Tony Podesta Resigns From Lobbying Group Amid Mueller Probe

As the left and the media ramp up their Manafort-ian mania against Trump, it appears the trail of destruction from special counsel Mueller"s probe has spread to Democratic power-lobbyist Tony Podesta.

As we explained in Aug 2016, Paul Manafort - now under indictment on 12 charges - and his deputy Rick gates previously worked with the Podesta Group, run by Tony Podesta, the brother of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

...emails obtained by the Associated Press showed that Gates personally directed two Washington lobbying firms, Mercury LLC and the Podesta Group, between 2012 and 2014 to set up meetings between a top Ukrainian official and senators and congressmen on influential committees involving Ukrainian interests. Gates noted in the emails that the official, Ukraine"s foreign minister, did not want to use his own embassy in the United States to help coordinate the visits.

 

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And this is where the plot thickens, because while the bulk of the press has so far spun the entire Ukraine lobbying scandal, which led to Manafort"s resignation, as the latest "proof" that pro-Moscow powers were influencing not only Manafort but the Trump campaign in general (who some democrats have even painted of being a Putin agent), the reality is that a firm closely tied with the Democratic party, the Podesta Group, is just as implicated.

 

As AP further adds, the European Center for a Modern Ukraine, a Brussels-linked nonprofit entity which allegely ran the lobbying project, paid Mercury and the Podesta Group a combined $2.2 million over roughly two years. In papers filed in the U.S. Senate, Mercury and the Podesta Group listed the European nonprofit as an independent, nonpolitical client. The firms said the center stated in writing that it was not aligned with any foreign political entity.

And now, just hours after Manafort and Gates handed themselves over to the feds, Politico reports, the founder of the Podesta Group, is stepping down from the lobbying shop that bears his name after coming under investigation by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.

Perhaps Podesta knows what is likely to happen next. Podesta announced his decision during a firm-wide meeting Monday morning and is alerting clients of his impending departure.

“[Tony] was very magnanimous and said, “This is an amazing group of people,” a source said of Podesta’s remarks.

 

Podesta also told staff he “doesn’t intend to go quietly, or learn how to play golf.” He said he “needs to fight this as an individual, but doesn’t want the firm to fight it.”

 

Fritts also addressed the gathering, telling staff that she is “thrilled at this opportunity” and that, “This is not about me, this is about y’all.”

 

Several other senior staff spoke about their excitement about the future of the firm. The meeting ended with a standing ovation for Podesta.

One thing is clear, both sides of the swamp should probably control themselves in any premature celebrations as this appears to be far from over.

Here"s one reason why we suspect more than a few on the left are now concerned...

Podesta Group Subpoenaed By Special Counsel Mueller In Russia Probe

Just over a year ago we wrote about Paul Manafort resigning from the Trump campaign amid outrage over his consulting firm"s ties to a lobbying campaign designed to sway American public opinion in favor of the Ukraine"s pro-Russsian government (see: FBI Probes Firm Belonging To Brother Of Clinton Campaign Chair For Ukraine Corruption Ties). 

The top political news on Friday was the unexpected resignation of Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, which was the result of emerging revelations that his political consulting firm, DMP International, had orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation in the period 2012-2014 on behalf of Ukraine"s then ruling political party, attempting to sway American public opinion in favor of the country"s pro-Russian government (which was overthrown in a CIA-orchestrated coup in early 2014).

As the AP reported yesterday, the lobbying included attempts to gain positive press coverage of Ukrainian officials in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. Another goal: undercutting American public sympathy for the imprisoned rival of Ukraine"s then-president. At the time, European and American leaders were pressuring Ukraine to free her. Furthermore, under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (or FARA), US entities who lobby on behalf of foreign political leaders or political parties must provide detailed reports about their actions to the Justice Department.

Now, fast forward one year and it seems as though an honest attempt to destroy Trump"s campaign may ensnare another rather unlikely victim, namely The Podesta Group.  As our readers are undoubtedly aware by now, The Podesta Group (PG) was co-founded by Hillary Clinton"s former campaign chairman, John Podesta, and is still run by his brother, Tony Podesta.  Now, according The Daily Caller, PG, one of six lobbying firms that worked on Manafort’s campaign to get Ukraine into the European Union between 2012 to 2014, finds itself directly in the crosshairs of Special Counsel Mueller"s Russia probe.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller issued subpoenas seeking testimony from executives who worked on a campaign organized by Paul Manafort – including the Podesta Group — an NBC exclusive report published Friday revealed.

An executive, whose firm received a subpoena, said Mueller’s team is particularly interested in taking a close look at the lobbying campaign that included the Podesta Group.

“We think they are trying to figure out, was this a legitimate project?” the executive told NBC News. “From our perspective it was — we did a lot of work. We took it seriously.”

The unnamed executive told NBC News that six firms participated in the campaign that Manafort coordinated, which was paid for by the European Center for a Modern Ukraine, a non-profit based in Brussels.

The report states that two groups, the Podesta Group and Mercury LLC, worked in Washington with Manafort’s partner Rick Gates, according to lobbying disclosure records.

All of which puts the deep state and MSM in a rather conflicted position since it"s looks increasingly likely that their efforts to expose the Trump administration could turn the spotlight back on their favorite failed candidate and her allies.

Meanwhile, Special Counsel Mueller"s interest in PG comes just as the Washington Examiner noted that the firm belatedly filed numerous new disclosures regarding their "pro-Russia" work.

The Podesta Group belatedly filed multiple new disclosures with the Department of Justice (DOJ) related to their work in the Ukraine during Manafort’s campaign, the Washington Examiner reported on Thursday.

The recent August 17 filings by the Podesta Group include registration statements for six Podesta Group employees and a list of political contributions made by “relevant employees” throughout 2013.

The Podesta Group’s most recent belated filing with the DOJ on August 17 came just one day after Politico reported that a “Ukrainian member of parliament requested a criminal investigation into possible meddling by his country’s government into last year’s U.S. presidential elections.”

What is that saying about people who live in glass houses?