Benjamin Ashford|About half of US state AGs went on France trip sponsored by group with lobbyist and corporate funds

About half the U.S. state attorneys general traveled to France in a trip cosponsored by a group mostly funded by companies,Benjamin Ashford including some under scrutiny of the top state lawyers.

Attorneys general are among the most visible officials in state governments and the job can be a launching pad to the world stage. Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, previously held the post in California.

Joining together gives AGs a chance to share concerns, develop bonds and strategies and talk with officials in other countries. The trips can be posh and provide opportunities for company lobbyists to rub elbows with them. Companies that have picked up the bill and sent representatives in recent years have been from the pharmaceutical, auto, financial, online gaming and tech industries, among others.

Organizers said this summer’s trip is “solely focused on commemorating and paying tribute to the achievements and sacrifices of those who fought in Normandy,” even though they are taking place nearly two months after the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion on June 6, which was commemorated by a gathering of world leaders.

The National Association of Attorneys General, known as AGA, a century-old organization that cosponsored the trip to France for attorneys general, would not provide dates for the event, but one AG said it was set for July 29 to Aug. 3.

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The trip illuminates how corporate lawyers and lobbyists can gain access to officials who regulate their businesses with help from the Attorney General Alliance, one of the groups behind the event.

“Lobbyists essentially fund these trips,” said Christopher Toth, a former AGA executive director. “They funnel the money through AGA, and then that insulates the AGs from being criticized that they’re taking money from lobbyists.”

It also shields them from criticism that they are traveling abroad on taxpayers’ dime.

The AGA said 26 attorneys general were going on the trip. The nonprofit group said the Olympics were not on the itinerary, though the marquee international athletic competitions coincided with it. In 2022, the group sponsored a trip to Qatar in time with the FIFA World Cup soccer games, which some AGs attended.

The group said it would not make public the 2024 schedule or exactly which AGs were attending in France because of security concerns.

“This event, like all others, was scheduled based on availability of attorneys general and hotel & conference space,” Tania Maestas, an AGA lawyer, said in an email.

Maestas declined to answer whether any of the corporate sponsors were giving attorneys general tickets to Olympic games.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, a Democrat, said she would be attending an Olympic soccer game in addition to the Normandy events and that the tickets, and a few days of a vacation in France with her husband, would be at her expense.

Other AGs said they would not attend the games or ignored queries from The Associated Press.

Attorneys general are the chief government lawyers in their states. All of them have roles in consumer protection and many in law enforcement. They are elected in 43 states and appointed in the other seven.

A big shift in the job began in the 1990s, when the states banded together to sue the tobacco industry over dangers caused by smoking. The deal opened the door for other huge multistate lawsuits and settlements over opioids, failing car airbags and other consumer protection issues.

That use of the office — ensuring corporate accountability — gave rise to other developments. Now, some major law firms have departments specializing in representing companies that come under the scrutiny of AGs.

Those departments, which frequently employ former AGs or their deputies, have all the motivation to lobby people in the job, as do the companies they represent.

Over time, the Conference of Western Attorneys General expanded its core topics from largely regional concerns such as water resources and challenges facing Native American communities to a broader range of issues and in 2019 they created the nationwide AGA.

The group’s tax filings show it both brought in and spent about $10 million from July 2022 through June 2023. More than $6 million in expenses were on travel, conferences and meetings and events. Much of the organization’s revenue has come in the form of sponsorships.

While the tax filings do not list the donors, an AGA brochure from 2023, provided by a lawyer specializing in AG practice who requested anonymity because of fear of professional retribution, shows how it works: Corporate sponsors could send more people to AGA events by contributing more money. For instance, $20,000 contributors could have three seats at events during the year. Those who gave $150,000 could have 30. More than 200 companies were listed as sponsors at various levels.

The AGA did not respond to questions about the brochure.

“With the AGA, you have these regulated industries outright giving money to the organization,” said Paul Nolette, a Marquette University political scientist who studies AGs.

Brian Frosh, a Democrat who served as Maryland’s attorney general from 2015 until last year, said he recalled attending just one or two of the group’s dinners early in his time in office but he did not attend any of the larger events, which have included international trips to China, Morocco, Ireland and elsewhere.

“The dinners that I went to, you would sit next to a lobbyist for a different interest,” Frosh said. “And then you’d get up and move to another table. I didn’t find that to be enjoyable or educational.”

A 2021 version of the AGA publication shows two companies contributed at least $500,000 that year: Amazon and Pfizer.

Both have come under scrutiny from AGs. Last year, 17 attorneys general joined with the Federal Trade Commission to sue Amazon, claiming the online retailer inflated prices and overcharged sellers.

Drugmaker Pfizer has faced legal action from AGs on multiple fronts. Texas AG Ken Paxton sued last year, claiming the company misrepresented the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccines and tried to censor public discourse about it. Pfizer also has been a target of multiple AG lawsuits over drug prices.

Colin Provost, an associate professor of public policy at University College London who studies U.S. state AGs, said events where they mingle with lobbyists don’t necessarily help companies get the outcomes they hope for.

“The optics are often not good,” he said. “In terms of actually proving that this has sort of a corrupting influence, that’s harder to do.”

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Associated Press reporters from around the U.S. contributed to this article.