(March 18, 2015 editor's note: Headline to this article was changed from "Associated Press lawsuit against State Dept over Clinton emails includes Anthony Weiner mentions", since it's more about Declan Kelly and Teneo.)
"The Associated Press said Wednesday it has sued the State Department to force the release of government documents and e-mails from Hillary Rodham Clinton's tenure as secretary of State, an action taken a day after she defended her use of a private e-mail account to conduct business and after six formal attempts by the news agency to obtain records," Roger Wu reported for USA Today yesterday.
Wu added, "Beginning in 2010, AP filed six requests under FOIA to obtain records from the State Department regarding Clinton's tenure as secretary, including her calendars and schedules and records concerning the designation of Special Government Employee status given to her former deputy chief of staff, Huma Abedin."
At the Associated Press, Steve Peoples notes, "The legal action follows repeated requests filed under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act that have gone unfulfilled. They include one request the AP made five years ago and others pending since the summer of 2013."
According to the lawsuit (pdf link), "On August 20, 2013, AP journalist Stephen Braun [sought] copies of all emails, in-house memos, correspondence, internal notes and any other pertinent documents and records from the office of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton between November 1, 2011 and February 1, 2013, relating to the designation of Special Government Employee given to former Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State Huma Abedin and to her work performed for the State Department as an Special Government Employee."
"The request further seeks copies of the same types of records for the same time frame 'from the files of the following current and former State Department personnel: Former Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Secretary Cheryl Mills; former Senior Adviser Philippe Reines; Deputy Secretary of State William Burns; Undersecretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy; former Deputy Chief of Staff Jake Sullivan; and Ambassador-At-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne S. Verveer,'" the AP complaint continues.
In between leaving Congress in 2011 after he admitted lying about sexting with multiple women and his losing campaign to become NYC mayor in 2013, Weiner did some consulting work for firms connected to the Clintons, as well. The AP doesn't seem interested in anyone else's spouses.
The lawsuit explains, "AP seeks these records to shed light on the official actions of Secretary Clinton and Ms. Abedin, a longtime aide to Secretary Clinton and high-ranking government official in her own right. The records sought by Request B are necessary for the public’s understanding of the intertwined relationships among Secretary Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Teneo, a consulting firm founded by Douglas Band, a longtime aide and advisor to former President Bill Clinton. Ms. Abedin reportedly worked for Teneo at the same time she worked as a Special Government Employee for the State Department. Mr. Braun explained in his request: 'These records pertain to a key aide to Secretary Clinton whose SGE role at State has come under question in recent weeks and is the subject of Congressional inquiry. The records pertaining to the hiring of a long-time aide of a former secretary of state who has run in the past for the presidency of the United States and is considering another presidential campaign is a matter of current exigency to the American public."
"In his role as Economic Envoy, Mr. Kelly is recognized as having helped bring significant investment to the region from U.S. corporations," the Teneo biography continues. "He also played a significant role in supporting the efforts that led to the historic devolution of policing and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly, giving Northern Ireland fully devolved political governance for the first time in its modern history."
As his Teneo bio states, "Prior to Teneo, Mr. Kelly served as the U.S. Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland at the U.S. Department of State. Mr. Kelly was appointed Economic Envoy by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in September, 2009."
In his June 13, 2013 request to the State Department (pdf link), Senator Chuck Grassley sought "all documents and/or communications between the Department of State and Teneo, and any client or entities they represent," which would have to include Bill Clinton, since along with being a paid adviser and an unpaid adviser for the firm, he was also a Teneo client.
A month-and-a-half later, the Washington Post reported, "The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that the State Department and Huma Abedin, the wife of former congressman Anthony Weiner, have put up 'a stone wall' in the face of his inquiry about her final months at the agency, and vowed to continue raising questions about Abedin's employment status."
"'So far, the State Department and Ms. Abedin haven’t provided a single document that I requested,' Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said in a statement. 'Putting up a stone wall raises a lot more questions about how the program is being used than it answers. I intend to pursue more complete answers to my questions.'""Abedin said her work at Teneo involved 'providing strategic advice and consulting services to the firm's management team' and helping to organize an annual event," the Post reported about her response (pdf link). "Abedin said her work there did not involve the State Department."
Abedin wrote, "I was not asked, nor did I undertake, any work on Teneo's behalf before the State Department (and I should note that it is my understanding that Teneo does not conduct business with the Department of State). I also was not asked, nor did I provide, insights about the Department, my work with the Secretary, or any government information to which I may have had access. And, I certainly 'never gathered information from government sources for the purpose of informing investment decisions of Teneo's clients' as the Senate letter suggests."
In May of 2013, Politico reported, "Her work for Teneo, which was founded by Band and a former aide to Tony Blair, was advisory, and among the projects was planning a major specific event where the former British prime minister and Bill Clinton both spoke, the friend said." That "major specific event" may have been - as the Economic reported in August of 2012 - in São Paulo on August 28th, when Blair, Clinton and former Brazil President Fernando Henrique Cardoso spoke at an event run by Itaú BBA, a Brazilian investment bank. "Ilan Goldfajn, the bank's chief economist, moderated a discussion that touched on foreign views of Brazil and Brazilian views of abroad—and what the developed world could learn about handling financial crises from a country that has suffered more than its fair share of them in the past, but is coming through the most recent one much better than most."
