Judicial Watch Sues Energy Department for Biden Climate Czar John Podesta’s Records

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy for records regarding Joe Biden’s Climate Czar John Podesta and/or his brother Tony Podesta that are tied to the lobbying firm Podesta.com (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Energy (No. 1:24-cv-02174))

The suit was filed after the Energy Department failed to respond to an April 3, 2024, Judicial Watch FOIA request for access to:

A. All emails between any official or employee of the Department of Energy and any email address terminating in the domain “Podesta.com.”

B. All agendas, briefing materials, notes, or other records created in preparation for, during, or pursuant to any meeting between any official or employee of the Department of Energy and Anthony Podesta and/or Helen Hagerty. For purposes of clarification, Hagerty is a lobbyist with the firm Podesta.com.

John Podesta in March replaced John Kerry as Joe Biden’s U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (Climate Czar), overseeing the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, which has been called “the largest green slush fund in American history,” and coordinating interagency efforts to advance the Biden administration’s climate agenda. Specifically, Podesta is in charge of allocating funds for clean energy projects and ensuring that they align with the administration’s goals of reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to renewable energy sources, including major infrastructure projects related to the energy grid.

Concerns have been raised by The Washington Free Beacon about potential conflicts of interest arising from John Podesta advising the Biden administration on climate policy while having close ties to Podesta.com, a lobbying firm co-founded by his brother, Tony Podesta:

His [John’s] brother Tony Podesta could reap the benefits as a longtime lobbyist for foreign Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) companies—including one founded by a Russian energy oligarch.

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“It’s no secret that John Podesta is the person behind this moratorium … Congress should take a very hard look at the fact that his own brother stands to financially benefit from a restriction of U.S. LNG on the global market, whether it be from his past work with the Qataris or current reported work with Russian-backed entities with interest in LNG.”

“Simply put, John Podesta and the Biden-Harris administration can’t be trusted,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “That the Biden-Harris ‘Energy’ Department is hiding documents in violation of FOIA about John Podesta is all you need to know.”

Judicial Watch has been relentless in using FOIA to uncover the covered-up bribery and influence peddling.

In October 2024, Judicial Watch published an Investigative Bulletin titled “John Podesta: The Scandal Master Returns,” which recounts:

Students of scandal took note when President Biden announced the appointment of one of the dirtiest figures in presidential politics as his clean energy czar. John Podesta, the White House said, would step in as “Senior Adviser to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation,” overseeing the new Inflation Reduction Act’s “expansive” energy and climate provisions. Expansive it is, Podesta is now in charge of a $370 billion pot of federal cash and incentives approved under the new law. History suggests he will not be shy in deploying the federal funds to reward Democratic Party allies, punish opponents, and protect Joe Biden.

On March 8, 2024, Judicial Watch published a Corruption Chronicles article examining how a Chinese Mining Co. that was sold to a Swiss firm hired Biden’s new Clean Energy Czar John Podesta’s brother Tony to Lobby the United States Government.

In May 2018, Judicial Watch Judicial Watch released State Department records showing the Podesta Group working on behalf of the pro-Russia Ukrainian political group “Party of Regions.” The records also showed longtime Obama and Clinton counselor John Podesta lobbying on behalf of his brother’s firm.

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