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News Roundup: Impeachment Inquiry Goes Public
This week, the House's impeachment inquiry went public, with Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent, and acting Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor appearing before the House Intelligence Committee in televised hearings.
Kent and Taylor testified about the irregular shadow diplomatic efforts led by Rudy Giuliani and associates to advance President Donald Trump's desire for a Ukraine-announced investigation into Joe Biden. Taylor said that he was told that the president was more concerned with securing such an investigation than in actual anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine. He also discussed a cellphone conversation between Trump and Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland that one of his staffers overheard, in which the president mentioned "investigations." (The next day, Thursday, the AP reported that a second embassy staffer had also overheard the conversation.)
Yovanovitch's testimony centered on the Giuliani-led smear campaign against her that brought about her recall in May, and on the State Department's failure to support or protect her against those efforts. American Oversight has multiple lawsuits for records related to the Trump administration's contacts with Ukraine, and our lawsuit against the State Department involves documents related to Yovanovitch's recall and State Department communications with Giuliani and his allies.
The defense strategy adopted by Trump allies and House Republicans relied significantly on pointing out that the witnesses had not communicated directly with the president about the push for a politically motivated investigation. Of course, such a defense conveniently ignores a key point: that the administration has refused to comply with many of the subpoena requests, and the State Department has refused to turn over documents requested by Congress.
But next week comes the court-ordered deadline for the State Department to turn over multiple categories of documents that American Oversight is suing for, including directives ordering Yovanovitch's recall. The paper trail will soon start to unfold.
As the impeachment investigation continues to heat up, here's what else American Oversight has been working on this week:
Stephen Miller's Far-Right Influence: According to emails uncovered by the Southern Poverty Law Center, White House Senior Adviser Stephen Miller promoted white nationalism and extremist ideas through the conservative website Breitbart in the lead-up to the 2016 election. Multiple members of Congress have called upon Miller to resign, and the report shines another light on the ultra-conservative anti-immigration views of one of the president's longest-serving advisers. American Oversight has been investigating Miller's influence across the administration, and this week filed more than a dozen new FOIA requests for his communications at multiple agencies.
Roy Bailey: American Oversight has obtained Energy Department calendars that show numerous meetings with Roy Bailey, a business partner of Rudy Giuliani and Republican donor who has lobbied the department on natural gas issues. Given Perry's attempts this past spring to add multiple U.S. board members to the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz at the same time that Giuliani allies tried to do the same, we want to know more about Bailey's communications with the Energy Department.
CEQ Communications: The former associate director for regulatory reform at the Council on Environmental Quality, Mario Loyola, recently joined the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a right-wing nonprofit that lists "energy and environment" as an area of focus. We filed FOIA requests to learn whether and to what extent Loyola was communicating with the institute or other similar organizations during his time at CEQ.
Barring Immigrants Who Can't Afford Health Care: Last month, Trump announced that certain immigrants would no longer be allowed to enter the country unless they had "the financial resources to pay for reasonably foreseeable medical costs." The announcement drew widespread criticism, not to mention questions about how such a policy would be implemented or even whether it would be legal. We're asking for records from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that could shed light on whether officials were working with outside groups, including insurance organizations, that would likely be involved in executing the proclamation.
Pompeo's Kansas Jaunts: In an expansion of our investigation into how Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's political ambitions extend beyond the Trump administration, we filed a new FOIA request for information about four recent trips he took to his home state of Kansas in the past year. Three of those were "official" taxpayer-funded trips ostensibly taken for agency business, but reports indicate that on at least one of those trips Pompeo met with political activists to discuss the upcoming Senate race. We want to know how taxpayer dollars were spent, and whether they were devoted to serving the secretary's personal interests.
Shulkin's Emails: On Friday, a federal judge declined to grant the government's motion to dismiss American Oversight's lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs for failing to recover former Secretary David Shulkin's official emails from personal accounts. You can read more here.
New Lawsuit: American Oversight filed a lawsuit this week against the Department of Homeland Security for failing to release documents — including calendars, emails, and text messages — that may shed light on the recent work of Ken Cuccinelli, who was just named the acting deputy secretary of homeland security.
