Does not matter: Trump’s WOTUS gets the greenlight — Lawyers admit to extorting weedkiller company

Jun 22, 2020

Presented by the Almond Board of California

With help from Doug Palmer

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Quick Fix

— President Donald Trump's narrower Waters of the U.S. rule takes effect today after a federal judge rejected a request by Democratic attorneys general to hit pause on its implementation.

— Two lawyers who tried to blackmail an unnamed "chemicals company" by threatening legal action, financial damage and reputational harm unless the company paid them $200 million pleaded guilty to federal extortion charges.

— China once again plans to step up purchases of U.S. farm goods to catch up on its ag import commitments under the "phase one" trade deal. Beijing reportedly directed state-owned buyers to increase shipments of corn, ethanol, soybeans and other goods.

HAPPY MONDAY, JUNE 22! Welcome to Morning Ag, and stay cool out there, folks. Send tips to rmccrimmon@politico.com and @ryanmccrimmon, and follow us @Morning_Ag.

A message from the Almond Board of California:

The California almond community is working to grow almonds in better, safer and healthier ways, protecting our communities and the environment with targets across zero waste, water efficiency, pest management and air quality. Learn about the almond community's commitment to continuous improvement at Almonds.com/2025Goals.

Driving the Day

WOTUS LAUNCH GETS THE GREENLIGHT: An eleventh-hour blue-state bid to halt the Trump administration's rewritten Waters of the U.S. rule was rejected on Friday by a federal judge in San Francisco, who said the coalition of Democratic attorneys general didn't have enough chance of winning their broader legal challenge against the rule to warrant a preliminary injunction, writes Pro Energy's Annie Snider.

The decision means that the final rule can take effect today. The joint EPA and Army Corps policy shrinks the scope of federal protections for streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act — a long-time priority for farmers, ranchers, home-builders and other industries.

But, but, but: Just a few hours later the Friday decision, a federal court in Colorado granted the state's request to freeze implementation of the rule there, concluding that the state was likely to succeed in challenging the administration's definition of protected waterways. Letting the rule take effect, only to be later struck down, "would likely create unnecessary confusion among the regulated community about what standard really applies," the judge wrote, per our friends at Pro Energy.

ANOTHER COURT WIN FOR EPA: A separate federal court on Friday rejected an emergency petition that would have blocked the use of three dicamba products, after the agency earlier this month vacated the products' registrations but allowed farmers to continue using existing stocks of the herbicides.

Commodity groups like the American Soybean Association said the decision was needed to avoid disrupting farmers who made business decisions like purchasing weedkillers months ago and are now in the middle of planting and growing their crops. "Soy farmers are dependent on those rules not changing in the middle of the game and are glad the court got it right in these orders," ASA said in a statement.

LAWYER IN ROUNDUP LAWSUIT ADMITS TO EXTORTION SCHEME: An attorney involved in litigation over Bayer's glyphosate-based weedkiller and his legal partner admitted that they tried to squeeze a lucrative "consulting" fee out of an undisclosed company — which manufactures a "common household product used to kill weeds" — in an extortion scheme starting in October 2019, the Justice Department said on Friday.

The details: According to DOJ, Virginia lawyers Timothy Litzenburg and Daniel Kincheloe threatened the chemicals maker with damaging litigation that could cost the company "billions" of dollars in legal fees, stock price losses and other costs. They later registered a corporation for the purpose of receiving the $200 million payment, which they planned to split among themselves and their associates but not their existing clients.

Litzenburg also admitted to telling the company that he was willing to "take a dive" during deposition of a toxicology expert to help deter future claims against the company. He was previously involved in a lawsuit against Monsanto (which was purchased by Bayer in 2018) filed by a former groundskeeper who claimed that Roundup weedkiller caused his cancer.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski said the attorneys "blew well past the line of aggressive advocacy and crossed deep into the territory of illegal extortion, in a brazen attempt to enrich themselves by extracting millions of dollars from a multinational company."

Trade Corner

CHINA TO PLAY CATCH-UP ON FARM IMPORTS: Chinese imports of American farm goods this year are lagging pre-trade war levels, despite the "phase one" trade deal that was supposed to guarantee a surge of business for farmers and ranchers. But Beijing is once again attempting to accelerate its agricultural purchases following secretive meetings with U.S. officials in Hawaii, Bloomberg reports.

Under the partial trade agreement that took effect in February, China committed to buying at least $36.5 billion in U.S. ag products in 2020. But it only imported about $4.6 billion through April, in part because of the coronavirus pandemic and global economic slowdown.

Grain of salt: It's hardly the first time that China has made noise about ramping up farm purchases. And earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that China had ordered state-run agricultural firms to stop buying U.S. soybeans and other ag commodities.

Perdue's take: Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Friday on 630 KHOW radio that Chinese officials "tell us forthrightly that they plan to fulfill those commitments" and that he "takes them at their word."

— "It's not a secret that they have been behind the first quarter," Perdue said. "But we see a rapid escalation of their purchases."

FISHING SUBSIDY TALKS ARE BACK ON: WTO members this week will pick up their talks on an international deal to curb government subsidies that encourage overfishing and illegal fishing practices, the group announced. Santiago Wills, the ambassador from Colombia who chairs the negotiations, will introduce a working document on Thursday that consolidates various proposals to help accelerate negotiations, with the goal of reaching a deal this year that eliminates and prohibits certain types of harmful subsidies.

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE - A DIFFERENT KIND OF NEWSLETTER : Are you interested in creating a sustainable future for generations to come? Our sustainability newsletter, "The Long Game," is designed for executives, investors and policymakers who lead crucial conversations about how society can continue to thrive. Join the sharpest minds for a discussion about the most significant challenges from pandemics to plastics, climate change to land use, inequality and the future of work. Winners play the long game, subscribe today.

Row Crops

— China suspended imports of poultry products from a Tyson Foods meatpacking plant in Springdale, Ark., after a coronavirus outbreak at the facility. A Tyson spokesperson said the company is looking into the matter, adding that health officials say there's no evidence that the virus can be transmitted through food, Reuters reports.

— House appropriators will mark up their fiscal 2021 Agriculture-FDA spending bill in subcommittee on July 6, followed by a full committee markup on July 9, according to a hearing schedule laid out by Appropriations Chair Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) on Friday. Pro Budget's Caitlin Emma has the details.

— FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is calling on Congress to help internet service providers avoid cutting off customers who can't afford to pay their bills because of the pandemic. Several broadband providers that pledged to waive late fees and open WiFi hotspots say they can't afford to keep offering flexibility to consumers and businesses without financial support from Congress, Pro Tech's John Hendel reports.

— Grocery operator Albertsons will hold an initial public offering, with shares expected to start trading this week on the New York Stock Exchange. The Idaho-based company is the second largest grocery chain, after Kroger, and it operates other brands including Jewel Osco and Safeway. The Wall Street Journal has more.

— Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation, is joining World Food Program USA's board of directors. Martinez is also chief diversity and inclusion officer at UPS. More here.

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A message from the Almond Board of California:

Recognizing its role as a leader in California agriculture and global almond production, the California almond community is working to grow almonds in better, safer and healthier ways, protecting our communities and the environment. With targets across zero waste, water efficiency, pest management and air quality, the Almond Orchard 2025 Goals build off decades of previous achievements and represent the almond community's public commitment to continuous improvement. The Almond Board of California supports this effort by funding essential scientific research, programs and farmer outreach. Learn more about the California almond community and our commitment to continuous improvement at Almonds.com/2025Goals.