contributions for democrats. One of his major clients is BP.
Top Five Lobbyist Bundlers Revealed; Four Worked Exclusively for Democrats
Prolific lobbyist Anthony T. “Tony” Podesta, 65, ranks second on the list with $394,800 in bundled donations. One of GQ’s 2009 “50 Most Powerful People in D.C.”, Podesta is wired into the Democratic establishment — his brother John served as Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff and more recently acted as President Barack Obama’s transition team co-chair while running the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning DC-based think-tank.Tony Podesta personally donated at least $84,750 to Democratic campaigns and committees this cycle alone, including a total of $50,000 donated to the DCCC. Over the same period, he bundled $142,900 for the DCCC and $102,000 to its sister Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). His wife, Heather, is a successful lobbyist in her own right and bundled another $25,000 to the DCCC and $79,750 to the DSCC respectively. Podesta also bundled $78,400 for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and $41,000 for Sen. Patty Murray. His numerous clients cover the gamut of major issues facing Congress, but Podesta has had an especially lucrative year lobbying on health reform — a recent Center investigation revealed Podesta’s firm had the fourth-largest number of clients concerned with the issue. Podesta’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/2048 /
TPM's Tour Of The Oil Spill Flack Universe -- Who's On Damage Control?
Roll Call reported today (sub. req.) that London-based BP has five outside firms and is using social media to push the PR effort. Politico reported today that BP CEO Tony Hayward hosted Gulf Coast reporters for a Q&A session at the firm's Washington office.
Among the best-known BP reps in Washington is Tony Podesta, brother to former Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta. Tony's The Podesta Group lobbies on behalf of BP. We asked their role in the oil spill and they referred all calls back to BP. But we know Podesta has the ear of the White House and of his brother's liberal and influential Center for American Progress.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/oil_spill_damage_control_--_bp_has_wide_net_of_fir.phpNOAA warned the administration not to open up the offshore drilling because the ramifications/dangers were not clear.
"National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration officials last fall warned the Department of Interior, which regulates offshore oil drilling, that it was dramatically underestimating the frequency of offshore oil spills and was dangerously understating the risk and impacts a major spill would have on coastal residents.
NOAA is the nation's lead ocean resource agency, and the warnings came in its response to a draft of the Obama Administration's offshore oil drilling plans. The comments were Web-published in October by the whistle-blowing group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
But NOAA's views were largely brushed aside as Obama went ahead and announced on March 31 that he would open vast swaths of American coastal waters to offshore drilling -- a plan now very much in doubt as a blown-out BP well in the Gulf of Mexico spews out an estimated 200,000 gallons of oil daily, for the 13th straight day."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/03/noaa-warned-interior-was_n_561615.html