Powerful Democrat Tony Podesta earned $1 million during the last half of 2021 for lobbying the Biden White House on behalf of restricted Chinese tech giant Huawei, according to financial disclosures.
Podesta began working for Huawei in August 2021, The New York Post reports. His Quarter 3 disclosure for 2021 shows that he made $500,000 lobbying the “Executive Office of the President.” He made $500,000 during Quarter 4 lobbying the “White House Office,” according to his disclosure filed Thursday. Both forms stated that he specifically lobbied on “issues related to telecommunication services and impacted trade issues.”
The Trump administration identified Huawei as a national security threat, and President Donald Trump issued regulations to prevent the sale of American products to Huawei.
In November 2021, restrictions on Huawei were tightened further after President Joe Biden signed legislation to stop new telecommunications equipment licenses from being issued to companies deemed to be security threats.
Documents released by The Washington Post the following month show that Huawei is connected to China’s mass surveillance program.
The filings show that Huawei spent $3.59 million in 2021 on lobbying.
Podesta’s brother is Democratic political consultant John Podesta, who served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, counselor to President Barack Obama and chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. He is currently president of the liberal think tank the Center for American Progress.
