The suits show the lengths to which Tony Podesta — one of the most prominent Democratic lobbyists in Washington before the collapse of his firm — is willing to go to scrape money out of what remains of his firm. | Jacqueline Larma/AP Photo Legal Tony Podesta sues former clients, seeking to collect on unpaid bills

The Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta has been suing former clients over what he says are nearly half a million dollars in unpaid bills — some of it for work he claims was done after his firm collapsed and stopped paying employees.

The Podesta Group — an empty shell for more than a year after it imploded amid revelations about its work with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort — has sued 10 former clients in recent months, according to court records. They include name-brand companies such as SeaWorld as well as nonprofits such as Refugee Council USA and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.


The suits show the lengths to which Podesta — one of the most prominent Democratic lobbyists in Washington before the collapse of his firm — is willing to go to scrape money out of what remains of his firm. Podesta, who accumulated a multi-million-dollar art collection during his flush years, has continued to live a high-flying lifestyle in the aftermath of his firm’s implosion, including recent trips to Venice, Florence, Rome and the French coast, according to his Facebook posts.

The suits claim the clients failed to pay their final bills or other fees owed to the firm. In some cases, the Podesta Group is trying to get paid for work it claims was done late last year after the firm told its lobbyists and most other employees they would stop getting paid.

At least one former client is fighting back.

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The Podesta Group sued Ajamie LLP, a Houston law firm, last month for failing to pay its final monthly bill last year of $15,000. Ajamie responded by suing the Podesta Group for up to $200,000 in damages, accusing the firm of “failure to perform meaningful work” after it came under scrutiny following President Donald Trump’s election for its work with Manafort.

“Podesta Group clearly became too busy covering its tracks and propping up its business to work on its client matters, including its” work on behalf of the law firm, Thomas Ajamie, the firm’s managing partner, wrote in the suit.

The Podesta Group’s lawyer and a spokeswoman for Tony Podesta declined to comment.

The Podesta Group’s suits have also sought payment from at least three clients — the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, Refugee Council USA and HSN, the company behind the Home Shopping Network — for work done after the firm stopped paying its employees late last year and told them to pack up their offices.

The Refugee Council, a coalition of groups that work to resettle refugees in the U.S., retained the Podesta Group to lobby Congress on immigration and refugee issues, according to a disclosure filing. The council fired the Podesta Group on Nov. 14, 2017, according to the Podesta Group’s suit, days after reports that the firm was disintegrating.

But the Refugee Council’s contract required 30 days notice to cancel — and the Podesta Group’s lawyer appears to be arguing that provision remained in force even if no one was working for the firm. The firm is seeking $45,000 in unpaid fees, much of which was incurred after the firm stopped paying its employees.

Six former Podesta Group staffers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the firm did little work on behalf of its clients after Kimberley Fritts, the firm’s chief executive, announced on Nov. 10 that employees would receive their final paychecks a few days later.

Two former Podesta staffers familiar with the work done for the Refugee Council and the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian American said they weren’t aware of any work done on behalf of those clients after mid-November.

“It’s hard to imagine anyone else trying to collect money under these circumstances,” one former Podesta Group staffer said. “What alleged work is he looking to get paid for?”

The Podesta Group was one of Washington’s top lobbying firms by revenue as recently as last year. But the firm imploded late last year after special counsel Robert Mueller charged Manafort with failing to register as a foreign lobbyist for work he did with the firm years earlier.

Neither Tony Podesta nor the Podesta Group were charged with wrongdoing, but the firm came apart after Podesta stepped down as chairman but failed to hammer out a succession plan in the following weeks. Mueller has since handed off investigations of the Podesta Group and a second firm that worked with Manafort, Mercury, to prosecutors in New York.

The Podesta Group has agreed to drop suits it filed against six former clients: EasyDial, a dialysis startup that has since rebranded as Diality; HSN; Gramercy Funds Management; SeaWorld; SecurityPoint Holdings; and Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

It’s not clear why the firm dropped each suit. But David Sheppard, Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s general counsel, said the Podesta Group had tried to get paid “for work that had either not been performed by the Podesta Group or for which is had already been paid.”

“When the attorney representing the Podesta Group was informed of these facts, as supported by corresponding documentation of prior payment,” the firm dismissed the suit, Sheppard wrote in an email to POLITICO.

Jill Kermes, HSN’s head of corporate affairs, wrote in an email that the company’s “commitments to Podesta have been met” but declined to comment further.

SeaWorld declined to comment. The other clients didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The suits against the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, the Refugee Council, Ajamie LLP and ORBIS Wheels, a Mill Valley, Calif., startup haven’t been dropped, according to court records. The Public Affairs Alliance filed a motion last week to dismiss the suit.