However, an article by Alec MacGillis published by the New Republic in 2013, revealed another event at which both Clinton and Blair spoke that was arranged by Charles Band, that "[s]omehow" was never "noticed by the press."
"One Thursday evening last September, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Tony Blair met in New York to conduct what was supposed to be a high-minded discourse on terrorism, geopolitics, and the global economy. The setting was elegant—the beaux arts ballroom of the Essex House, an iconic tower on Central Park South. The 78-person VIP guest list included Harvey Weinstein, Eli Broad, Blackstone co-founders Steve Schwarzman and Pete Peterson, Silicon Valley impresario Sean Parker, Billie Jean King, George Pataki, and New York City police chief Ray Kelly, along with CEOs and top executives from companies like Dow Chemical, Coca-Cola, BP, and Bank of America. Somehow, these onetime world leaders, corporate titans, and other notable personages converged in the center of New York without the event ever being noticed by the press.This wasn't the first time Bush was reportedly "persuaded" by a Teneo co-founder. On March 8, 2010 The Guardian reported, "The former US president George Bush has made a direct plea to David Cameron to support the Northern Ireland peace process, amid widespread concern in the US about the Tories' new electoral pact with the Ulster Unionists."
The guests had been wrangled, persuaded, flattered, and otherwise enticed to attend by Doug Band, a tall man with genial, unmemorable features and a deferential demeanor. In fact, the gathering was taking place in his own building, underneath his expansive eighth-floor apartment, and it represented a major triumph for him."
"The Guardian understands that the White House is so concerned that the US economic envoy to Northern Ireland, Declan Kelly, persuaded Bush to intervene," the paper reported in 2010.
However, on March 9, 2010, Philip J. Crowley Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Public Affairs denied the report.
QUESTION: A question about Northern Ireland, actually. Can you confirm this Guardian report that Declan Kelly urged former President Bush to make a call to David Cameron last week about the vote?At the Teneo event in 2012, before introducing Clinton, Blair and Bush, Band "launched into a long-winded sales pitch. Teneo was the next big thing in executive consulting, he informed the audience. He played a promotional video about the firm. He introduced the heads of Teneo’s divisions, describing their résumés and asking each to stand in turn."
MR. CROWLEY: He did not. We were not involved in – with the – former President Bush’s phone call.
QUESTION: Were there any contacts by the Administration on this other than the calls by the former president? I mean, was there anything by this Administration to push it one way or the other?
MR. CROWLEY: Clarify, Kirit. Try --
QUESTION: Was there anything from this government that’s actually tried to contact one side or the other to push them on this vote? Not – I know that you said it didn’t involve the former president at all, but --
MR. CROWLEY: Well, yeah. I mean, the Secretary has been engaged with all of the parties. She talked recently to the leading figures in Ireland, including Peter Robinson, Martin McGuinness, also Reg Empey. So we have been actively engaged, but we did not have anything to do with President Bush’s phone call.
According to MacGillis, "Band had a key ally on Hillary’s team: Huma Abedin. Bill’s body man and Hillary’s body woman had bonded over their loyalty to their bosses. They were known to show up at parties together, which some saw as an endearing big brother–little sister dynamic, and which others interpreted as evidence that Abedin had a crush on Band. They also had an ingenious method of collecting intelligence on each other’s behalf. Abedin would sidle up to someone in Bill’s camp and, in a confiding tone, make a disparaging remark about Band. If it was reciprocated, she would relay the criticisms to Band and he would do the same for her, says someone who fell for this technique. 'They had each other’s back a lot,' says the former White House colleague."
Along with Clinton, Blair is also an advisor to Teneo, which was reported in May of 2011, just after Kelly quit his envoy post, but the official announcement didn't come until June 30, 2011, a day after James O'Shea reported, "Declan Kelly, who recently stepped down as the United States Government's Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland, is re-entering the private sector with a new business in partnership with Douglas Band, the long time top advisor to President Bill Clinton, Irish Central has learned," and that "Teneo, a name derived from the Latin word for "to guide", is expected to commence business in the coming days with its headquarters located in midtown Manhattan."
"President Clinton will serve as an advisor to Teneo and serve on the company's Advisory Board. Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, will also serve on the board in a unique and powerful combination of skills and experience that the group believes will leave them uniquely positioned in the international business community. It is believed that this will be the first time that Clinton and Blair will have worked together in a business capacity."O'Shea reported that Kelly "served as a senior executive at FTI which at the time had 3500 people in 28 locations around the world and a market capitalization of $3 billion. He was speculated to be in line for the CEO's job when he left in September of 2009 to serve as Secretary of State Clinton's economic envoy to Northern Ireland." In July of 2009 - before he was officially tapped by Clinton to be envoy - PR Week noted, "Declan Kelly, EVP and chief integration officer for FTI Consulting and chairman of FD US and FD Ireland, will resign on October 5, 2009. Effective immediately, he will serve as a senior adviser on several major client initiatives, first as an employee through October 5, then pursuant to a consulting agreement through June 15, 2011. According to the press release, he has resigned to pursue non-commercial opportunities outside of the firm."
