Russia Scandal Befalls Two Brothers: John and Tony Podesta
By KENNETH P. VOGELNOV. 10, 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/us/politics/john-tony-podesta-mueller-russia-investigation.html
WASHINGTON — One is a rail-thin liberal idealist who spent his career in government, on campaigns and at think tanks. The other is an overweight pragmatist who made a fortune lobbying for all manner of liberal boogeymen.
And now, in a twist with Shakespearean undertones, the two influential Washington brothers have found themselves on opposite sides of the scandals over Russian interference in the 2016 election.
John D. Podesta, perhaps more than anyone except Hillary Clinton, was a victim of the Russian cyberassault on allies of her presidential campaign, of which he was the chairman. Emails stolen from his personal Gmail account were dribbled out by WikiLeaks last fall, revealing the embarrassing rifts roiling the campaign and Washington’s Democratic establishment. He has pushed hard for an aggressive investigation of Russia’s role in the election.
Last week’s indictment did not name the Podesta Group or another firm with which it worked on the Ukraine account, Mercury Public Affairs. Instead, the indictment referred to them as “two Washington, D.C., firms” that were recruited by Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates.
While both firms disclosed the work to Congress under less-rigorous domestic lobbying rules, they did not initially register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges that was done intentionally — by routing the money through a Brussels-based nonprofit — “to minimize public disclosure of their lobbying campaign” that “was under the ultimate direction” of Mr. Yanukovych, his party and his government.
Which of course was obfuscation due to his known extremely close ties to HILLARY CLINTON and her influence in the State Department, The Clinton Foundation, and the upcoming election.
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ASolo ago
While this isn't necessarily a retraction, it is more of a CORRECTION. You are right, my limited understanding of the entirety of the Podesta Groups lobbying contracts are responsible for the confusion and these subpoenas were served on the Podesta Group for work that would "boost Ukraine’s reputation in the United States and increase its chances of joining the European Union" and NOT for their involvement in the Uranium1 issue as stated in the title. Further research into this issue today has helped clear up my misunderstanding.
While "both firms claim that they were unaware of any connection to the Ukrainian government", the Clinton political mechanization's in the Balkan/Kosovo conflicts during their tenure make that lie utterly contemptuous.
I do apologize for any misleading information.
The rise and fall of the Podestas, Washington’s powerful political brother act
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-podestas-washingtons-powerful-political-brother-act/2017/11/10/04bf1f6e-c4a6-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0_story.html?utm_term=.02d34e123c94
"Podesta and the other firm, Mercury Public Affairs, say that they were hired by the European Center for a Modern Ukraine, a nonprofit group based in Brussels, to boost Ukraine’s reputation in the United States and increase its chances of joining the European Union. Both firms claim that they were unaware of any connection to the Ukrainian government. The Podesta Group received $1.1 million between 2012 and 2014 from the organization.
Its representation was originally listed under the Lobbyist Disclosure Act but not the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), as required. A Podesta Group spokeswoman says that following media reports that the ECMU may have been connected to Ukraine’s government, the firm submitted new disclosure forms, after which “the FARA office at DOJ informed the Podesta Group that it was not the subject nor a target of an investigation.”
Legalities aside, the question among lobbyists in Washington is why someone at the top of his game like Tony would have anything to do with Manafort, whom one Republican lobbyist described as a “shady businessman advocating for murderers, thugs and thieves — even if those criminals were heads of states.” Sources close to the Podesta Group claim that Manafort was not involved with the ECMU at the time the firm worked on its behalf.
Tony declined to comment on anything involving the investigation. His company has “fully cooperated” with Mueller’s office and “taken every possible step to provide documentation that confirms compliance with the law,” according to the spokeswoman.
But the news was enough to end Tony’s tenure at his own firm. He resigned just hours after Manfort’s indictment went public."
The real fact of the matter is that the world is catching up very quickly as to how the Podesta's and the Clinton Cartel , Sandler's, Soros ', Rockefeller's, Carnegie's etc etc operate and how they have been working tirelessly to dismantle every vestige of ethical democracy.