"These are getting very personal": Remember "Sharpiegate," when Trump apparently doctored a weather map to show Alabama being in the path of Hurricane Dorian? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association released emails recently that show just how unavoidable that whole "controversy" was.
State Accountability Project Update
Georgia: Georgia officials announced a planned purge of 300,000 names from the state's voter rolls late last month, alarming voting-rights advocates. We filed a public records request for communications about the planned removal, and records that could show steps taken to make sure the state is accurate. We also filed a request for communications between the secretary of state's office and representatives of Dominion Voting Systems after voters encountered difficulties at the polls in the recent Nov. 5 election, and sent a number of requests to various counties for records related to any voting machine errors last week.
Florida: We filed public records requests with three offices within the Florida House of Representatives — those of Reps. Thad Altman, Mike La Rosa and Jason Fischer — for communications about federal or state redistricting or with key Republican strategists.
Texas: A new report found that Texas has closed more polling places than any state since the 2013 Supreme Court decision that gutted the Voting Rights Act's preclearance provision. We filed records requests with three of the largest urban counties in Texas — Harris, Dallas and Travis — for communications related to closures of polling places.
The Trump Administration's Contacts with Ukraine
Mike Pompeo's Political Ambitions and Influences
Trump's Political Appointees
Threats to Democracy in the States
National Security & Foreign Policy
Areas of Investigation
Ethics & Conflicts
Influence & Access
Political Appointees
Bartow County - Georgia
Carroll County - Georgia
Council on Environmental Quality
Dallas County - Texas
Decatur County - Georgia
Florida House of Representatives
Georgia Secretary of State
Harris County - Texas
Lowndes County - Georgia
Paulding County - Georgia
Travis County - Texas
CEQ-19-1440
COMM-19-1181
COMM-CB-19-1406
COMM-NOAA-19-1182
DHS-CBP-19-1416
DHS-ICE-19-1415
DHS-USCIS-19-1417
DOJ-BOP-19-1410
DOJ-CRT-19-1409
DOJ-OIP-19-1408
DOL-19-1411
FL-HOR-19-1435
GA-BARTOW-19-1428
GA-CARROLL-19-1429
GA-DECATUR-19-1430
GA-LOWNDES-19-1431
GA-PAULDING-19-1432
GA-SOS-19-1438
HHS-CMS-19-1421
OMB-19-1419
STATE-19-1423
TREAS-IRS-19-1420
TX-DALLAS-19-1425
TX-HARRIS-19-1426
TX-TRAVIS-19-1427
All Investigation Update News
Updated Timeline: Messages About Yovanovitch Surveillance Happened Same Week as Giuliani-Pompeo Calls
Investigation Update
Energy Department Agrees to Release Ukraine Documents This Month
State Department's Release of Volker Calendars and Text Messages Raises Further Questions
News Roundup: Presidential War Powers and New Impeachment Documents
Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of State, Department of the Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, Florida Department of Corrections, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Department of State, Florida Office of the Governor, Hernando County - Florida, Nassau County - Florida, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Okaloosa County - Florida, Seminole County - Florida
In the Documents: Investigating the Trump Administration's Legal Analyses for Potential Use of Force Against Iran
State Department Releases Additional Ukraine Documents to American Oversight
Did the Trump Administration Abuse the Redactions Process?
