DCI Group
Background
DCI Group, LLC. is a Republican lobbying and public relations firm with offices in Washington, Brussels, and Houston. DCI group has been associated with the telemarketing company Feather Larson & Synhorst DCI and the direct-mail firm FYI Messaging. DCI Group describes itself as an โindependent public affairs consulting firm that specializes in public relations, crisis management, grassroots engagement, and digital advocacy.โ1โDCI Group,โ OpenSecrets.org. Accessed November 6, 2015. 2โOur Work,โ DCI Group. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8mO4R
DCI Group was founded in 1996 by Tom Synhorst, Doug Goodyear and Tim Hyde as a โgrassrootsโ consulting firm. They developed into a โfull-service companyโ providing media relations, โcoalition and third party work,โ digital services, and field work for clients that need support for their public policy campaigns. DCI manages issues for clients at local, state, federal, and international levels of government. DCI’s clients include corporations, trade associations, coalitions, and non-profits. Initially operating in Washington, they opened a Brussels, Beligum location in 2010.3โAbout,โ DCI Group. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/rrslH
In 2000, DCI Group began publishing the (now-defunct) online magazine Tech Central Station (TCS), โhostedโ by James K. Glassman. It was run by DCI Group until fall of 2006 when it was sold to its editor, Nick Schulz. TCS has been a forum for climate change skeptics, and has itself received funding directly from ExxonMobil for โclimate change support.โ Some reporters have described TCS as being at the forefront of new field of โjourno-lobbying.4โAbout TCS Daily,โ TCS Daily. Archived November 19, 2006. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/61qZO 5Kevin Grandia. โABC News: Gore spoof video linked to Republican/Exxon Spinster,โ DeSmog, August 4, 2006. 6Nicholas Confessore. โMeet the Press: How James Glassman reinvented journalismโas lobbying,โ Washington Monthly, December, 2003. Archived September 26, 2004. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/p54gE
DCI Group also has connections to the Tea Party, having done lobbying for both Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks. DCI Group has also done significant lobbying for the tobacco industry including Altria (previously Phillip Morris).7Amanda Fallin, Rachel Grana and Stanton A Glantz. โโTo quarterback behind the scenes, third-party effortsโ: the tobacco industry and the Tea Party,โ Tobacco Control, February 8, 2013. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kz18P
DCI Group & Tobacco
All three of DCI’s founders have a history working with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco: Tim Hynde was Senior Director of Public Issues at RJR (1988-1997), Tom Synhorst was a past โField Coordinatorโ for RJR, and Douglas Goodyear was past vice president at Walt Klein and Associates who worked for RJR in the 1980s. Goodyear also helped form Ramhurst Corporation, which received over $2.6 million for work done on behalf of RJR.8โTim Hyde,โ DCI Group. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/d1k0j 9โMagazine Looks Inside the Smokers’ Rights Movementโ (PDF – Media Release), Mother Jones, April 17, 1996. Retrieved from Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. 10โPUBLIC ISSUES 1994 (940000) PLANS,โ Retrieved from Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
DCI Group has also lobbied on behalf of Altria Client Services (previously Phillip Morris Companies Inc.) as recently as 2017โ2018. Lobbyists have included Douglas Goodyear and James Murphy.11NYC Lobbyist Search. Accessed November 6, 2015. 12Lobbyist query for “DCI,” New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics: Lobbying Online Filing System. Search performed December 11, 2023. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.
Stance on Climate Change
DCI Group was originally behind TCS Daily, which regularly publishes articles by authors skeptical of man-made climate change. However, DCI group does not appear to have an official statement reflecting their views on climate change.
Funding
Lobbying Income
Below is a list of DCI Group’s lobbying income between the years of 2001 and 2016, as reported by OpenSecrets.org.13โDCI Group,โ OpenSecrets.org. Data retrieved June 10, 2016.
DCI Group has received more than $3,230,000 for lobbying in the Oil and Gas Industry, with $3,090,000 of this coming from ExxonMobil. They have also received $745,000 from the pharmaceutical industry, and have worked with major defense and weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin.
