Tony Podesta
Tony Podesta | |
|---|---|
 Podesta in 2009 | |
| Born | October 24, 1943 |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois at Chicago (BA 1967) MIT (MA, political science) Georgetown University Law Center (JD) |
| Occupation | Lobbyist |
| Known for | Co-founded the Podesta Group |
| Spouse | Heather Podesta (former) |
| Website | Tony Podesta bio at the Podesta Group website |
Anthony T. Podesta (born October 24, 1943), commonly known as Tony Podesta, is an American lobbyist best known for founding the Podesta Group.[1] Podesta has lobbied for a variety of groups, including Bank of America, BP,[1] and Egypt[2] in addition to political campaigns such as Ted Kennedy, George McGovern, Michael Dukakis, and Bill Clinton. More recently, he has worked for Pennsylvania Democratic representatives Joe Sestak, Chris Carney, and Patrick Murphy, and chaired former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's reelection campaign.[3] He has repeatedly been named one of Washington's most powerful lobbyists and fundraisers.[4][5][6] Podesta and the Podesta Group are reportedly under federal investigation regarding compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act for their work for a Ukrainian group tied to the pro-Russian former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych beginning in 2012.[7][8]
Life and early career
Podesta was born in Chicago, where he was raised, with his Greek-American mother Mary, first-generation Italian immigrant father John Sr., and his brother John Podesta Jr. He studied political science both in college, at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and in graduate school at MIT. While studying at MIT in 1968, Podesta left school to work on the presidential campaign of Senator Eugene McCarthy, for whom he did field work and ran the scheduling advance operation in California and other states.[9] After McCarthy lost the Democratic nomination to Hubert Humphrey, Podesta organized students on behalf of the Humphrey-Muskie campaign.[9]
McCarthy was the first of several losing Democratic politicians that Podesta campaigned for. Others included Joe Duffy for the Senate in Connecticut in 1970, Ed Muskie and then George McGovern for president in 1972, Ted Kennedy in 1980, Walter Mondale's presidential campaign in 1984, and Michael Dukakis in 1988, the same year the Podesta brothers founded their lobbying firm.[10]
In 1981, Tony Podesta became a founding president of People for the American Way, a liberal group started by television producer Norman Lear. He led the group until 1987.
Investigation
In 1988 Tony and John Podesta founded Podesta Associates, which became PodestaMattoon when Republican Daniel Mattoon joined the team in 2001. The name was again changed to the Podesta Group when Mattoon left in 2006.[11]
In 2017, Tony Podesta came under scrutiny for failing to disclose the extent of his political work for a Ukrainian group tied to both adviser Paul Manafort and to the pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2012. In April 2017, the Podesta Group retroactively filed new lobbying reports with the Justice Department that revealed more about its work for the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECMU), a center founded by three senior members of the pro-Russia Party of Regions.[12][13] On October 23, 2017, Podesta was reportedly facing criminal inquiry in Robert Mueller's investigation regarding this lobbying campaign which ran between 2012 and 2014.[14][15] On October 30, 2017, Tony Podesta announced that he would leave the Podesta Group.[16]
References
- ^ a b "Lobbyist Says It's Not About Influence". The New York Times. July 1, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
- ^ "Who's doing Mubarak's bidding in Washington?". Salon.com. January 28, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
- ^ Sara Miles (Dec 1999). "Do YOU Know Tony Podesta?". Wired.
- ^ "Hired Guns: The City's 50 Top Lobbyists". The Washingtonian. 1 June 2007. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007.
- ^ "The Uber Lobbyists of Washington". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2009.
- ^ "Top Lobbyists: Hired Guns". The Hill. 2011.
- ^ "Mueller now investigating Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ Sheth, Sonam (2017-11-12). "A top Democratic lobbying firm caught up in Mueller's Russia probe is on the verge of shutting down". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b Don Nicoll (Sep 2002). "Interview with Anthony "Tony" Podesta" (PDF). Bates College.
- ^ Rachel Van Dongen (Nov 2009). "Profile – Tony Podesta". Washington Post.
- ^ Sarasohn, Judy (2 November 2006). "PodestaMattoon By Any Other Name..." Washington Post.
- ^ Investigates, Thomas Frank, CNN. "Podesta lobby group did not disclose extent of work for Ukrainian campaign advised by Paul Manafort". CNN. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
{{cite news}}:|first=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Podesta Group files new disclosures in Manafort-linked Ukraine lobbying". POLITICO. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ "Robert Mueller's probe is now looking into a Democratic lobbyist". Newsweek. 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ "Mueller now investigating Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
- ^ Palmer, Anna. "Tony Podesta stepping down from lobbying giant amid Mueller probe". Politico. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
External lists