A 2009 Washington Post article noted, "For a select group of issues, the combined energies of the Clintons can be potent. Just days after Hillary Clinton appointed Declan Kelly the economic envoy to Northern Ireland, for instance, he turned to her husband for help."
"Bill Clinton agreed to include a session on Northern Ireland at his annual philanthropic mega-event, which coincides with the U.N. General Assembly in September," the paper added. "Hundreds of business executives packed a ballroom to hear Clinton and Kelly make their investment pitch. The gathering was, Kelly told the crowd, 'a massive assistance to me in my role.' After the session, dozens of executives lined up to talk to Kelly, according to one official in attendance."
On May 11, 2011, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a statement regarding Kelly's resignation. "Nearly two years ago when I asked Declan to serve, I challenged him to use his considerable talents and entrepreneurial drive to help Northern Ireland grow and sustain the benefits of peace," Clinton wrote. "Within hours of his appointment, Declan was en route to Belfast. He found eager and able partners not only there, but throughout the region. This collective effort has opened up new and exciting opportunities for the people of Northern Ireland to share a more prosperous future."
"During his time as Envoy, Declan has helped our friends in the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly, Invest NI, and the business community make Northern Ireland one of the best per capita attractors of investment in the world. In the face of recession and severe fiscal austerity, Northern Ireland’s innovators and entrepreneurs have carved out a global reputation for excellence and industry. Some of the world’s leading companies have established or expanded their presences in Northern Ireland during this time, bringing new jobs, skills, and technologies with them. Declan’s vision of the U.S.-Northern Ireland Mentorship Program – which places young graduates from Northern Ireland in American companies for one year internships – will leave a lasting legacy of expanded opportunity and experience for the region’s budding business leaders and entrepreneurs.""As I said last October at the U.S. – Northern Ireland Economic Conference, a stronger economy in Northern Ireland will help secure a lasting peace; a bedrock foreign policy priority for the United States," Clinton added. "The United States will continue to work with Northern Ireland to expand the opportunities Declan has fought so hard for, and I know he will remain a passionate advocate for the people of Northern Ireland. It is with appreciation and admiration for a job well-done that I accept the resignation today of U.S. Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland Declan Kelly. I thank him and wish him and his family the very best in the future."
Reporting for Irish Central on June 22, 2012, Kate Hickey wrote, "Today Kelly will deliver the former American president Bill Clinton to the Worldwide Ireland Fund dinner in Cork where he will oversee the Clinton schedule for the weekend."
"Kelly also raises considerable sums for the Clinton foundation and served as Hillary Clinton’s economic envoy to Northern Ireland for two years and remains close to the former First Lady," Hickey noted.
On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported, "The revelation that Hillary Rodham Clinton used a private e-mail system as secretary of state has revived a Senate investigation into another aspect of her tenure."
The Post notes that Grassley "didn’t know until last week that Clinton was exclusively using a private e-mail account that could contain relevant information about her use of the so-called 'special government employee' program. Huma Abedin, a Clinton confidante and adviser who was granted the special designation, also used the private e-mail system."
"Grassley has in recent days renewed his effort to get answers from the State Department," the paper adds. "That opens a second line of inquiry on Capitol Hill into the Democrats’ presumptive presidential front-runner, who was already facing an inquiry from a House committee seeking her e-mails related to the U.S. response to an attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012."
In May of 2013, I reported, "At a July 18, 2012 daily press briefing, the Acting Deputy Spokesperson and Director of the Press Office Patrick Ventrell was asked a question by a reporter who specifically referred to Abedin as Deputy Chief of Staff, but he didn't correct him," even though he must have known she essentially left that post over a month and a half before on June 3, 2012.
Over half-a-dozen articles about Huma Abedin which unknowingly wrongfully reported she was still Deputy Chief of Staff were published in The New York Times that summer, but apparently no one in the State Department or Weiner and Clinton households informed the paper about the new "working arrangement," even though all have a history of reacting rather quickly to complain about factually incorrect errors.
In July of 2012, another State Department spokesman, Philippe Reines, released a statement to the media defending Abedin and Clinton, but not informing them that the former was no longer Deputy Chief of Staff: "These accusations are nothing but vicious and disgusting lies, and anyone who traffics in them should be ashamed of themselves. I would hope that hearing such a remarkable statement from someone of Senator McCain's stature gives [Bachmann] pause in doing so any further."
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Reines has been described as a "loyalist" and Hillary's right hand "hatchet man," and - like Abedin - he followed Clinton from her Senate job to the State Department, and is still working for her, as she mull running for president.
