John Podesta

John Podesta
Counselor to the President
In office
January 1, 2014 – February 13, 2015
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Pete Rouse
Succeeded by Steve Bannon (Designate, 2017)
20th White House Chief of Staff
In office
October 20, 1998 – January 20, 2001
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Erskine Bowles
Succeeded by Andy Card
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
In office
January 20, 1997 – October 20, 1998
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Evelyn Lieberman
Succeeded by Steve Ricchetti
White House Staff Secretary
In office
January 20, 1993 – June 30, 1995
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Phillip Brady
Succeeded by Todd Stern
Personal details
Born John David Podesta
(1949-01-08) January 8, 1949
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Alma mater Knox College (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)

John David Podesta (born January 8, 1949) is the former chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.[1] He previously served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and Counselor to President Barack Obama.[2]

He is the former president, and now Chair and Counselor, of the Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C., as well as a Visiting Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Additionally, he was a co-chairman of the Obama-Biden Transition Project.[3][4]

Early life

Podesta spent most of his early years in Chicago, where he was born, growing up in the neighborhood of Jefferson Park on the city's Northwest Side.[5] His mother, Mary (née Kokoris), was Greek-American, and his father, John David Podesta, Sr., was Italian-American.[6] Tony Podesta, a lobbyist, is his brother.[7][8] Podesta's father did not graduate from high school, but encouraged Podesta to attend college.[9]

In 1967, Podesta graduated from Lane Tech High School in Chicago. In 1971, he graduated from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where he had served as a volunteer for the presidential candidacy of Eugene McCarthy.[9] He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1976.

Podesta worked as a trial attorney for the Department of Justice's Honors Program in the Land and Natural Resources Division (1976–77), and as a Special Assistant to the Director of ACTION, the Federal volunteer agency (1978–1979). His political career began in 1972, when he worked for George McGovern's presidential campaign, which lost in 49 states.[10]

Career

Podesta held positions on Capitol Hill, including Counselor to Democratic Leader Senator Thomas Daschle (1995–1996); Chief Counsel for the Senate Agriculture Committee (1987–1988); Chief Minority Counsel for the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks; Security and Terrorism; and Regulatory Reform; and Counsel on the Majority Staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee (1979–1981). In 1988, he and his brother Tony co-founded Podesta Associates, Inc., a Washington, D.C., "government relations and public affairs" lobbying firm. Now known as the Podesta Group, the firm "has close ties to the Democratic Party and the Obama administration [and] has been retained by some of the biggest corporations in the country, including Wal-Mart, BP and Lockheed Martin."[11]

The Clinton years

Podesta in 1993

Podesta served as both an Assistant to the President and as Deputy Chief of Staff. Earlier, from January 1993 to 1995, he was Assistant to the President, Staff Secretary and a senior policy adviser on government information, privacy, telecommunications security and regulatory policy. In 1998 he became President Clinton's Chief of Staff in the second Clinton Administration and executed the position until the end of Clinton's time in office in January 2001. Podesta encouraged Executive Order 12958 which led to efforts to declassify millions of pages from the U.S. diplomatic and national security history.[12]

Recent years

Three older, white men in suits and ties stand on a stone balcony, with trees and brick buildings behind them.
Podesta meeting with Bill Clinton and Georgetown University president John J. DeGioia in 2006

In 2003, Podesta founded the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C., and served as its president and CEO until he stepped down in 2011 (CAP chief operating officer Neera Tanden succeeded Podesta as president and CEO, taking over day-to-day operations).[13][14] Podesta remained chairman of the nonexecutive board of directors for a time,[14][14][15] and remains on the board today, although not as chairman.[16]

Podesta has taught at his alma mater, Georgetown University Law Center, many times over the years,[17] teaching classes on congressional investigations, law and technology, legislation, copyright and public-interest law.[17][18] On the Georgetown faculty, Podesta's title is Distinguished Visitor from Practice.[18]

From 2002–14, Podesta served as a member of the Constitution Project's bipartisan Liberty and Security Committee.[19] In 2008, he authored The Power of Progress: How America's Progressives Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate, and Our Country. In 2009, he accompanied former President Bill Clinton to North Korea for negotiations securing the release of two American journalists imprisoned on espionage charges. He can be seen in numerous widely circulated photographs of Clinton meeting with Kim Jong-il.[20]

Podesta opposes the excessive use of classification, and in a 2004 speech at Princeton University condemned what he called the U.S.'s "excessive government secrecy" and "bloated secrecy bureaucracy".[21]