View attached spreadsheet on DCI Group’s Lobbying Income (.xlsx) for additional information.
Client | Total |
Verizon Communications | $3,660,000 |
Exxon Mobil | $3,090,000 |
US Telecom Assn | $1,411,000 |
Colorado State University | $1,410,000 |
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn | $850,000 |
AT&T | $840,000 |
American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier | $760,000 |
General Motors | $750,000 |
Mortgage Insurance Companies of America | $740,000 |
K-12 Inc | $690,000 |
National Assn of Waterfront Employers | $670,000 |
Gilead Sciences | $650,000 |
Council of Amer Survey Research Orgs | $620,000 |
Lockheed Martin | $620,000 |
Applied Digital | $560,000 |
GTECH Holdings | $560,000 |
American Task Force Argentina | $550,000 |
Teamsters Union | $460,000 |
Catholic Healthcare West | $440,000 |
Ironworkers Union | $440,000 |
AT&T Inc | $410,000 |
Federal Home Loan Bank | $380,000 |
National Louis University | $380,000 |
Denver Children’s Hospital | $360,000 |
CEMEX SA de CV | $350,000 |
Gannett Fleming Inc | $340,000 |
Lipscomb University | $320,000 |
B&D Holding Di Marco Drago e C Sapa | $310,000 |
Coral Bay Community Council | $300,000 |
EchoStar Communications | $300,000 |
Lincoln Memorial University | $280,000 |
National Assn of Business PACs | $280,000 |
University of Arizona | $280,000 |
Lakeview Museum | $260,000 |
City of Maryville, TN | $250,000 |
Central Wyoming College | $220,000 |
Coe College | $200,000 |
Goldman Sachs | $200,000 |
St Rose Dominican Hospitals | $200,000 |
United Airlines-EC-ALPA | $200,000 |
United Medical Center | $200,000 |
Inspire STEM USA | $195,000 |
City of Cheyenne, WY | $180,000 |
Health Partners | $180,000 |
St Ambrose University | $180,000 |
Alliant Techsystems | $170,000 |
Great River Economic Development Fdtn | $160,000 |
MedCath Inc | $160,000 |
National Assn of Air Traffic Specialists | $160,000 |
Scottsdale Healthcare | $160,000 |
Hiwassee College | $150,000 |
AG Spanos Companies | $140,000 |
Nipmuc Nation Tribal Council | $140,000 |
Shenandoah Electronic Intelligence | $140,000 |
Srq Inc | $140,000 |
Welldog Inc | $140,000 |
City of Harrogate, TN | $130,000 |
Aqua Sciences | $120,000 |
City of Cedar Rapids, IA | $120,000 |
Smartlink Radio Networks | $120,000 |
St Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Assoc | $120,000 |
GridPoint Inc | $110,000 |
Avue Technologies | $100,000 |
Bose Corp | $100,000 |
CalAmp Inc | $100,000 |
EchoStar Corp | $100,000 |
Iowa American Water Co | $100,000 |
Northern Arizona University | $100,000 |
Akins Crisp Public Strategies | $90,000 |
Aunt Millie’s | $90,000 |
Winning Strategies Washington | $90,000 |
Toolchex Inc | $85,000 |
Blackboard Inc | $80,000 |
ELLIS | $80,000 |
Mvp Group International | $80,000 |
Stamats | $80,000 |
ITT Educational Services | $60,000 |
Visa International | $60,000 |
Alliance Surgical Distributors | $55,000 |
American Iris | $40,000 |
Bay Area Addiction Research & Treatment | $40,000 |
Brown, Winick et al | $40,000 |
Calumet College of St Joseph | $40,000 |
Delorme Publishing | $40,000 |
Intelligent Car Coalition | $40,000 |
Maryville College | $40,000 |
MC Technologies | $40,000 |
Metropolitan College of New York | $40,000 |
National Pork Producers Council | $40,000 |
Pharmaceutical Rsrch & Mfrs of America | $40,000 |
State of Louisiana | $40,000 |
Blount County, TN | $20,000 |
International Genomics Consortium | $20,000 |
National Semiconductor Corp | $20,000 |
Qualcomm Inc | $20,000 |
Rock Island Arsenal Development Group | $20,000 |
Washington Strategies | $20,000 |
Grand Total | $30,956,000 |
Lobbying Income by Industry
Industry | Total |
Telephone Utilities | $6,321,000 |
Education | $4,390,000 |
Oil & Gas | $3,230,000 |
Hospitals/Nurs Homes | $1,520,000 |
Real Estate | $1,260,000 |
Business Assns | $1,160,000 |
Electronics Mfg/Eqp | $1,000,000 |
Casinos/Gambling | $870,000 |
Trucking | $850,000 |
Transport Unions | $820,000 |
Business Services | $810,000 |
Automotive | $750,000 |
Pharm/Health Prod | $745,000 |
Civil Servants | $740,000 |
Sea Transport | $670,000 |
Defense Aerospace | $620,000 |
Foreign Policy | $550,000 |
Securities/Invest | $500,000 |
Telecom Svcs | $500,000 |
Construction Svcs | $480,000 |
Bldg Trade Unions | $440,000 |
