White House Denies Axelrod Benefits from Ad Deals

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: White House

(AP)

The White House and the pharmaceutical industry are pushing back against allegations that one of President Obama's senior advisers is personally benefiting from industry cooperation on health care reform.

On Tuesday, the House Republican Conference published a one-page talking points memo that says, "Even as President Obama campaigned on a platform of change and transparency, recent dealings between the pharmaceutical industry and the administration raise serious questions as to whether the drug lobby is helping to bankroll a multimillion dollar severance package for one of the president's senior advisors."

The memo refers to two ad deals, worth a total of $24 million, bankrolled by the pharmaceutical industry that went to an advertising firm founded by White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod. Although Axelrod no longer works for AKPD Message and Media, his son works there, and the firm still owes Axelrod $2 million.

AKPD is in part responsible for two separate $12 million ad campaigns funded by in part Americans for Stable Quality Care, a coalition led by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry association also known as PhRMA.

The drug industry stands to profit greatly from Mr. Obama's health care plans and has negotiated deals with the White House to move the reform process along.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Tuesday called the claim that Axelrod will personally benefit from the ad deal "ridiculous."

According to Politico, the pharmaceutical industry denies that the coalition chose AKPD to produce the ads because of its White House connections. In fact, PhRMA says it was not responsible in any way for choosing AKPD, regardless of the motivations.

"We're very involved in reviewing ad copy and determining targeted districts and states, but not in determining which consultants are hired to carry out the campaign," PhRMA vice president Ken Johnson told Politico. "That's left to the people who you hire to manage it." He points out that PhRMA is spending much more money airing its own ads.

A source familiar with AKPD's operations told Politico that the firm is not depending on the ad campaign to make its owed payments to Axelrod.

Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by jaymac09 August 20, 2009 6:31 PM EDT: Let Axelrod explain this coincidence. I'm sure he will willingly do so.; Reply to this comment


by esq1991 August 20, 2009 5:24 PM EDT: Let me understand this - we are supposed to just accept their denials? I am not surprised that CBS would, since they are now a mouthpiece for the Obama White House and its minions. I just can't see how so many people don't see the hypocrisy. Whatever your feelings about Bush, why was the battle cry in the press and liberal community that Bush started a war to benefit friends in Halliburton? Or that they were favoring their friends in "big oil" by wanting drilling here (despite the fact it could help the American people, too, which is something lost on the press)?

Yet it's OK when something like this happens because it's a Demo? Where are the other companies who were interviewed and submitted proposals? Let's see evidence of that. Let's see who else applied - besides a company who employs Axelrod's son and owes him a bunch of money and was owned by Axelrod until he joined the White House. The same applies with cap and trade. There you have a program that is going to benefit O's liberal friends and associates, yet there is no suspicion that possibly it is being shoved down our throats. Why? Because it's a Demo program or cause.

Tell me, CBS and the other "mainstream" media, when are you going back to reporting the news and digging into a story regardless of the party involved?; Reply to this comment


by endurorob August 20, 2009 7:12 AM EDT: What an amazing coincidence. After the White House has back room meetings with big pharma the firm that Axelrods son works for gets a big contract from big pharma. What a coincidence.; Reply to this comment

by MichaelJMcFadden August 20, 2009 1:58 AM EDT

It all boils down to whether people feel they can trust President Obama. And unfortunately President Obama blew that trust out the window on July 21st when he told a blatant lie to a national TV audience on the Today Show. And to make it worse, it was a blatant lie that at least 40 million Americans knew instantly was a blatant lie:

"In the six months I've been here, the only tax change I've made has been to cut taxes."

40,000,000 American smokers knew that one of Obama's very first acts in office had been to raise their taxes by 150%. Another two million Americans, those so poor that they'd been forced to roll their own from shreds of tobacco and scraps of paper, knew that their taxes had been raised by an incredible 2,000%. There's a very big difference between breaking campaign promises and bare-faced lying.

