The BP lobbyist whose brother has Obama’s ear By: Timothy P. Carney Examiner Columnist 06/14/10 12:04 PM EDT John Podesta of the Center for American Progress is nearly scripting the White House’s BP response, according to Jonathan Weisman at the Wall Street Journal in a blog post picked up by Drudge. But Weisman leaves out a key detail:
Podesta’s brother is a BP lobbyist.
Tony and John Podesta cofounded the Podesta Group, a K Street lobbying firm. Now BP is a client, and Tony is one of the lobbyists on the account, according to the firm’s latest lobbying filings.
Tony and John have worked on the same team before. Last year, Wal-Mart came out big for a federal law mandating that employers insure their employees. In this announcement, Center for American Progress was a partner. And Tony Podesta, at the time, was doing Wal-Mart’s health-care lobbying.
[I wrote on the Podestas' White House access here.]
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/the-bp-lobbyist-whose-brother-has-obamas-ear-96299254.html#ixzz0qqsQL6QG