Non-Profits | $420,000 |
Unknown Business | $360,000 |
Building Materials | $350,000 |
Human Rights | $335,000 |
Misc Energy | $210,000 |
Misc Defense | $190,000 |
Health Services | $180,000 |
Environmental Svcs | $120,000 |
TV/Movies/Music | $120,000 |
Food Process/Sales | $90,000 |
Lobbyists | $90,000 |
Misc Services | $85,000 |
Finance/Credit | $60,000 |
Livestock | $40,000 |
Publishing | $40,000 |
Waste Management | $40,000 |
Grand Total | $30,956,000 |
Key People
Partners
Name | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2013 | 2016 | 2018 |
Brian Mccabe | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Dan Combs | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Doug Goodyear | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Justin Peterson | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Tim Hyde | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Tom Synhorst | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Jennifer Cutler | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
Kelley Robertson | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
Paul Ryan | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
Susan Reiche | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
Andrew O’Brien | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
Christian Myers | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
Ryan Grillo | Y | Y | Y | |||
Jon Kemp | Y | Y | ||||
Megan Bloomgren | Y | |||||
Diane Miller | Y | Y | Y | |||
Jim Murphy | Y | Y | Y | |||
Michael Reilly | Y | |||||
Emily Lampkin | Y | |||||
Jim Prendergast | ||||||
Todd Baustert |
Leadership
Name | 2007 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
Skip Joslin | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
Stacey Chamberlin | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
Craig Stevens | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
Genevieve Wilkins | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
Allison Welch | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||
Ed Patru | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||
Aaron Gardner | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||
Keith Newman | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||
Miriam Warren | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||
Oliver Wolf | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||
Caroline Haun | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||
Teresa Valentine | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||
Emily Covington | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
John Gentzel | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
Mark Szalay | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
Adria Stoliar | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Chad Horrell | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
E. Monique Hall | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Emily Davenport | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Erin Hughes | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Jennifer Hanks | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Raymond Hernandez | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Shant Nahapetian | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Steve Norton | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Steve Stesney | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Alena Anderson | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||
Chris Rowe | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||
Kevin Ivers | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||
Katherine Rodriguez | Y | Y | |||||||||
Frank Craddock | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
Dan Meyers | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||
Patrick W. Smith | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||
Kelsey Zahourek | Y | Y | |||||||||
Frank Edwards | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||
Suzanne Zurn | Y | Y | |||||||||
Kent Lassman | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||
Gwen Holliday | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||
Jane Frazer | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
