The BP lobbyist whose brother has Obama’s ear

The BP lobbyist whose brother has Obama’s ear

Published June 13, 2010 4:00am ET



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.]