President Barack Obama defended Abedin as an "American patriot" at the annual Iftar dinner on August 10, 2012. "And that includes a good friend, Huma Abedin, who has worked tirelessly -- (applause) -- worked tirelessly in the White House, in the U.S. Senate, and most exhaustingly, at the State Department, where she has been nothing less than extraordinary in representing our country and the democratic values that we hold dear," Obama said, adding, "Senator Clinton has relied on her expertise, and so have I."
Abedin's response to Senator Grassley claimed it was her "understanding that Teneo does not conduct business with the Department of State," but there clearly seem to be common interests and goals between the two.
"Aspiring to merge corporate consulting, public relations and merchant banking in a single business, Mr. Band poached executives from Wall Street, recruited other Clinton aides to join as employees or advisers and set up shop in a Midtown office formerly belonging to one of the country’s top hedge funds," the NY Times reported August 13, 2013.
That New York Times story claimed Teneo was co-founded by Band in 2009, which seems to be at odds with other reports, and, while it mentions Kelly was appointed envoy by Hillary Clinton, it doesn't name him as a co-founder.
"By 2011, the firm had added a third partner, Declan Kelly, a former State Department envoy for Mrs. Clinton," Nicholas Confessore and Amy Chozick reported in 2012. "And Mr. Clinton had signed up as a paid adviser to the firm."
"Teneo worked on retainer, charging monthly fees as high as $250,000, according to current and former clients. The firm recruited clients who were also Clinton Foundation donors, while Mr. Band and Mr. Kelly encouraged others to become new foundation donors. Its marketing materials highlighted Mr. Band’s relationship with Mr. Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative, where Mr. Band sat on the board of directors through 2011 and remains an adviser. Some Clinton aides and foundation employees began to wonder where the foundation ended and Teneo began."The 2013 New Republic article on Band by MacGillis claimed, "In 2010, he, Declan Kelly, and a third partner registered the first of several entities in Delaware that would become Teneo. Band and Kelly had met during the 2008 campaign when Kelly was fund-raising for Hillary. Kelly had previously owned a p.r. firm, and the plan was for Band to offer the kind of strategic savvy he’d provided to Clinton. 'He’s particularly useful to the CEOs,' says Podesta."
Abedin's response to Sen. Grassley also ignores that the State Department approved consulting agreements between Teneo and former President Bill Clinton.
"A joint investigation by the Washington Examiner and the nonprofit watchdog group Judicial Watch found that former President Clinton gave 215 speeches and earned $48 million while his wife presided over U.S. foreign policy, raising questions about whether the Clintons fulfilled ethics agreements related to the Clinton Foundation during Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state," Luke Rosiak and Micah Morrison reported for the Washington Examiner on July 30, 2014.
On June 11, 2011, "the State Department approved a consulting agreement [(pdf link)] between Bill Clinton and a controversial Clinton Foundation adviser, Doug Band."
Band's memorandum was sent to Jim Thessin - Deputy Legal Advisor and Designated Agency Ethics Advisor - and Cheryl Mills - Counselor and Chief of State at Department of State - and described Bill Clinton's work for Teneo as "[c]onsulting services regarding geopolitical, economic and social trends affecting the entity" for a three-year term.
The Washington Examiner/Judicial Watch probe claimed "'State Department legal advisers, serving as "designated agency ethics officials,' approved Bill Clinton's speeches in China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Panama, Turkey, Taiwan, India, the Cayman Islands and other countries," and that "memos approving Mr. Clinton's speeches were routinely copied to Cheryl Mills, Hillary Clinton's senior counsel and chief of staff."
Also, Rosiak and Morrison reported, "In an accompanying letter to the State Department legal adviser [(pdf link)], Clinton lawyer David Kendall noted that Bill Clinton would disclose proposed consulting deals and, for speeches, provide 'the identities of the host(s) (the entity that pay the speaker's fee)" so that the State Department 'in consultation with the White House as appropriate, may conduct a review for any real or apparent conflicts of interest with the duties of the Secretary of State.'"
Kendall's letter was sent to the State Department on January 5, 2009 stated that he was "writing to describe the voluntary steps, above and beyond the requirements of law and ethics regulations, that President Clinton intends to take to assist Senator Clinton to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest with her duties as Secretary of State should she be confirmed."
"I understand you may consult, as appropriate, with the White House Counsel's Office in the event a proposed action raises conflicts concerns, and that you will advise the Secretary, President Clinton's office, and the Foundation as warranted, on applicable steps that may be taken to avoid conflicts of interest," former President Bill Clinton's lawyer added.
According to the 2015 Net Worth for Secretary of the State Hillary Clinton (link), "Teneo Holdings LLC, Varkey GEMS Foundation and Laureate Education, Inc. all listed 'other income' of 'Nonemployee compensation over $1,000'", and she has reportedly given at least one speech to Teneo since resigning as Secretary of State.