See the clip and read the story yourself at:

http://pro-choicesmokingdoctor.blogspot.com/2009/07/obama-in-bare-faced-lie.html

and then ask yourself if you think these people would ever trust the President to be telling the truth about something as important and as complex as this health care bill.

Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"

Reply to this comment


by esq1991 August 20, 2009 5:37 PM EDT: You are one of the smart citizens of this country who realizes taxes are not just what you pay in April. See, he can say things and people take from it what they want to hear. He always has what I call a "but" moment: I did this, but.... He may have cut the federal tax rate for some (and I, frankly, am not sure that we even have really been told what the new rate is), BUT I am going to raise taxes on so many other things that it will have the same effect as raising your federal income tax, because the increased cost of goods and services will take more money out of your pocket

by soapyrub August 19, 2009 10:59 PM EDT

AThere is no evidence that Axelrod directly profited from the group's ads. Axelrod took steps to separate himself from AKPD when he joined Obama's White House. AKPD owes him $2 million from his stock sale and will make preset payments over four years, starting with $350,000 on Dec. 31, according to Axelrod's personal financial disclosure report.

P reporting, somewhat blows a hole in this FOX ATTACK:

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by esq1991 August 20, 2009 5:34 PM EDT: soapyrub - Isn't it possible that wihout this "job," the company would not have the money to pay him what they owe him? I can tell you that once this slimeball from Chicago politics gets his $2 million and he can find his son a job at another company, he will not give a damn about how well that company does.

by soapyrub August 19, 2009 10:43 PM EDT

Leave it to the "crack" reporters at Fox to dig up this dirt on Axelrod/Obama. The Fox zealots will grab on to this "truth" and use it in their war against our country in their attempt to bring about failure so they can grab power and status - the only values the Republicans stand for. Does any rational intelligent curious person believe there is an once of truth in this Fox report?? Come on Republican FOXAHOLICS. Grow up, get a brain and act like you care!!!

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by ReallyMeanIt August 20, 2009 12:19 PM EDT: soapyrub, sorry to shattered your make believe world.
barack cronies are mostly crooks.
Don't shoot the messenger!


by esq1991 August 20, 2009 5:33 PM EDT: soapyrub, I am going to ask you a question I ask anyone who likes to smear Fox News: Is what they are reporting wrong? No, it is not. Axelrod owned the company till he sold it to join the White House. Axelrod's son still works there. This company owes Axelrod money.

The fact no other media outlet is reporting this does not mean it is not true, as with any story the alleged "mainstream" media choose to ignore. It merely means they are ignoring the story so as not to tarnish the image of their messiah and his many czars.

Do you remember during the Monica Lewinsky scandal how the MSM and ole Hil cried "right-wing conspiracy" and that the stories were being made up? Turns out the MSM and ole Hil were wrong. Remember the John Edwards' scandal? Oh, it can't be right; it's from the National Inquirer. Hmmm, seems it turned out to be right after all.

There have been many instances in history where people stuck their heads in the ground and chose to believe what they were told. Do you suppose those German citizens who toured the concentration camps after WWII continued to believe the lies the press told them? Or, did you ever read the book or see the movie "1984"? That's what we are living in - like the main character whose job was to re-write the news in a light most favorable to the govt.

Wake up.


by 6591Hou August 19, 2009 5:21 PM EDT: If I recall old Dick Cheney was publically pilloried when Halliburton, a company he used to work for, got those contracts in Iraq.......now Axlerod's former company is getting biz from the government, his son is working there, and they owe him some deferred compensation?

Does Washington D.C. wipe ethics from the brain of everyone who works there, or does Capitol Hill have some sort of scanner that you walk through (like an airport metal detector)? It seems that nobody there is capable of avoiding the appearance of impropriety (Ceasar's wife?).; Reply to this comment


by hungry1968-16 August 19, 2009 5:16 PM EDT: by specialty8 August 19, 2009 3:50 PM EDT
Obama sure has a real class of winners around him. Lucky for us four of them resigned. Geithner,better known as Turbo Timmy stayed in for the big haul.

"...better known as Turbo Timmy..."?

Where do they call him that - the elementary school playground?; Reply to this comment