Department of Defense, Office of Management and Budget
In the Documents: Stephen Miller's Emails with Top ICE Official
In the Documents: New Information on Scott Pruitt's Fleet of Luxury SUVs
American Oversight's 2019 in Review: Nine Important Stories We Uncovered
American Oversight's Investigation into the Restoration of Voting Rights in Florida
Broward County - Florida, Collier County - Florida, Duval County - Florida, Florida Department of State, Florida House of Representatives, Florida Office of the Attorney General, Florida Office of the Governor, Florida Senate, Gadsden County - Florida, Hardee County - Florida, Hendry County - Florida, Hillsborough County - Florida, Leon County - Florida, Miami-Dade County - Florida, Monroe County - Florida, Palm Beach County - Florida, Taylor County - Florida, Washington County - Florida
An Update on Our Investigation into Georgia's Election System and Voter-Roll Purges
Bartow County - Georgia, Carroll County - Georgia, Catoosa County - Georgia, Clayton County - Georgia, Cobb County - Georgia, Decatur County - Georgia, DeKalb County - Georgia, Dougherty County - Georgia, Fulton County - Georgia, Georgia Department of Driver Services, Georgia Office of the Governor, Georgia Secretary of State, Gwinnett County - Georgia, Hancock County - Georgia, Jefferson County - Georgia, Lowndes County - Georgia, Macon-Bibb County - Georgia, Paulding County - Georgia, Randolph County - Georgia, Rockdale County - Georgia
Texas Officials' Communications with 'Voter Fraud' Activists
Cameron County - Texas, Dallas County - Texas, Harris County - Texas, Hidalgo County - Texas, Starr County - Texas, Tarrant County - Texas, Texas Attorney General, Texas House of Representatives, Texas Office of the Governor, Texas Secretary of State, Texas Senate, Travis County - Texas, Zavala County - Texas
Defense Department Ukraine Documents Released to American Oversight
News Roundup: Beyond Impeachment — The Investigations Continue
Administration for Children and Families, Congress, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Government Accountability Office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Management and Budget
Why Trump Has Met the Standard for Obstruction of Congress
Congress, Department of Defense, Department of State
News Roundup: Stephen Miller's Extremist Network
Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Carroll County - Georgia, Congress, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of the Interior, Department of the Treasury, Environmental Protection Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Office of Management and Budget, Texas Attorney General
American Oversight Sues for Treasury Communications About Russian Investment in Kentucky Plant
Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control
Lawsuit over Administration's Unlawful Seizure of Trump-Putin Meeting Notes Moves Forward
Department of State, National Archives and Records Administration
News Roundup: Impeachment Report, Border Wall Contracts, and Pompeo's Meeting with GOP Donors
Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State
House Committee Impeachment Report References State Department Documents Obtained by American Oversight
News Roundup: Thankful for FOIA
Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Kentucky Office of the Governor
Behind the Scenes: How American Oversight Forced the Release of State Department Ukraine Records
Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of the Treasury, Office of Management and Budget
American Oversight Sues Justice Department for Ukraine-Related Communications
State Department Releases Ukraine Documents to American Oversight
News Roundup: Fiona Hill's Warnings, Nikki Haley's Emails, and Matt Bevin's Stay at Trump's Hotel
Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Kentucky Office of the Governor
Nikki Haley Sent Classified Emails on an Unclassified Email System
Sondland's Testimony Highlights State Department Obstruction
Department of Energy, Department of State
Former DOJ Civil Rights Official Acknowledges He Made Incorrect Statement in Sworn Declaration
How 'Sharpiegate' Turned a Simple Misunderstanding into a Media Frenzy — and Headache for NOAA Employees
Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
American Oversight Sues DHS for Cuccinelli Records
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security
News Roundup: Ukraine-Related Documents, Hurdles for Asylum-Seekers, and Chad Wolf's Involvement in Family Separation
Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Florida Office of the Governor, Office of Information Policy, Office of Legal Counsel, Office of Management and Budget
What We Learned from the Yovanovitch and McKinley Transcripts
Congress, Department of State
News Roundup: Impeachment Votes and Sonny Perdue's Georgia Connections
Department of Agriculture, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of the Interior, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, National Park Service
In the Documents: Interior Department Officials Arranging VIP Tours for Trump Administration Figures and Allies
Department of the Interior, National Park Service
State Department Agrees to Produce Ukraine Records to American Oversight by November 22
News Roundup: Court Chips Away at Trump Administration Obstruction
Research Tool: Ukraine-Trump Key Figures and Documents
Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, Department of State, Department of the Treasury
Federal Judge Says He Will Order State Department to Begin Turning Over Requested Ukraine Documents
New Lawsuit Seeks Perry and Brouillette Ukraine Documents and Communications about Biden Investigation Effort