When exactly was Teneo founded? If Declan Kelly helped found the firm while he was also envoy, that might complicate Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign even more.
According to Manta, which only refers to Kelly as CEO, "records show [Teneo Strategy Consulting LLC] was established in 2009 and incorporated in New York." Perhaps Teneo was put on hold for two years so that Declan Kelly could accept the envoy appointment by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with less scrutiny.
According to the New York State Corporation & Business Entity Database, Teneo Strategy Consulting LLC was registered on November 18, 2009, which was two months after Declan Kelly was appointed to the No. Ireland envoy post by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It may not be related to the firm that was co-founded in 2009, 2010 or 2011, but it was registered by a former associate with the Wall Street firm, Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP.
On September 9. 2011, the database reveals Teneo Strategy LLC was registered in New York.
The website www.TeneoStrategyConsulting.com was registered on November 20, 2009 and began redirecting to www.TeneoHoldings.com on September 30, 2011, according to archive.org. So either the first firm was bought out, or it's always been the same company.
After I tweeted him, Charles Ortel - who has been reporting on Teneo for Breitbart.com ("Investment by BC Partners in Teneo Holdings may create serious problems for the Clinton brand") - suggested, "Actually--go to corporate registry in Delaware, NY, UK , Ireland and you will learn more---next story out Sunday/Monday!"
While searching for info on "Teneo Strategy Consulting", I stumbled upon a link which suggests that the firm got a multimillion dollar grant from the Rockefeller Foundation nearly thirty days before it was officially launched. According to the foundation's website, Teneo received $3,447,150 as part of the Centennial Fund "[i]n support of a project, in connection with the Rockefeller Foundation's centennial in 2013, to build capacity, create new coalitions, strengthen existing networks, and advance public policy by convening gatherings and providing multimedia tools and resources for identifying challenges and proposing tangible solutions to global problems." The terms of the grant are listed as 6/1/2011 – 3/31/2012.
Back on December 5, 2011, Neil W. McCabe - in a Human Events article - wrote, "Teneo landed its first major client June 1, when the Rockefeller Foundation gave Teneo a $3,447,150, six-month contract to help plan the foundation’s 2013 centennial."
"The foundation is another member of the Clinton’s extended family," McCabe added. "It gave Clinton its Lifetime Innovation Achievement Award July 27 and the foundation is listed as a between $1 to $5 million contributor to the William J. Clinton Foundation, along with several members of the Rockefeller family who are listed as individual contributors."
An IRS form 990-PF (pdf link) shows that Teneo Strategy Consulting was the highest paid independent contractor for the Rockefeller Foundation in 2012, earning $5,731,639.
The 2011 annual report for the Rockefeller Foundation (pdf link) also shows $350,000 was given to the Clinton Global Initiative "toward the costs of its 2011 annual conference, designed to catalyze a community of global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to global challenges such as energy and climate change, poverty alleviation, global health, and education", and $594,960 to the Clinton Health Access Initiative, "for use by its Rwanda Country Office, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Rwanda, to upgrade District Health Strengthening Tool software and provide regional training and support for the local-level integration of new eHealth technologies country-wide."
The Rockefeller Foundation gave "[t]hanks especially to Andy Maas, Max Dworin, and. Michael Coakley," who all worked for Teneo in 2011. "Andy Maas drove the bus, Max Dworin kept us on the road and Michael Coakley made sure we had fuel in the tank," the centennial book "Beyond Freedom" (pdf link) states. "Tom Shea provided commentary. Working with this team has been a pleasure."
Still at the firm, Managing Director Andy Maas - according to his Teneo biography - was "managing director of global corporate communications for FTI Consulting" where he worked with Declan Kelly. Michael Coakley - as his Teneo bio states - "is a Vice President at Teneo Strategy where he advises organizations on business strategy, operational issues and reputational challenges." While, according to his LinkedIn resume, Max Dworin worked as an intern for the office of Bill Clinton from June to August of 2010, then began consulting for Teneo in June of 2011, before being promoted to associate in 2013, and then left Teneo to become New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer's Deputy Press Secretary in December of 2013, and then his Press Secretary in April of 2014. "Max Dworin, A&S '11, a consultant with Teneo Strategy, spearheaded a project in 2013 in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City called the Art of Philanthropy," John Hopkins Magazine states. "The foundation developed a crowdsourced art piece in celebration of the accomplishments of philanthropy in the U.S. and abroad."
"Prior to joining Teneo, Mr. Shea served as Chief of Staff to Jon S. Corzine, both during Mr. Corzine’s tenure as a United States Senator and member of the Foreign Relations Committee and as Governor of New Jersey," Managing Director Tom Shea's Teneo bio states. "Mr. Shea also served in several capacities at the White House, most notably as a Special Assistant to President William J. Clinton."
Shea's original Teneo biography noted, "Before joining Mr. Corzine, Mr. Shea managed the United States Department of State's New York Foreign Press Center (FPC), and served as Director of Communications and Spokesman for the United States Mission to the United Nations. In that capacity, he was responsible for explaining U.S. policy pursued at the world body to both the media and the general public, and coordinated the Mission's media activities related to its participation in the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council."