Nick Mueller | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
Patrick Rogan | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
Grant Olson | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||
Margaret Taylor | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||
Ted Greener | Y | ||||||||||
Amanda O’Malley | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||
Ann McCain | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||
Carl Bentzel | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||
Colin Leyden | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||
Monique Hall | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
Diane Laviolette | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Janet Wootten | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Jay Hauck | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Nick Meads | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Robert Scott | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Jim OโConnell | Y | ||||||||||
Ray Hernandez | Y | ||||||||||
Jason Lilly | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
Madelyn Lawson | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
Rouel de Guzman | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
Jon Kemp | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Catherine McCullough | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||
Emily Fuleihan | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||
Julie Germany | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||
Megan Bloomgren | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||
Chris Burger | Y | ||||||||||
Lauren Consky | Y | ||||||||||
Jennifer Stewart | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
Patrick Pannett | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||
Heidi Kotzian | Y | Y | |||||||||
Travis Worl | Y | Y | |||||||||
Tricia Waite | Y | Y | |||||||||
Alyson OโConnell | Y | ||||||||||
Gary Feld | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||
Scott Migli | Y | Y | |||||||||
Amanda Phraner | Y | ||||||||||
Beneva Schulte | Y | ||||||||||
Brian Harrison | Y | ||||||||||
Brian Lyle | Y | ||||||||||
Campbell Spencer | Y | ||||||||||
Catherine Bray | Y | ||||||||||
Daniel Nelson | Y | ||||||||||
Derrick Johnson | Y | ||||||||||
Jacquelyn Puente | Y | ||||||||||
Julie Nelson | Y | ||||||||||
Kevin McLaughlin | Y | ||||||||||
Laura Lilly | Y | ||||||||||
Lisa Burgess | Y | ||||||||||
Michael Hamilton | Y | ||||||||||
Michael Pepe | Y | ||||||||||
Noralisa Leo | Y | ||||||||||
Rick Shapiro | Y | ||||||||||
Rose Rougeau | Y | ||||||||||
Sarah Hoffman | Y | ||||||||||
Tom Kise | Y | ||||||||||
Andrew O’Brien | Y | Y | |||||||||
Angela Flood | Y | Y | |||||||||
Christian Myers | Y | Y | |||||||||
Duane Freese | Y | Y | |||||||||
Geoffrey Basye | Y | Y | |||||||||
Hillary Maxwell | Y | Y | |||||||||
Joe Quigley | Y | Y | |||||||||
Ted Newton | Y | Y | |||||||||
Anna Bell Farrar | Y | Y | |||||||||
Michael Reilly | Y | Y | |||||||||
Ray Patnaude | Y | Y | |||||||||
Belen Mendoza | Y | ||||||||||
Chip Griffin | Y | ||||||||||
Henrik Rasmussen | Y | ||||||||||
Julie Barko Germany | Y | ||||||||||
Carole Braithwaite | Y | ||||||||||
Diane Miller | Y | ||||||||||
Emily Lampkin | Y | ||||||||||
Heidi Schauer | Y | ||||||||||
Katie Harbath | Y | ||||||||||
Kelley Robertson | Y | ||||||||||
Paul Ryan | Y | ||||||||||
Scot Crockett | Y | ||||||||||
Sonya Clay | Y | ||||||||||
Susan Reiche | Y | ||||||||||
Teri Grier | Y | ||||||||||
Evan Yost | Y | ||||||||||
Jennifer Cutler | Y | ||||||||||
Lindsay Videnieks | Y | ||||||||||
Matt Rhoades | Y | ||||||||||
Nicole Philbin | Y | ||||||||||
Amanda Deatherage | |||||||||||
Bill Clark | |||||||||||
Colin Tooze | |||||||||||
David Pearce | |||||||||||
Drew Cole | |||||||||||
Gavin Clingham | |||||||||||
Jennifer Cush | |||||||||||
Ken Schulz | |||||||||||
Lindsay Lawrence | |||||||||||
Melissa Kelly | |||||||||||
Robert Paduchik | |||||||||||
Ryan Grillo | |||||||||||
Steven Susens | |||||||||||
Brian Mccabe | Y | ||||||||||
Doug Goodyear | Y | ||||||||||
Jim Murphy | Y | ||||||||||
Tom Synhorst | Y |
Senior Counselors
Name | 2009 | 2010 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2018 |
