Three Republican power players walk into a D.C. bar, and ...
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It sounds like the start of an only-in-D.C. joke:
- Three Republican power players walk into a bar for a freewheeling conversation. They unwittingly sit next to a liberal comic. She then skewers them in an Instagram post recounting their chat.
Why it matters: It became no laughing matter for one of the Republicans —oilman Harry Sargeant — who's trying to improve his uneasy relations with the Trump administration, partly related to his business dealings in Venezuela.
- His rapprochement efforts were complicated last month when senior administration officials became aware of the comic's social media post, in which she alleged that Sargeant spoke negatively about President Trump.
The big picture: The story illustrates the panopticon of modern society and, especially, the nation's capital. Everyone is watched and being watched. And the White House takes notes on who's naughty and nice to Trump.
Zoom in: The episode unfolded Aug. 18 in the Bourbon Lounge of the Four Seasons hotel in D.C., where comic Suzanne Lambert was working on jokes for an upcoming set, she said in a post to her 495,000 Instagram followers that had 2 million views before she took it down.
- In the video, Lambert said she coincidentally wound up sitting next to Sargeant and noted a vibe shift when two other men walked in: Pete Marocco and Gentry Beach.
- Marocco was described by Fox News as the "mastermind" who helped dismantle USAID early in the second Trump administration. Politico subsequently reported he had tensions with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
- Beach was the subject of a Wall Street Journal profile last year about how the lobbyist name-drops his longtime friend and presidential son Donald Trump Jr., in international business affairs, including one involving a Russian oil deal.
Inside the room: Lambert said her in post that she was just "minding my business" but started to pay more attention when the men at the bar began "spouting off about Trump. I hear Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump."
- At one point, Lambert's post attributed comments to Sargeant that allegedly disparaged Trump and Republicans' midterm chances. Sargeant, through his attorneys, vigorously disputes that.
Behind the scenes: Lambert's video quickly went viral, prompting Sargeant's attorneys to send her a cease and desist letter.
- Lambert took the post down but by then, the post had circulated among Trump advisers. Rubio was made aware of it, a source said.
- "Harry's got some problems, and what the White House saw didn't help," an administration source said of Sargeant.
What they're saying: "Mr. Sargeant denies categorically the false statements attributed to him by a self-proclaimed liberal content creator and, as a patriot who served his country well as a Marine fighter pilot, supports fully President Trump's vision, leadership and tireless efforts to place America first," his attorney, Jason Wright, said in a written statement.
- Beach and Marocco declined to comment through Wright. A Lambert spokesperson didn't return emails.
The intrigue: Sargeant first developed a challenging relationship with Rubio back in Florida, beginning in 2010.
- At the time, Rubio successfully ran for U.S. Senate against former Gov. Charlie Crist. Sargeant's is a friend and former Florida State University fraternity brother of Crist's who helped finance the ex-governor's campaign.
- Sargeant's oil business dealings with former Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, whom Rubio loathes, did little to improve their relations through the years.
After Trump returned to the presidency last year, Rubio was appointed secretary of state and pushed for regime change in Caracas. Sargeant's ally, Trump special envoy Richard Grenell, was initially opposed. Rubio won out. U.S. forces seized Maduro in a raid on Jan. 3.
- A month later, after a Wall Street Journal article about Sargeant's involvement in Venezuela after Maduro was gone, Trump singled him out in a Truth Social post that said Sargeant "has no authority, in any way, shape, or form, to act on behalf of the United States of America, nor does anyone else that is not approved by the State Department."
- On Aug. 7, the Treasury Department sanctioned one of Sargeant's companies and froze its assets. He had divested its interests, for $300 million, to North American Blue Energy Partners, called NABEP.
- 11 days later, Sargeant wound up at the Four Seasons bar with Marocco and Beach (and Lambert).
- Nine days after that, NABEP became the vehicle for Trump's mammoth Venezuelan oil deal, which Axios first reported on Aug. 27.
Zoom out: Trumpworld insiders say Sargeant's ordeal is a cautionary tale to stay on the good side of the administration.
- "I don't like Harry, but he got knifed," said one Trump adviser. "They kick him out of Venezuela. They sanction his company. They take him out of this other deal. And some people want him investigated."
- A former business associate of Sargeant's pointed out that he financially supported Trump's campaign in 2020 and, at the time, even played a role in helping Trump push to have Ukraine investigate Joe Biden,
- "Harry wasn't disloyal to Trump," the associate said. "He's an oil guy. He wants to do oil deals. And he should've just gone with Team Rubio from the start."