On March 4, 2015, Amy Chozick and Steve Eder reported for the New York Times, "An aide who had been with the Clintons since the 1990s, Justin Cooper, registered the domain name, clintonemail.com, which had a server linked to the Clintons’ home address in Chappaqua, New York."
According to who.is, www.clintonemail.com was registered on January 13, 2009. Justin Cooper was listed as registrant, Administrative Contact and Technical Contact. As the Washington Post's "Fact Checker" noted, "Hillary Clinton [began] her confirmation hearings the same day." She was confirmed as Secretary of State by the Senate on January 21, 2009.
"Mr. Cooper, whose name is on the clintonemail.com domain registration, now works at Teneo Holdings, a corporate advisory firm with a broad array of global business clients partly run by Douglas J. Band, a former adviser to Bill Clinton," Chozick and Eder noted.
However, the New York Post reported on May 26, 2013, that Cooper is "a former employee of strategy group Teneo." Cooper's bio was scrubbed from Teneo's website, but a cache link reveals it once noted, "In addition to his role with Teneo, Mr. Cooper serves as Senior Advisor to President William J. Clinton. Mr. Cooper advises President Clinton on a broad range of issues, including finances, business matters, public affairs and politics. Additionally, Mr. Cooper advises and assists in operating the Clinton Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Family Foundation. As a key member of his inner-most team, Mr. Cooper's advice and influence is unrivalled."
"The Consensus members support key policy measures designed to move defense and foreign policies toward a smart and comprehensive 21st century national security strategy; hosting forums and other public events to educate decision makers about the dangers of failing to address today’s threats; outreach to the media; and, encouraging smart and non-partisan discourse among policy makers," the website adds. His bio doesn't mention Teneo.
Some media outlets are reporting that Cooper doesn't work with Bill Clinton anymore. He doesn't seem to have a LinkedIn resume, and his biography at Teneo was scrubbed sometime shortly after December 23, 2012. The earliest capture of Cooper's bio at the Teneo website was from July 9, 2011. An October 23, 2013 American University in Dubai article noted, "AUD students, in Dubai part of the William Jefferson Clinton Scholarship Program, met with Mr. Justin Cooper, AUD Board Member and Senior Advisor to President Clinton, during a brainstorming session recently. Over a casual cup of coffee, Cooper discussed the importance of studying abroad; in addition to the opportunities that AUD is offering them by enriching their education from the social and cultural perspectives. During the meeting, the scholars were briefed about becoming AUD ambassadors in the US, and the role they will play as Clinton Scholars."
Politico's Mike Allen posted a pool report on June 16, 2014, which referred to Cooper as a "former Clinton foundation hand."
"It was a Clinton White House reunion in the Bahamas on Saturday, attended by the former President himself, as Jon Orszag -- former Clinton economic-policy adviser, and brother of Obama’s former budget director -- [got married] to on-air personality Mary Kitchen," the pool report stated. "The ceremony was officiated by James Carville, and attendees included Sean Rad, CEO and founder of Tinder, along with his girlfriend, Alexa Dell; Michael Peterson, son of philanthropist Peter Peterson; former Clinton counselor Doug Band and former Clinton foundation hand Justin Cooper; former Bill Clinton advisor Sara Latham; and former White House aide David Beaubaire. Clinton played a few holes of golf with some of the attendees."
On March 17, 2015 Amy Chozick tweeted that the New York Times "will look into this," after I told her that her article seemed to be wrong about Cooper's current employment. Other media outlets seem to have followed the Times lead, and may be wrongly reporting that he is currently with Teneo. It is possible Cooper returned to Teneo after leaving former President Bill Clinton's service.
Although most media accounts of Kelly's work as an envoy seemed to be enthusiastic, McCabe quoted an unnamed source who complained, “He basically got to ride around developing a book of business, while he waited for his non-compete clause to run out."
"The Secretary of State also traveled with Kelly, including the October 2010 U.S. – Northern Ireland Economics Conference, which Kelly organized and at which the secretary was the featured speaker," McCabe also noted.
"The conference was focused on promoting investment in Northern Ireland, but also on trade between that region and the United States, which underlines Secretary Clinton’s belief that economic investment is the best means to build on the political progress, says Declan Kelly, the U.S. economic envoy to Northern Ireland and organizer of the conference."Kelly, 41, an Irish-born journalist turned business CEO, was appointed to his new post last September by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the Obama administration continued to chart its course in the North," BostonIrish.com reported on February 6, 2010. "Clinton, whose presidential campaign he advised and supported, buttressed the appointment by visiting Belfast shortly after he was was named."
“Northern Ireland is a very good fit because of its location, obviously, its English-speaking work force, the time zone, the high level of education, and the common ties with the United States,” Kelly said during a post-conference press briefing. Kelly was appointed as the economic envoy September 11, 2009, by Clinton."