Michael J. Stratton | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Rick Shapiro | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
Charles C. Francis | Y | Y | Y | |||
Frank Edwards | Y | |||||
Amb. Robert Blackwill | Y | Y | ||||
Lou Ann Linehan | Y | Y | ||||
Charles Francis | Y | Y | Y | |||
Beneva Schulte | Y | |||||
Mickey Ibarra | Y |
Actions
January 25, 2018
A 2018 profile in Bloomberg outlined how Glassman and DCI group have worked with large hedge funds to influence lawmakers. Bloomberg identified at least six major influence campaigns that DCI group had conducted on behalf of investors in stocks or bonds since 2006.14Zachary Mider and Ben Elgin. โHow Hedge Funds (Secretly) Get Their Way in Washington,โ Bloomberg, January 25, 2018. Archived January 28, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ev2zY
One example, according to Bloomberg, was July 2014 testimony by Glassman that โmeshed perfectlyโ with the talking points of an affiliate of DCI group he was working for at the time. In his testimony, Glassman argued that Argentina was trying to renege on its debt, and also accused Puerto Rico of the same thing. Glassman never mentioned that he was working for an affiliate of DCI group whose clients at the time included a $25 billion hedge fund that had a dispute with Argentina, and another that was suing Puerto Rico.15Zachary Mider and Ben Elgin. โHow Hedge Funds (Secretly) Get Their Way in Washington,โ Bloomberg, January 25, 2018. Archived January 28, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ev2zY
It was a pattern of campaigns where DCI group worked with large hedge funds by crafting what appeared as grass-roots support. Without disclosure, โthe targets of these campaignsโadministration officials, media ‘thought leaders,’ and lawmakersโdidnโt know they were being lobbied, much less who paid for it.โ16Zachary Mider and Ben Elgin. โHow Hedge Funds (Secretly) Get Their Way in Washington,โ Bloomberg, January 25, 2018. Archived January 28, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ev2zY
โDCI rounded up ordinary Americans who agreed with its clients and marched them into lawmakersโ offices to lend a veneer of grass-roots support. Meanwhile, Glassman and other ostensibly independent intellectuals blanketed panels, hearings, and press conferences with the same storyline, without ever mentioning their connection to DCI or the hedge funds.โ17Zachary Mider and Ben Elgin. โHow Hedge Funds (Secretly) Get Their Way in Washington,โ Bloomberg, January 25, 2018. Archived January 28, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ev2zY
โ[โฆ] Thatโs where DCI comes in, providing credible-seeming voices to speak up for the fundsโ interestsโvoices like Glassmanโs. Itโs not illegal, but it undermines basic principles of transparency and trust.โ18Zachary Mider and Ben Elgin. โHow Hedge Funds (Secretly) Get Their Way in Washington,โ Bloomberg, January 25, 2018. Archived January 28, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ev2zY
June 13, 2016
DCI Group was listed as a creditor in Peabody Energy’s 2016 bankruptcy filings, reports the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD/PRWatch).19Nick Surgey. โPeabody Coal Bankruptcy Reveals Climate Denial Network Funding,โ PRWatch, June 13, 2016. Archived June 20, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/a73wj
While the available bankruptcy documents do not list the scale or dates of funding, they outline Peabody Energy’s financial ties to a large network of groups promoting climate change denial.20โIn re: Peabody Energy Corporation, et al. Debtors,โ United States Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Missouri Eastern Division, Case 16-42529, May 27, 2016. Retrieved from DocumentCloud.
Prominent individuals appearing in the documents include climate deniers Willie Soon, Richard Lindzen, Roy Spencer and Richard Berman. The long list of organizations also includes groups such as Americans for Prosperity, American Legislative Exchange Council, CFACT, Institute for Energy Research, State Policy Network, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and dozens more.21Farron Cousins. โCourt Documents Show Coal Giant Peabody Energy Funded Dozens Of Climate Denial Groups,โ DeSmog, June 13, 2016.