News Roundup: Corruption, Plain and Simple
Customs and Border Protection, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State
Court Calls for Hearing on Emergency Motion for Ukraine Documents
News Roundup: Impeachment, Obstruction, and More Questions about Rick Perry
Administration for Children and Families, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security
Early Trump Administration — and McAleenan — Communications About Immigration Policy
Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security
News Roundup: The Public Needs Answers
Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of State
Former Top Civil Rights Official John Gore Made Misleading Statements in Declaration to Federal Court
Pompeo's Obstructionism Won't Work
Pompeo's Letter Is the Trump Administration's Opening Salvo of Obstruction
We're Suing the State Department for Giuliani-Ukraine Documents
News Roundup: From the Top Down
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Collier County - Florida, Council on Environmental Quality, Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of the Interior, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Management and Budget
Using FOIA to Fight Trump Administration Obstruction
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Department of the Interior
Release of Trump–Zelensky Call Readout Raises Questions About Justice Department Involvement
Agency for International Development, Department of Defense, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of the Treasury
News Roundup: Trump, Giuliani, and Ukraine
Administration for Children and Families, Agency for International Development, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of the Treasury, Department of Transportation, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Reserve, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, National Institutes of Health, Starr County - Texas, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Texas Attorney General, Texas Secretary of State, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
In the Documents: Texas Elections Officials' Close Ties to 'Voter Fraud' Activists
Starr County - Texas, Texas Attorney General, Texas Secretary of State
News Roundup: Photos of Detention Centers for Migrant Children; Stephen Miller's Hand in Immigration Policy
Administration for Children and Families, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Georgia Office of the Governor, Georgia Secretary of State, HHS Office of Inspector General, Small Business Administration
New Lawsuit Seeks State Department Records of Jared Kushner's Middle East Trips
Photos from Inside Detention Centers for Migrant Children
Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Office of Inspector General
News Roundup: Remain in Mexico's Harmful Effects and Trump's Dangerous Impatience
Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Florida House of Representatives, Florida Senate, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Geological Survey
News Roundup: Investigating the Fallout from Spring's DHS Shakeup
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of the Interior, Department of the Treasury, Department of Transportation, Florida Office of the Governor, General Services Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Tennessee Valley Authority
The Department of Homeland Security Doesn't Know Where Trump Got Those Immigration Numbers, Either
Lawsuit Seeks Records of Trump Family Influence over Minnesota Mining Project
Bureau of Land Management, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, United States Forest Service
Lawsuit Seeks Records to Shed Light on Deaths of Detainees in DHS Custody
Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Documents Reveal New Information About 2017 CBP Media Efforts
News Roundup: Investigating Outside Influence and Political Appointments at the State Department
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Small Business Administration
News Roundup: Congressional Hearing Shows and No-Shows
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Taylor County - Florida
American Oversight and ACLU of Massachusetts Sue DHS for Border Security Plan
News Roundup: The Mueller Investigation Is Over, But the Swamp Is Thriving
The Corruption Continues: Mueller Has Finished His Work. American Oversight Has Not.
Two Years of American Oversight
Investigating the Trump Administration's Efforts to Sell Nuclear Technology to Saudi Arabia
Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of State, Department of the Treasury, International Trade Administration, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
News Roundup: Citizenship, the Census and the Constitution
Department of Commerce, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice
News Roundup: More Troops at the Border Means More Questions for the Administration
Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security
News Roundup: Two Troubling Inspector General Reports
Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, General Services Administration
News Roundup: The Administration's Misleading Claims About Terrorists at the Southern Border
Investigating the Acting Defense Secretary's Ties to Boeing
Countdown to Oversight in 2019
Audit the Wall: No Plans, Funding or Timeline — And No Wall
Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State
American Oversight Sues Administration for Records of Family-Separation Policy