On October 12, 2009 link), then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued joint press statements with First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Stormont Castle in Northern Ireland. "I have brought with me our new economic envoy, Declan Kelly, who is already hard at work, fostering economic ties," Clinton said. Robinson added, "We are delighted that the ambassador is with us today. And you will note the possessive word "our" economic advisor, Declan Kelly, who has rolled his sleeves up, and he has been dying to work immediately, and we enjoy working with him. And he inspires us with his own drive and enthusiasm." McGuinness said, "On the economic front, we are absolutely inspired by Secretary Clinton's appointment of Declan Kelly as the economic advisor. And we believe that there will be good news stories, even within days, on that front, because economic development we have put as the major issue in our program for government." Clinton also appeared with Kelly at a meeting with the Northern Ireland Business Working Group.
On March 16, 2010, Clinton joked at the National Gala of the American Ireland Fund in Washington, DC, "And thank you, Declan Kelly. You have once again proven the truth of one of my husband’s rules of politics: Always be introduced by someone you have appointed to high office." She added, "Declan is doing a wonderful job."
"And I especially want to thank and recognize Declan Kelly, the U.S. Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland," Clinton said on October 19, 2010 at the U.S.-Northern Ireland Economic Conference held in Washington, DC. "I appointed Declan to this post in September 2009, and just a little more than a year later, I think, it proves the wisdom of that appointment. He was asked to direct private sector outreach and encourage and coordinate U.S. investment in Northern Ireland. And he’s been working very closely with the Government in Northern Ireland as well as the Government in the U.K. and Ireland itself. Invest NI and the U.S. and Northern Ireland working groups have really come together to look for new opportunities that we can help promote and achieve. And thanks to these combined efforts, as Declan has said, American companies have recently created more than 1,000 new jobs in Northern Ireland, including 100 jobs created by GE Energy and more than 300 in the Belfast office of the New York Stock Exchange."
That same day, Kelly said at a teleconference, "I had the privilege of organizing the conference on behalf of the Secretary, and it was attended by the First Minister of Northern Ireland Peter Robinson, the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, and Minister Arlene Foster and Minister Reg Empey and Assemblyman Alban Maginness. It was also attended by Owen Paterson, the British Secretary of State to Northern Ireland and Peter Power, the Irish Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, both of whom had separate discussions in addition to the conference with Secretary Clinton."
On December 7, 2012, Secretary Clinton and her former envoy appeared together at a luncheon hosted by the Ireland Funds. Clinton said, "And I, too, will acknowledge and thank our former Economic Envoy Declan Kelly who has done so much to help bring more investors to the region, and I thank you for your contributions, Declan."
Ryan Grim reported for Huffington Post on November 14, 2011, "As part of his deal with FTI, Kelly told HuffPost, he had agreed to a noncompete clause that prevented him from establishing a rival firm within two years of leaving FTI. Hillary Clinton had just been named to President Barack Obama's Cabinet and had something to keep him busy."
Kelly told Huffington Post, "When she wasn't successful [in her presidential campaign] and she became secretary of state, she asked me if I wanted to do a stint as an envoy to Ireland, and it came at the right time in my life. So I gave up everything, resigned from the job and agreed to a two-year noncompete, and went to Northern Ireland and did that job for two years. And I resigned in March of this year, and in June we started the new business."
"As the Northern Ireland envoy, Kelly took no salary from State, he said, but was afforded one staffer in Washington and reimbursed for coach flights across the pond. On his own dime, he said, he hired a staff of five and paid for office space at a cost of $1.4 million, while also giving up potentially millions in salary over the two-year period. Kelly's assertions may sound extreme, but ambassadors and high-level envoys are known to spend heavily with their personal money while in the job. The White House referred questions to the State Department; a spokesman there didn't respond to requests for comment.""Kelly has brought that staff with him to his new investment firm," Grim noted.
He bragged to Huffington Post in 2011, "I didn't need the State Department or the U.S. government's help to access the economic elite in Ireland. I have advised four prime ministers in Ireland, all pro bono. I had a business in Ireland for over a decade, I have a home there, I am an Irish citizen and I know virtually every senior business leader in the country. I've gained no personal benefit from this at all."
"The formation of Kelly’s newest venture was in the works for some time before Kelly resigned," the Irish Echo reported on August 4, 2011. "A trademark application was made for the Teneo company logo in April, 2010, and an application for funding was also submitted to the Rockefeller Foundation months before its approval in early June, giving the new company a huge grant for over three million dollars in start up cash."
The Irish Echo claimed that a "U.S. State Department official" told it that "the State Department did provide administrative support and reimbursement for travel expenses." It also reported, "Several staff employed by the State Department as administrative support for the envoy position while Mr. Kelly was envoy are now working at Teneo."
According to his LinkedIn resume, Stephen W. Meahl was an advisor to the Office of the US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland from January 2010 to May 2011, then became a Senior Associate at Teneo Holdings in June 2011, Vice President in 2012, and Senior Vice President in December of 2014.