The Guardian also analysed and reported on the Peabody bankruptcy findings:22Suzanne Goldenberg and Helena Bengtsson. โBiggest US coal company funded dozens of groups questioning climate change,โ The Guardian, June 13, 2016. Archived June 20, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pw7On
โThese groups collectively are the heart and soul of climate denial,โ said Kert Davies, founder of the Climate Investigation Center, who has spent 20 years tracking funding for climate denial. โItโs the broadest list I have seen of one company funding so many nodes in the denial machine.โ
The companyโs filings reveal funding for a range of organisations which have fought Barack Obamaโs plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and denied the very existence of climate change. [โฆ]
Among Peabodyโs beneficiaries, the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change has insisted โ wrongly โ that carbon emissions are not a threat but โthe elixir of lifeโ while the American Legislative Exchange Council is trying to overturn Environmental Protection Agency rules cutting emissions from power plants. Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity campaigns against carbon pricing. The Oklahoma chapter was on the list. [โฆ]
โThe breadth of the groups with financial ties to Peabody is extraordinary. Thinktanks, litigation groups, climate scientists, political organisations, dozens of organisations blocking action on climate all receiving funding from the coal industry,โ said Nick Surgey, director of research for the Center for Media and Democracy.
โWe expected to see some denial money, but it looks like Peabody is the treasury for a very substantial part of the climate denial movement.โ
Notable organizations listed in the initial documents include:
- 60 Plus Association
- The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
- American Energy Alliance
- Alliance For Energy And Economic Growth
- American Energy Alliance
- American Legislative Exchange Council
- Americans For Prosperity Oklahoma
- Atlas Economic Research Foundation
- Berman And Company, Inc
- Consumer Energy Alliance
- Center For Clean Air Policy
- Center for Energy and Economic Development
- Center For The Study Of Carbon Dioxide And Global Change
- Coalition for Responsible Regulation
- Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow
- Council on State Taxation
- DCI Group AZ, LLC
- Ducks Unlimited
- Energy & Environment Legal Institute
- Edison Electric Institute
- Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity
- Free Market Environmental Law Clinic
- Frontiers Of Freedom Institute
- George C. Marshall Institute
- Hill Knowlton Strategies
- Hill Knowlton, Inc
- Hudson Institute
- Hunton & Williams
- Independence Institute
- Institute For Energy Research
- Institute for Liberty
- National Association of Manufacturers
- National Black Chamber of Commerce
- National Conference of State Legislatures
- National Mining Association
- National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners
- National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
- NextGen Energy Council
- PACE (May refer to Partnership for Affordable Clean Energy)
- Science & Public Policy Institute
- Sidley Austin LLP
- State Policy Network
- Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute
- Texas Public Policy Foundation
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Western Business Roundtable
Notable individuals named in the initial documents include the following:
December 13, 2015
Writing as a guest blogger on Watts Up With That, CFACT’s executive director Craig Rucker denounced the latest UN climate change agreement:23“Paris #COP21 agreement โ Watered down but still dangerous,” WattsUpWithThat, December 13, 2015. Archived March 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/oSsTw
โThis agreement will not meaningfully alter the temperature of the Earth, even under the U.N.โs own computer models.
โThe bad news is that it plants the seeds of a new UN climate regime that left unchecked will swell into a bureaucratic behemoth.โ
January 2015
DCI Group is a registered lobbyist for the Altria Client Services, Inc., previously known as the tobacco company Phillip Morris. Their most recent contract was listed as beginning in January of 2015, and will end December 31, 2015. Douglas Goodyear is their currently registered lobbyist officer on the case.24NYC Lobbyist Search. Accessed November 6, 2015.