Podesta has called Executive Order 12958, "which set tough standards for classifying documents and led to the unprecedented effort to declassify millions of pages from our nation's diplomatic and national security history," as "perhaps the biggest accomplishment of the Clinton administration."[21] More than 800 million pages of intelligence documents were declassified as part of the program.[22]

Podesta is described as "a longtime advocate for government disclosure of UFO files."[23] Podesta has supported petitions by some who believe UFOs are alien spacecraft to the government to release files related to the subject. At a 2002 news conference organized by Coalition for Freedom of Information Podesta stated that, "It is time for the government to declassify records that are more than 25 years old and to provide scientists with data that will assist in determining the real nature of this phenomenon."[24]

Podesta wrote the forward for a book by Leslie Kean titled "UFOs- Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go On The Record". The book details numerous contact events by these trained personnel.[25]

John Podesta testifies before the Senate Budget Committee Task Force on Government Performance

Podesta became an honorary patron of the University Philosophical Society in March 2006. Podesta is an emeritus member of the Knox College Board of Trustees.[26]

Currently, he is the U.S. representative to the UN High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.[27]

Podesta has served on the board of directors of Bedford, Massachusetts-based energy company Joule Unlimited since January 2011.[28][29] He has also served on the board of the Portland, Oregon-based Equilibrium Capital. In 2013, Podesta earned $90,000 as a consultant to the West Chester, Pennsylvania-based HJW Foundation, a nonprofit group led by Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss.[28]

Podesta email leak

Main article: Podesta emails

On October 7, 2016, WikiLeaks started to publish thousands of emails reportedly retrieved from Podesta's private Gmail account.[30] Podesta and the Clinton campaign did not confirm or deny the authenticity of the emails,[31][32] along with a security firm that has tracked the hacking tools used,[33] have stated that the Russian government is behind the leaks.

The United States Intelligence Community released a statement directly accusing Russian intelligence of involvement.[34][35][36][37][38] Vice President Joe Biden told NBC News Friday that "we're sending a message" to Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the wide-ranging "clandestine" cyber operation will take place.[39]

The New York Times reported that, when asked, Vladimir Putin replied that Russia was being falsely accused. "The hysteria is merely caused by the fact that somebody needs to divert the attention of the American people from the essence of what was exposed by the hackers."[40][41]

Personal life

John Podesta identifies himself as a Catholic and has worked closely with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United.[42][43]