Administration for Children and Families, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, HHS Office of Inspector General, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Lawsuit Seeks Scott Pruitt and Nino Perrotta Travel and Security Spending Records
New: EPA Documents Show Details of Pruitt Office Renovations
Sunshine Week Blog: FOIAs Will Continue Until Accountability Improves
New Lawsuit Seeks DHS Border Wall Emails with White House, Fox News, Border States
Update: EPA IG Refuses to Investigate Controversial Contract
Trump Transition GSA Emails and Memorandum of Understanding
American Oversight and Environmental Working Group Seek Answers about Dourson's Work at EPA
American Oversight and EWG Seek Records of Industry Influence at Department of Energy
American Oversight Sues State Department for Records Showing Efforts to Compel Mexico to Pay for Border Wall
5 Questions for Attorney General Sessions
Lawsuit Seeks Records of Lolita Zinke's Travel, Role at Department of the Interior
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's Calendars Show Deep Industry Connections
"Serious, Likely Irreparable" Damage from Border Wall
Investigating EPA's Attacks on a Journalist
DOJ Confirms Trump Lied in "Wiretap" Tweets
Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Watchdog Groups Launch Joint Investigation into EPA Oversight of Toxic Substances Control Act
Statement on EPA IG Investigation of Pruitt Travel
American Oversight Obtains Attorney General Sessions SF-86 Signature Page
Statement on Waiver of Environmental Regulations for Border Wall
Call for OSC Investigation of Pruitt Travel to Oklahoma
American Oversight Calls for Resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions
DOJ Releases Redacted Page of Sessions's SF-86 to American Oversight
American Oversight Sues EPA to Release Pruitt's Calendars and Communications with Carl Icahn
American Oversight and Environmental Working Group Challenge EPA Over Failure to Release Pesticide Records
Watchdog Group Files Lawsuit on Trump Border Wall
Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Interior, Office of Management and Budget
After American Oversight Lawsuit, DOJ Confirms that Sessions Lied about Russian Contacts
American Oversight Demands Release of Comey-Trump Memos
Letter to Burr and Warner: Senate Should Request Trump-Comey Tapes
Statement on the Firing of FBI Director Comey
Ethics Watchdog Calls for IG Investigation of Sessions for Violating Recusal
American Oversight Sues DOJ for Release of Trump Tower Wiretap Records, Russia Investigation Documents
Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, White House
American Oversight and Environmental Working Group Demand Release of Pruitt Communications with Pesticide Industry
10 Questions about the Border Wall that Deserve Big, Beautiful Answers
Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Interior
Statement on Trump Administration Proposal to Build Border Wall South of Rio Grande
American Oversight Launches Investigation of President Trump's Border Wall
Statement on Intelligence Committee Chairman Nunes' Actions
American Oversight Calls on Congress to Investigate Trump Aide's Reported Ties to Nazi Group
Office of Government Ethics, White House


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Depending on the nature of your event, you will be asked to provide deposits, etc., to the event planner and the event venues/services they offer. This is a perfectly acceptable way of handling business, but the best advice at this point is to seek professional advice and never sign a contract that hasn't been reviewed by your own legal counsel — especially when dealing with private individuals who may not have the same resources of a large firm.
So, we decided to take it forward, with an elegant payment milestone system.
The event planner should mention how much it will cost the service provided, and the date of the payment deadline.
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Most bad stories that happen related to event planning, usually a result of lack of follow through. Event planning requires the effective coordination of logistics and deferring these to a third party person sometimes results in a level of confidence or trust that should never have been given.
Youcanevent team is always by your side, from day 1.
Also every event organized on Youcanevent.com haves an event supervisor to ensure that everything works.
The logistics, operations, are handled by these supervisors on sight.
15. Be ready to fire — or rehire — an event planner.
If everything goes as planned, you'll have a successful event and an excellent resource for the future. But if the planning process doesn't run smoothly for the services agreed to in writing, then it's important to review whether the project is a good fit with the planner.
While it's reasonable to be patient and work through logistics and any potential misunderstandings along the way, if you're not receiving the services you want then you should be ready to have some serious discussions. If you must, be ready to fire a bad planner and have a backup option at all times.
The monthly subscription e-Planner gives you the flexibility of replacing an event planner if you're not satisfied after the first event.
Instead of creating the typical heavy commitment, our subscription allow you to do a free trial 1st event to understand if the planner is what you're looking for, and a replacement any time, that you don't feel confidant or happy about the services provided.
Now you have a better idea of how, why and what you should hire an event planner.
If you have any question don't hesitate in reaching out to us at +1 628 227 4334 or events@35.236.40.123.
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