On the first night of the Olympics, Comcast threw a big party at the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue, a short walk from the U.S. Capitol. About 700 guests, including congressional aides and administration officials, drank chilled vodka, made s'mores over indoor fire pits, and had their photos taken with former Olympic athletes. Comcast-owned NBC's broadcast of the opening ceremonies from Sochi played on a giant screen overhead. David Cohen, Comcast's executive vice president in charge of government affairs-known in Washington as the company's unofficial chief lobbyist-toasted his guests from a balcony. Four nights later, on Feb. 11, Cohen went to the White House as President Obama's guest for a state dinner honoring French President Francois Hollande. On Feb. 25 he attended a fundraiser for Tracy's Kids, a children's cancer charity that Cohen and Comcast sponsor. Senator Patrick Leahy, the powerful Democrat who chairs the Judiciary Committee, was there. So were Democratic Senators Mark Warner, Mark Pryor, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Heidi Heitkamp and Republican Orrin Hatch.
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