August 2006
News sources including ABC News and the Wall Street Journal reported that DCI Group appeared to be behind a popular YouTube.com video mocking Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth. Video below.25Jake Tapper and Max Culhane. โAl Gore YouTube Spoof Not So Amateurish,โ ABC News, August 4, 2006. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2ZgKF 26Antonio Regaldo and Dionne Searcey. โWhere Did That Video Spoofing Gore’s Film Come From?โ The Wall Street Journal, August 3, 2006. View full article (PDF) here.
ABC reports a DCI representative as stating:
โWe do not disclose the names of our clients, nor do we discuss the work we do on behalf of our clients.โ
2000โ2006
DCI Group ran the online magazine Tech Central Station (TCS). Among other issues, TCS has heavily published the views of numerous climate change skeptics, including Willie Soon who, according to his C.V., wrote 43 articles for TCS from 2001-2004.27โDr. Willie Soon: A Career Fueled by Big Oil and Coal,โ Greenpeace. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YvTDx
TCS describes itself as โhere to help provide the right answers to many of those questions with the news, analysis, research, and commentary you need to understand how technology is changing and shaping our world, and how you can make sense of it all.โ28โAbout Us,โ Tech Central Station. Archived October 29, 2005. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xeTuX
Some notable funders of TCS have included ExxonMobil, General Motors Corporation, Microsoft, and PhRMA. According to a Greenpeace document, ExxonMobil gave $95,000 to TCS in 2003.29โDr. Willie Soon: A Career Fueled by Big Oil and Coal,โ Greenpeace. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YvTDx
March 2005
DCI Group worked with Republicans to form various โgrassrootsโ front-groups to amplify President Bushโs call to privatize Social Security.30Laura Miller. โThe Fix Behind Fixing Social Security,โ PR Watch, March 8, 2005. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HdRjJ
December 2003
DCI Group was retained by the pharmaceutical industry to create public opposition against House legislation that would permit the reimportation of FDA-approved drugs from Canada and elsewhere.31Nicholas Confessore. โMeet the Press: How James Glassman reinvented journalismโas lobbying,โ Washington Monthly, December, 2003. Archived September 26, 2004. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/p54gE
DCI Group Contact & Location
As of June 2016, DCI Group listed the following contact information on their website:32DCI Group Homepage, Archived June 11, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/3qtCE
Washington, DC
1828 L Street, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036Brussels, Belgium
Square de Meeus 37
1000 Brussels
BelgiumPhone: +1 (202) 546-4242
Email: [email protected]
Related Organizations
- Tech Central Station (TCS)
- Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights (CPPR) โ Managed by DCI Group.33Lee Fang. โEXCLUSIVE: Infamous Astroturf Lobbying Firm Behind New Anti-Health Reform Group,โ ThinkProgress, Jul 29, 2009. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nQuYx
Social Media
- @DCIGroup/@DCIGroupLLC on Twitter.
- โDCI Groupโ on Facebook.
- โDCI Groupโ on LinkedIn.
Other Resources
- Lee Fang. โTrolls Paid by a Telecom Lobbying Firm โจKeep Commenting on My Net Neutrality Articles,โ Vice, August 6, 2014.
- โDeniers: Organisations:DCIGroup,โ ExxonSecrets Wiki.
- ExxonSecrets Factsheet: DCI Group, DCI.
- โDCI Group,โ SourceWatch.
- โDCI Group,โ Wikipedia.
Resources
- 1โDCI Group,โ OpenSecrets.org. Accessed November 6, 2015.
- 2โOur Work,โ DCI Group. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8mO4R
- 3โAbout,โ DCI Group. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/rrslH
- 4โAbout TCS Daily,โ TCS Daily. Archived November 19, 2006. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/61qZO
- 5Kevin Grandia. โABC News: Gore spoof video linked to Republican/Exxon Spinster,โ DeSmog, August 4, 2006.
