. . . Washington lobbying firms Mercury LLC and the Podesta Group signed on to work for a little-known NGO called the European Centre for Modern Ukraine [in 2012]. According to court filings, Manafort set up the Centre as a secret cover for then-Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and his Party of Regions. Because the Centre didn’t appear to be backed by a foreign government, the lobbying firms didn’t reveal their work to the Justice Department as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). . . .
The revelation came in the Oct. 30, 2017 indictment of Paul Manafort, which described his work with two companies, “Company A and Company B.” Company A referred to Mercury LLC, per NBC News, and Company B was Podesta Group. The news had a tectonic impact on the Podesta Group; within hours of Manafort’s indictment, its principal, Tony Podesta, stepped down from the firm. And within months, the firm had gone under.
For Mercury LLC, however, it was a different story. The firm’s revenue actually jumped from 2016 to 2017 –– from $5.4 million to $7.3 million, by Politico’s analysis. And lobbying disclosures show it boasts powerful corporate clients, including T-Mobile and Verizon.
So, the Mueller investigation has done some good after all. It has reduced the wealth and powerful influence of the wicked Tony Podesta. And Mueller's latest charges could bring down Mercury and along with it, T-Mobile and Verizon.
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