Tony Podesta made $1 million lobbying White House on behalf of the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei show disclosure forms.
Podesta made $500,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021 lobbying the “Executive Office of the President” on “issues related to telecommunications services and the impact on commerce,” the New York Post reported, citing public disclosure forms released last week . He pulled in another $500,000 from Huawei to lobby the “White House Office” in the third quarter of 2021 on “issues related to telecommunications services and affected trade issues.”
TONY PODESTA PAID $500,000 BY HUAWEI TO WHITE HOUSE LOBBY, DISCLOSURE SHOWS
Tony Podesta is the older brother of John Podesta, who served as chairman of Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential bid and as an adviser to President Barack Obama and chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.
The FCC labeled Huawei a national security threat in 2020 due to its “close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese military apparatus,” according to former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, FOX Business previously reported.
The Trump administration also persuaded countries like Australia and Japan to ban Huawei in 5G projects, fearing it would help China monitor overseas.
Huawei has denied close cooperation with the Chinese government, arguing it is just a supplier of technology Resources. However, a Washington Post report last month detailed internal company documents showing how it monitors Chinese citizens and political dissidents.
BIDEN ADMIN SAYS HUAWEI IS ‘NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT’
The Biden administration described the Chinese company as “a threat to national security” after the Washington Post report was released.
BIDEN COMMERCE NOMINEE SIGNS AGREEMENT APPROVING HUAWEI CFO FROM FRAUDULENT OFFERS
“I have no comment on the details of this report, but President Biden and the administration continue to believe that Huawei poses a national security threat,” a National Security Council spokesman told Fox in December. “This is why it remains on the entity list and why this government has designated it under EO 14032 for use in defense and related fields [material] and/or surveillance technology sectors of the PRC economy.”
Podesta was hired by Huawei over the summer to help the company[t]Telecoms and Trade Issues,” after quitting lobbying for the art world following Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation during the Trump administration.
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The White House did not immediately respond to FOX Business’s request for comment on the public disclosure forms.
