Commonwealth Club Event: "Devil's Advocates"

Join the Commonwealth Club of California on Oct. 29, 2025 to hear Kenneth P. Vogel expose the shadowy world of foreign lobbyists in DC as detailed in his new book, Devils' Advocates: The Hidden Story of Rudy Giuliani, Hunter Biden, and the Washington Insiders on the Payrolls of Corrupt Foreign Interests.

HOW TO WATCH:
This event is $10 for online tickets, and you must register at the link below, at which point you'll be emailed a link to the online event - https://commonwealthclub.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/instances/a0FVb000007DKzNMAW

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
Join us for a special online-only program that goes inside Washington’s murky foreign lobbying industry and reveals the world of the politically connected and powerful Americans who get rich working on behalf of brutal dictators, corrupt oligarchs, and global arms dealers. New York Times investigative reporter Kenneth P. Vogel has used exclusive sources, thousands of documents, and on-the-ground reporting to reveal the people, places, and deals involved in this usually unseen billion-dollar industry.

It's a world of big money, fast cars, pricey cigars and flashy watches. The business of currying favor and influencing U.S. foreign policy on behalf of foreign powers is nothing new, though lately it has attracted more controversy and attention due to some of the outsized characters who rose to prominence during Donald Trump's first term in the White House.

Among them is Robert Stryk, who dresses like a cowboy, failed at several businesses before bluffing his way into relationships in Washington and around the world, amassed wealth, influence, and a reputation for taking deals no one else would touch. Rudy Giuliani, once known as “America’s Mayor,” found his star rising again under Trump; Giuliani leveraged his position as Trump’s personal lawyer into deals with foreign interests who saw him as a direct line to the president. And then there's Hunter Biden, son of a future president and no stranger to the business, having capitalized on his father’s connections since the elder Biden’s days as a senator and vice president.

Don't miss this conversation with Vogel, who relates these stories and more in his new book Devils' Advocates: The Hidden Story of Rudy Giuliani, Hunter Biden, and the Washington Insiders on the Payrolls of Corrupt Foreign Interests.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER & MODERATOR:

• Kenneth P. Vogel is an Investigative Reporter for The New York Times, formerly for Politico where he tracked the confluence of money, politics and influence. He's the author of one prior book entitled Big Money: 2.5 Billion Dollars, One Suspicious Vehicle, and a Pimp–on the Trail of the Ultra-Rich Hijacking American Politics (2014). Before joining Politico, Vogel reported for The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., The Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C. and The Journal Inquirer in Manchester, Conn. He spent most of 2006 learning about the U.S. Congress from the inside through an American Political Science Association fellowship that let him work on the staffs of two House committees. He's won awards from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, and Investigative Reporters and Editors.
• [Moderator TBA]

ABOUT THE EVENT HOST:
The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. Every year, they present more than 450 forums on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy. Their stated mission is to be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation. To learn more, go to: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/who-we-are
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