Democratic lobbyist resigns over firm’s Manafort ties,

Tony Podesta, a Democratic power lobbyist, announced to colleagues Monday that he is stepping down amid a series of indictments that cast a shadow on work his firm had done with Paul Manafort that may have benefited a Ukrainian regime friendly to the Kremlin.

The Podesta Group is not named in the newly released indictments, but the company is one of two indirectly referenced in the charges. Podesta and another lobbying firm, Mercury LLC, were working with Manafort and his partner, Rick Gates, from 2012-2014 in lobbying to improve the image of the Ukrainian government. In Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment they are referred to as “Company A and Company B,” according to people familiar with the companies’ involvement.

Manafort and Gates turned themselves in to federal authorities Monday while facing a 12-count indictment on a range of charges, including misleading the government about their secret work for a foreign government.

Later in the day, Podesta announced his resignation at a staff meeting at the Podesta Group’s Washington headquarters. “It is impossible to run a public affairs firm while you are under attack by Fox News and the rightwing media,” he told his former employees.

Podesta is the brother of John Podesta, who led the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. The resignation shows how Mueller’s probe is reverberating across both parties.