"Mr. Meahl is a Senior Vice President with Teneo Strategy," his Teneo bio states. "He also serves as Chief of Staff to Teneo’s Chairman and CEO where he is responsible for managing a wide range of special initiatives across the firm’s operating divisions."
The bio adds, "Prior to joining Teneo, Mr. Meahl worked for the US Department of State’s Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland where he was responsible for executing a number special initiatives to help drive economic development in support of the ongoing peace process. He began his career with Fidelity Investments." In 2009, an earlier version of Meahl's Teneo bio, added, "In his role, Mr. Meahl was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the office including all media and communications. He was also responsible for relationship management with key State Department and foreign officials, and coordinated the development of major initiatives within the office."
Therese O'Higgins, according to her LinkedIn resume, is now a Vice President at Teneo, and also "worked at the Office of the US State Department's Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland where she worked closely with the Ireland Funds and Northern Ireland Science Park to set up the US–NI Mentorship Program. The US-NI Mentorship Program is a planned one-year work placement for recent graduates from Northern Ireland to work with leading corporations in the US. Therese continues to run this program in collaboration with the aforementioned parties."
The US-NI Mentorship Program was founded by Declan Kelly when he worked as Clinton's envoy. In a message on its website, Kelly writes, "From September 2009 until May 2011, I had the privilege of serving as the US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland. In that role, my office worked to increase economic opportunities between the US and Northern Ireland, and to develop programs that would have a long‐term impact on the region. One of the first things I discovered about Northern Ireland was the strength of the region’s incredible young people. Northern Ireland’s universities produce some of the highest quality graduates anywhere in the world, and these graduates play a key role in attracting foreign direct investment to the region.When I stepped down as Envoy, I was anxious to continue to support the US-NI Mentorship Program. Feedback on the program from both participants and host companies continues to be exceptionally positive and I am pleased to report that many of the world’s leading corporations have signed up for the program again for this year."
"The program selects approximately twenty graduates, from across Northern Ireland, and places them in US corporations for a one‐year work period. The graduates are individuals who have demonstrated academic promise and have shown an interest in developing entrepreneurship and management skills.The goal of the program is for the participants to be able to return to Northern Ireland with the skills and experience to start businesses and become business leaders in their communities. Having had the opportunity to meet with many of the participants of the program, I can tell you that they will be well prepared to return and invest in the future of Northern Ireland.""Therese O'Higgins of @Teneo hands out awards at 3rd US-Northern Ireland Mentorship Program graduation event," @IRLFunds tweeted on November 6, 2013, including a picture from the event.
At the program's website (which mentions that she is a Teneo Vice President, US-Northern Ireland Mentorship Executive Director Therese O'Higgins writes, "Having been involved in this program from the outset, it is truly rewarding to see the program continue to enjoy success and attract the highest standards of graduates ."
"On March 12, 2015 US-NI Mentorship Program participants attended a lunch in New York City with Founder, Declan Kelly," the US-NI website announced. "The lunch was held at Teneo Holdings headquaters, New York celebrating the fifth year of the US-NI Mentorship Program."
So far, I've been unable to find a biography for O'Higgins on Teneo's website, so I'm unsure she still works there. Along with former Senior Associate Monica Milton, whose expunged Teneo bio, reveals she "joined Teneo after working with Declan Kelly during his appointment as the U.S. Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland for the U.S. Department of State. In that role, she was responsible for coordination with the U.S. Government including organizing official events, and conferences working with senior State Department officials and representatives from foreign governments. Prior to this, Ms. Milton was the Community Liaison Officer at the U.S. Embassy Muscat, Oman working as the Ambassador's representative managing internal and external programs as a key member of the in-country country team. Ms. Milton also represented the U.S. in a diplomatic role during two assignments at the U.S. Embassy, Cairo, Egypt assigned to the Defense Attach'e Office and the Public Affairs Office. Ms. Milton has also lived in Saudi Arabia."
According to his Teneo biography, Steven Sullivan, the current Chief Administration Officer and Chief Financial Officer also worked with Declan Kelly in the envoy's office.
"Prior to joining Teneo, Mr. Sullivan served as Deputy to the U.S. State Department’s Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland, helping to drive investment to the region from U.S. corporations and facilitate bi-lateral trade. In this position, Mr. Sullivan was responsible for relationship management and communications. Prior to his role with the U.S. Envoy, Mr. Sullivan worked in GE Capital’s Business Development and Mergers & Acquisitions Group focusing on restructuring strategies for GE Capital’s non-core assets, primarily consisting of commercial real estate, commercial equipment leasing and consumer finance platforms. Mr. Sullivan has also held positions within GE Capital’s Commercial Real Estate Division with responsibilities ranging from financial planning & analysis, loan restructuring, and transaction structuring."According to the Trademark Encyclopedia and Trademarks411, the same firm, Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP, that registered Teneo Strategy Consulting LLC on November 18, 2009, also seems to have worked with it on trademarks.