He and his wife Mary Podesta, a Washington, D.C. attorney, have three children.[44][45][46]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "John Podesta to leave White House post in February". Politico. January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  2. ↑ Talev, Margaret (December 10, 2013). "Obama to Name Former Clinton Official Podesta as Special Adviser". BusinessWeek. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Obama, McCain Transition Efforts Are Worlds Apart". Huffington Post. October 8, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Washington Post". Who Runs Gov. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  5. ↑ Sweet, Lynn (November 6, 2008). "All-business Obama begins transition to White House". Chicago Sun-Times.
  6. ↑ Fusco, Chris (March 12, 2007). "Cooking, wit nourished D.C. Dem elite: Younger son was chief of staff to Bill Clinton". Chicago Sun-Times.
  7. ↑ Crispin, Jessa. "Podesta: Progressive Politics Will Cure U.S. Ills". NPR. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  8. ↑ Pear, Robert; Broder, John M. (September 5, 2000). "In a Lobby-Happy Washington, Politics Can Be Even Thicker Than Blood". The New York Times.
  9. 1 2 Baker, Peter (February 15, 2015). "For Hillary Clinton, John Podesta Is a Right Hand With a Punch". New York Times. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  10. ↑ Podesta, John. "During a guest appearance on Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me, broadcast May 17, 2014".
  11. ↑ Elliott, Justin (January 28, 2011) "Who's doing Mubarak's bidding in Washington?", salon.com; accessed February 16, 2015.
  12. ↑ Kean, Leslie (February 20, 2015). "John Podesta: Pulling Back the Curtain on UFOs". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  13. ↑ Janie Lorber, CAP Faces Challenges as Podesta Steps Back, Roll Call, October 25, 2011.
  14. 1 2 3 Josh Rogin, John Podesta stepping down as head of CAP, Foreign Policy, October 24, 2011.
  15. ↑ Jonathan Allen, W.H., CAP to counter Podesta attacks, Politico.com, December 12, 2013.
  16. ↑ CAP Board of Directors, Center for American Progress; accessed August 5, 2016.
  17. 1 2 John F. Harris, Podesta to Teach at Georgetown, Washington Post (February 5, 2001).
  18. 1 2 Our Faculty: John Podesta, Distinguished Visitor from Practice, Georgetown University Law Center, August 5, 2016.
  19. ↑ "The Liberty and Security Committee". Constitution Project. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Clinton in North Korea". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  21. 1 2 John Podesta 2004 Remarks at Princeton University, Center for American Progress, March 10, 2004.
  22. ↑ Shipman, Tim (November 30, 2008). "UFO enthusiasts call on Obama to release X-Files". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  23. ↑ Lee Speigel, John Podesta: I've Convinced Hillary Clinton To Declassify UFO Files, Huffington Post (March 3, 2016).
  24. ↑ Norman, Tony (December 2, 2008). "Change is coming (but not for space aliens)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  25. ↑ Kean, Leslie (2010) "UFOs- Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go On The Record" Harmony Books/Random House.
  26. ↑ "Board of Trustees". Knox College. December 15, 1957. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  27. ↑ "UN Secretary-General appoints high-level panel on post-2015 development agenda". United Nations Development Programme. July 31, 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  28. 1 2 Eric Lipton, New Obama Adviser Brings Corporate Ties, New York Times (December 12, 2013).
  29. ↑ Joule elects John Podesta to its Board of Directors, Joule Unlimited (accessed August 5, 2016).
  30. ↑ Chozick, Amy (October 11, 2016). "John Podesta Says Russian Spies Hacked His Emails to Sway Election". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  31. ↑ Jensen, Elizabeth (October 19, 2016), "How Should NPR Report On Hacked WikiLeaks Emails?", NPR, retrieved November 1, 2016
  32. ↑ CNS News (October 19, 2016), "Leaked emails show 'hostility' to Catholic Church, some say", Catholic News Service, retrieved November 1, 2016
  33. ↑ Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (October 20, 2016). "How Hackers Broke Into John Podesta and Colin Powell's Gmail Accounts". Motherboard. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  34. ↑ Sciutto, Jim; Gaouette, Nicole; Browne, Ryan (October 14, 2016), "US finds growing evidence Russia feeding emails to WikiLeaks", CNN, retrieved October 13, 2016
  35. ↑ Greenwald, Glenn (October 11, 2016). "In the Democratic Echo Chamber, Inconvenient Truths Are Recast as Putin Plots". The Intercept. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  36. ↑ Campanile, Carl (October 8, 2016). "Wikileaks releases excerpts of Hillary's paid speech transcripts". New York Post. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  37. ↑ Chozick, Amy; Confessore, Nicholas; Michael, Barbaro (October 7, 2016). "Leaked Speech Excerpts Show a Hillary Clinton at Ease With Wall Street". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  38. ↑ Dowling, Brian (October 15, 2016). "Report: CIA has Kremlin in cyber sights". Boston Herald. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  39. ↑ Tacopino, Joe (October 14, 2016). "US prepped for massive cyber assault on Russia". New York Post. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  40. ↑ Healy, Patrick; David E., Sanger; Haberman, Maggie (October 12, 2016). "Donald Trump Finds Improbable Ally in WikiLeaks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  41. ↑ Staff (October 15, 2016). "CIA Reportedly Preparing Major Cyber Assault against Russia in Wake of Hack Attacks". Fox News. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  42. ↑ Pulliam Bailey, Sarah. "John Podesta, Son of the Church". First Things. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  43. ↑ Lawton, Kim (October 8, 2004). "Catholic Voters". Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. WNET. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  44. ↑ Endicott, William T. (2003). An Insider's Guide to Political Jobs in Washington. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-471-47362-6.
  45. ↑ Elliott, Philip. "Democratic wise man splits loyalties between Obama, Clinton". Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  46. ↑ Bennett, Kate. "The Podesta brothers are ready to cook for Hillary". Politico. Retrieved November 6, 2016.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Podesta.
Political offices
Preceded by
Phillip Brady		 White House Staff Secretary
1993–1995 		Succeeded by
Todd Stern
Preceded by
Erskine Bowles		 White House Chief of Staff
1998–2001 		Succeeded by
Andy Card
Preceded by
Pete Rouse		 Counselor to the President
2014–2015 		Vacant
Title next held by
Steve Bannon
Designate
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