Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Congress to AIG: Why all the PR firms?

TPM:


TPMmuckraker has exclusively obtained a letter from the House Oversight Committee to government-owned AIG demanding that the company cough up information about the four PR firms it has retained.


Also:


House Oversight committee chair Ed Towns requests detailed information on AIG's PR expenses, specifically mentioning Hill & Knowlton, and Mark Penn's Burson-Marsteller, two high-priced experts in Washington spin that have signed on to represent the firm.

Just Monday, Burson
announced (sub req.) that Dana Perino, President Bush's last White House press secretary, had signed on as "chief issues counselor." In addition to CEO Penn, who masterminded Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, Burson's roster also boasts former Clinton administration communications director Don Baer, former Clinton speechwriter Josh Gottheimer, and top Bush adviser Karen Hughes. As for Hill & Knowlton, it has represented Wal-Mart, the CIA, and a string of other big-name clients. Stacie Paxton, the DNC's national press secretary during the 2008 campaign, recently joined the firm as a vice president.

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