- 6Nicholas Confessore. โMeet the Press: How James Glassman reinvented journalismโas lobbying,โ Washington Monthly, December, 2003. Archived September 26, 2004. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/p54gE
- 7Amanda Fallin, Rachel Grana and Stanton A Glantz. โโTo quarterback behind the scenes, third-party effortsโ: the tobacco industry and the Tea Party,โ Tobacco Control, February 8, 2013. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kz18P
- 8โTim Hyde,โ DCI Group. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/d1k0j
- 9โMagazine Looks Inside the Smokers’ Rights Movementโ (PDF – Media Release), Mother Jones, April 17, 1996. Retrieved from Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.
- 10โPUBLIC ISSUES 1994 (940000) PLANS,โ Retrieved from Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 11NYC Lobbyist Search. Accessed November 6, 2015.
- 12Lobbyist query for “DCI,” New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics: Lobbying Online Filing System. Search performed December 11, 2023. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.
- 13โDCI Group,โ OpenSecrets.org. Data retrieved June 10, 2016.
- 14Zachary Mider and Ben Elgin. โHow Hedge Funds (Secretly) Get Their Way in Washington,โ Bloomberg, January 25, 2018. Archived January 28, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ev2zY
- 15Zachary Mider and Ben Elgin. โHow Hedge Funds (Secretly) Get Their Way in Washington,โ Bloomberg, January 25, 2018. Archived January 28, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ev2zY
- 16Zachary Mider and Ben Elgin. โHow Hedge Funds (Secretly) Get Their Way in Washington,โ Bloomberg, January 25, 2018. Archived January 28, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ev2zY
- 17Zachary Mider and Ben Elgin. โHow Hedge Funds (Secretly) Get Their Way in Washington,โ Bloomberg, January 25, 2018. Archived January 28, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ev2zY
- 18Zachary Mider and Ben Elgin. โHow Hedge Funds (Secretly) Get Their Way in Washington,โ Bloomberg, January 25, 2018. Archived January 28, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ev2zY
- 19Nick Surgey. โPeabody Coal Bankruptcy Reveals Climate Denial Network Funding,โ PRWatch, June 13, 2016. Archived June 20, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/a73wj
- 20โIn re: Peabody Energy Corporation, et al. Debtors,โ United States Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Missouri Eastern Division, Case 16-42529, May 27, 2016. Retrieved from DocumentCloud.
- 21Farron Cousins. โCourt Documents Show Coal Giant Peabody Energy Funded Dozens Of Climate Denial Groups,โ DeSmog, June 13, 2016.
- 22Suzanne Goldenberg and Helena Bengtsson. โBiggest US coal company funded dozens of groups questioning climate change,โ The Guardian, June 13, 2016. Archived June 20, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pw7On
- 23“Paris #COP21 agreement โ Watered down but still dangerous,” WattsUpWithThat, December 13, 2015. Archived March 14, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/oSsTw
- 24NYC Lobbyist Search. Accessed November 6, 2015.
- 25Jake Tapper and Max Culhane. โAl Gore YouTube Spoof Not So Amateurish,โ ABC News, August 4, 2006. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2ZgKF
- 26Antonio Regaldo and Dionne Searcey. โWhere Did That Video Spoofing Gore’s Film Come From?โ The Wall Street Journal, August 3, 2006. View full article (PDF) here.
- 27โDr. Willie Soon: A Career Fueled by Big Oil and Coal,โ Greenpeace. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YvTDx
- 28โAbout Us,โ Tech Central Station. Archived October 29, 2005. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xeTuX
- 29โDr. Willie Soon: A Career Fueled by Big Oil and Coal,โ Greenpeace. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YvTDx
- 30Laura Miller. โThe Fix Behind Fixing Social Security,โ PR Watch, March 8, 2005. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HdRjJ
- 31Nicholas Confessore. โMeet the Press: How James Glassman reinvented journalismโas lobbying,โ Washington Monthly, December, 2003. Archived September 26, 2004. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/p54gE
- 32DCI Group Homepage, Archived June 11, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/3qtCE
- 33Lee Fang. โEXCLUSIVE: Infamous Astroturf Lobbying Firm Behind New Anti-Health Reform Group,โ ThinkProgress, Jul 29, 2009. Archived November 6, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nQuYx