that might be seeing protesters coming in doing much the same thing across the country,” said Pfeifle. “So, use us as a resource. We’re here to help.”</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">Pfeifle, in fact, has remained a resource for other pipeline fights, including the long-contested </span><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/5857" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Keystone <span class="caps">XL</span></a>. According to Laney’s May 7 webinar presentation, he, Pfeifle, and Thompson all traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 14 to meet with the state’s <b>Attorney General, Doug Peterson. Keystone <span class="caps">XL</span></b>, if constructed, would pass through the Cornhusker State.</font></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Research “Delve”</font></span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">In the October 4 talking points email, several Delve employees were also included in the email chain, though it is unclear how or if they responded. The email only arose through the records request because it was forwarded to </span><a href="http://www.laramiecounty.com/officials/Sheriff/Bio.aspx" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Laramie County Sheriff Danny Glick</a>, who did not respond to a request for comment for this story.  </font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">Delve principals in the email included</span> <a href="https://delvedc.com/bio-matt/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Matt Moon</a>, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Jeff%20Berkowitz%20%20LinkedIn.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jeff Berkowitz</a>, <a href="https://delvedc.com/bio-foster/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Foster Morss</a>, <b><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Lloyd%20Miller%20%20LinkedIn.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Lloyd Miller</a>,</b> and <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Daniel%20Mintz%20%20LinkedIn.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Dan Mintz</a>. Moon is the former deputy research director for the Republican National Committee (<span class="caps">RNC</span>), where he worked with Berkowitz. Morss led the research and policy team for 2016 Republican Party presidential candidate, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and formerly served as deputy research director for the <span class="caps">RNC</span> under Berkowitz. Berkowitz and Morss also worked together on Rudy Giuliani’s run for president during the 2008 election cycle.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><img alt="" src="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Screen%20Shot%202017-07-19%20at%209.19.13%20PM.png" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: 532px; width: 550px;" />

</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><b>Miller worked as a research consultant for the <span class="caps">GOP</span> Super-<span class="caps">PAC</span> American Crossroads, founded by former President George W. Bush's chief of staff Karl <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Rove,</span></b>while Mintz has since transitioned into a new job and works as the <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">speechwriter for <span class="caps">U.S.</span>Sen. Jeff Flake (R-<span class="caps">AZ</span>)</span>. The Daily Beast reported that Berkowitz also ghostwrote some of the campaign policy positions for </span><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/donald-trump%5C" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Donald Trump</a>’s 2016 run for the White House, doing so through another firm he runs named <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-super-secret-policy-ghostwriter" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="caps">JBC</span> Research <span class="caps">LLC</span></a>.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>Delve provides breakthrough insights for winning causes through competitive intelligence, opposition research, media and subject monitoring, policy analysis, and issue management,” </span><a href="https://delvedc.com/about/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Delve says on its website</a>. “Our clients include fortune-listed corporations, major industry associations, Republican political campaigns, independent expenditure groups, and advocacy and educational groups.”</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3">For Delve’s work on Dakota Access — which is owned by </span><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/19688" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Energy Transfer Partners</a> founder and <span class="caps">CEO</span> Kelcy Warren, a <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/2016/09/meet-texas-billionaire-and-gop-donor-behind-north-dakota-pipeline-controversy" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">major Republican Party donor</a> — the firm maintained a special email address, “<a href="mailto:pipeline@delvedc.com" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">pipeline@delvedc.com</a>.” Representatives from Delve did not respond to a request for comment for this story.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Delve’s “delve” into helping the National Sheriffs’ Association at Standing Rock appears to have paid off, though, at least according to Sheriff Laney’s May webinar presentation.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>It wasn’t until we had Mark and his people, Matt and Dan [of Delve] and Chelsea [of the National Sheriffs’ Association], [who] all came [and] spent probably way more time than they thought they ever would in their lives in North Dakota, but they spent months with us,” said Laney.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-67d97633-591b-f404-93f3-defc34dd7fe3"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>And they were a godsend for us because we were finally about to fight them. You know, their professional media service we know was coming out of Seattle and it was highly funded. And to combat that with our own experts and I don’t have the time to go into all of that, but I can tell you without them, we would’ve been in serious trouble.”</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dakota Access, pending an <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/APFN_US_OIL_PIPELINE_NDOL-?SITE=IASPN&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ongoing federal court review</a> of the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Army Corps of Engineers’ environmental review process for the pipeline’s Missouri River crossing and potential spill impacts on the Standing Rock Tribe, is now <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/06/oil-is-flowing-through-the-dakota-access-pipeline/529707/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">open for business</a>. Obtained from <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/fracking-the-future" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”)</a> from the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7174" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Bakken Shale</a> basin, the oil contained within <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Dakota Access is now <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2017-07-18-APFN-US--Oil%20Pipeline/id-ba7d06b85e20436c8bc9b14b3291c150" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">moving at a rate of half</a> of North Dakota's entire production supply chain to market.</span>
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margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/4866">Donald Trump</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/5133">fracking</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/tags/dci-group">DCI group</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/16664">Rob Port</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/6853">ALEC</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/6907">american legislative exchange council</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/8656">SPN</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7681">State Policy Network</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/midwest-alliance-infrastructure-now">Midwest Alliance for Infrastructure Now</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/7174">Bakken Shale</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/17099">Cass County</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/morton-county">Morton County</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/1088">North Dakota</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/5137">hydraulic fracturing</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/1198">george w bush</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/20841">Dakota Access</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/emergency-management-assistance-compact">emergency management assistance compact</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/emac">EMAC</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/19688">Energy Transfer Partners</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/19696">Kelcy Warren</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/national-sheriffs-association">National Sheriffs' Association</a></div></div></div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/7/21/1682905/-Open-thread-for-night-owls-Iraq-war-PR-alums-led-effort-to-smear-Dakota-Access-Pipe-Line-foes">https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/7/21/1682905/-Open-thread-for-night-owls-Iraq-war-PR-alums-led-effort-to-smear-Dakota-Access-Pipe-Line-foes</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">repost</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;" open="Open" sans="Sans" font-size="font-size" px="px" letter-spacing="letter-spacing" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Steve Horn</strong> at <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">DeSmogBlog</em> and Curtis Waltman at <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">MuckRock</em> write—<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/07/20/emails-bush-iraq-war-pr-delve-off-the-record-strategies-dakota-access-pipeline?utm_source=dsb%20newsletter" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Emails Show Iraq War PR Alums Led Attempt to Discredit Dakota Access Protesters</a></strong>:</font></p><blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 30px 60px; margin: 20px 0px; border: none; width: 660px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); z-index: -1;" open="Open" sans="Sans" letter-spacing="letter-spacing" px="px"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Behind the scenes, as law enforcement officials tried to stem protests against the<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/energy-transfer-partners-bakken-oil-pipeline-through-iowa" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Dakota Access pipeline</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">, alumni from the George W. Bush White House were leading </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">a crisis communications effort to discredit pipeline protesters</span>.</font></p></blockquote></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></div>