The Podesta Group, a top-tier D.C. lobbying firm, has reached out to the Justice Department regarding allegations of impropriety.
The claim is that the Podesta Group lobbied for the Centre for a Modern Ukraine, a pro-Russian organization that once employed former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.
Podesta Group is the brain child of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta. While he allegedly hasn’t participated in the firm’s lobbying efforts for years now, his brother Tony Podesta is acting chairman.
Tony Podesta receives $140,000 a month from the Saudi government, as The Daily Caller previously reported. According to a government filing, Tony Podesta personally manages the Saudi account for the firm. He is also a top contributor to the Clinton campaign and is responsible for bringing in big donors for Hillary.
The group announced Aug. 19 that it retained counsel in efforts to decipher whether or not the firm lobbied for the pro-Russian organization, according to Politico.
Podesta Group’s CEO, Kimberley Fritts, said that “our outside counsel simply informed the [Foreign Agents Registration Unit] that they had been hired to conduct a review into whether we were misled by the Centre for a Modern Ukraine – the same information the firm already publicly announced two weeks ago.”
The Podesta Group managed a second Russian account, i.e. Uranium One, a Russian atomic energy company that secured oil rights in Kazakhstan and the United States through direct collaboration with the Clintons (Related: These Are The Two Companies That Could Land Hillary Clinton In Hot Water). The Russian company funneled tens of millions to the Clinton Foundation and in return received legitimate government benefits.
Uranium One paid the Podesta Group some “$40,000 to lobby the State Department, the Senate, the National Park Service, and the National Security Council,” for mining rights, the Daily Caller reports.
The investigation is ongoing. Experts note the move by the federal government to investigate Podesta Group could open the floodgates for review of other lobbying groups.
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