Lobbyist Podesta quits eponymous firm

WASHINGTON — Prominent Washington lobbyist Tony Podesta has stepped down from his lobbying firm, Podesta Group, as investigators examine his company’s ties to President Donald Trump’s indicted former campaign manager, a source familiar with the matter said Monday.

Podesta stepped down the same day federal investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election campaign charged former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and a business associate, Rick Gates, with money laundering.

Manafort, a longtime Republican operative, and Gates pleaded not guilty to a 12-count indictment with charges ranging from money laundering to acting as unregistered agents of Ukraine’s former pro-russian government.

The indictment against Manafort and Gates listed two firms as “Company A” and “Company B,” which lobbied several lawmakers on behalf of Ukraine at Manafort’s request.

The indictment did not name Podesta Group.

A Podesta Group representative said Monday that the firm had been in contact with investigators on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team and was fully cooperating with the probe.

The representative also said the Podesta Group fully complied with the law in disclosing its lobbying on behalf of the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, a group linked to Manafort and named in the indictment.

Tony Podesta did not respond to requests for comment Monday. Podesta was the head of the firm that bore his name. It did $10.7 million in lobbying in the first nine months of 2017, according to disclosures the firm filed with Congress.