The CFR and CitiGroup Selected Obama Administration Personnel Prior to 2008 Election
Before ever stepping foot in the White House, before any acceptance speech was made, and even before votes were cast on election day in November 2008, members of America's ruling class were already finalizing their list of approved candidates who would make up Obama's cabinet.
Wall Street had already firmly established who would be in charge of key positions within the Obama administration. These individuals had already proven their loyalty as card carrying members of the CFR, worked under previous CFR members in the US government, held prominent positions on Wall Street, and/or who had attended elite Ivy League schools.
The Podesta Emails released by Wikileaks just days before the November 2016 US presidential elections contained a treasure trove of information about the inner workings of Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign. What's more, it pulled back the curtain as to just how US politics actually works behind the facade of slogan drenched rhetoric and ritualistic pageantry. The Podesta emails reveal to the American public that the United States of America is not a democratic society but an oligarchic state.
Citigroup
Citigroup executive and prominent Council on Foreign Relations insider Michael Froman exchanges a series of emails with Democrat strategist John Podesta to finalize the selection of pre-Wall Street-approved candidates to head the departments of National Security, Energy and the Economy.
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/57710
Interestingly, Michael Froman was also a classmate of Barack Obama at Harvard Law School. The investment bank Citigroup, where Froman is an executive, received the largest bailout package of the banks receiving $45 billion.
The correspondence between Citigroup executive Michael Froman and John Podesta (acting as chair of Obama's transition team from August 2008 after Hillary conceded defeat) is extensive with over 414 emails exchanged between the pair in the Podesta email archive.
Huffington Post
Here's a sample of Citigroup's role in the selection process:
Get the List to Obama
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/28770
Robert Rubin and Private Vetting List
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/32870
On Vetting
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/55253
Econ list and meeting on donations of 300k
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/47412
“O” and Jim face time
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/48678
Priority positions
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/52117
Deep Vets – Brennan
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/57206
Referring to one another on a first name basis, the pair discuss the short list of Wall-Street approved cabinet members presented by Froman.
You'll notice that the majority of the emails take place BEFORE election day in November 2008.
Vetting names and finding the right candidates to fill administrative positions is common place, even months ahead of time. However, what's significant about this list is that those that appear on the Citigroup list, do in fact, end up with their Wall Street approved, predetermined positions in Obama's administration.
A un-elected, for-profit entity is drafting the lists of acceptable candidates for the administration.
It should come as no surprise then, that these individuals are also members of the Council on Foreign Relations, had previously been employed by Citigroup/Citibank, high powered Wall Street law firms or are career politicians that are loyal to maintaining the status quo.
APPROVED CORPORATE ACTORS
Economy
In the wake of the financial crash of 2008, Wall Street faced considerable and deserved scorn from the general public. Some of the must successful Wall Street institutions were on the verge of collapse and on the hook for their risky lending in derivatives markets. For the ruling class, it was paramount that they rescue and restore the centers of finance and power after the collapse. Having the ability to parachute in their preferred candidates in critical positions at the US treasury was a top priority. Ultimately, Wall Street got exactly what they need in the form of enormous government bailouts of the financial industry.
Timothy Geithner
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Kissinger and Associates
- Warburg Pincus
- Rand Corporation
- Fed Reserve Bank of NY, , US Department of Treasury
- Undersecretary US Federal Reserve (under Robert Rubin)
- Undersecretary (under Larry Summers)
Possible alternate choices included BOTH Robert Rubin and Larry Summers for Geithner's position at the US Treasury Department. Essentially, the CFR and Citigroup recommend more of the same year after year.
Robert "Bob" Rubin
- Co-Chair Council on Foreign Relations
- Citigroup
- Goldman Sachs
- Genie Oil and Gas
- US Department of Treasury
- NEC
- Harvard
Larry Summers
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Citigroup
- Goldman Sachs
- US Department of Treasury
- Bilderburg Group
- Brookings Institute
- Clinton Global Initiative
- NEC
- Harvard
Jacob "Jack" Lew
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Citigroup
- US Department of Treasury
- The Hamilton Project
- Harvard
National Security
Many of these individuals are familiar faces in US politics over the last several decades. National security hawks have close connections to Wall Street and DC think tanks.
Hillary R. Clinton
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Husband Bill Clinton also CFR member
- The Clinton Foundation
- Secretary of State
- US Senate
- Senate Armed Services Committee
- Paid Speeches to Goldman Sachs
- Walmart
- Yale
Thank you very much, Richard, and I am delighted to be here in these new headquarters. I have been often to, I guess, the mother ship in New York City, but it’s good to have an outpost of the Council right here down the street from the State Department. We get a lot of advice from the Council, so this will mean I won’t have as far to go to be told what we should be doing and how we should think about the future
- Hillary Clinton at the CFR in 2009
Robert Gates
- JP Morgan Chase
- Starbucks Corp.
- CIA
- DoD
- Director of Intel
- Atlantic Council
- WSJ CEO council
- Parker Drilling Co.
Chuck Hagel
- Chevron
- Secretary of Defense
- Atlantic Council
John Kerry
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Secretary of State,
- Skull and Bones Yale
- Noble Energy Inc
Susan Rice
- Netflix
- National Security Council
- Department of State
- US mission to UN
- Brookings Institution
- Trilateral Commission
- Stanford
- Oxford
White House
Eric Holder
- Covington and Burling
- Attorney General of the US
- Superior Court of the District of Columbia
- Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force
- Columbia University
Rahm Emanuel
- Mayor of Chicago
- White House Chief of Staff
- Freddie Mac
- Wasserstein Perella & Co, Inc.
- CME Group
As we can plainly see, Wall Street ALWAYS ensures that their interests will be served by placing key players in critical government positions.
In his capacity at the head of the US Department of Justice, Eric Holder's failed to prosecute a single financial institution responsible for wrecking the US economy in 2008.
I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them.
When we are hit with indications that if you do prosecute — if you do bring a criminal charge — it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy. I think that is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large.
Too Big To Jail
CFR
the-demoic-paradise.wikia.com
The Phrase VBIQVE:
- A Latin word found on many ancient Roman coins meaning “everywhere”
There's little doubt that the Council on Foreign Relations is one of, if not, the most influential think tanks in the United States. The organization has been a bridge connecting Wall Street, high powered financial institutions, big oil, fortune 500 corporations and government officials since its inception in 1921.
CFR members and affiliates hold key appointments throughout government, in mainstream media, the corporate sector, the military, intelligence communities and the banking sector.
For over 70 years, a significant number of key cabinet position of all presidential administrations have been members of the CFR or one of sister organizations, such as the Trilateral Commission or the Atlantic Council. This is true of both Democrat and Republican administrations and is especially notable in relations to the US Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense and National Security Council positions.
A full list of current members can be found on the CFR official website:
https://www.cfr.org/membership/membership-roster-a-f
Sidney Blumenthal
For those familiar with the Hillary Clinton and Podesta emails, you are probably aware of the name Sidney Blumenthal. A long time Clinton advisor and member of the CFR, Blumenthal provides Hillary Clinton with suggested reading, questionable intelligence and guidance on foreign policy in countless instances.
Judging from his e-mails, Blumenthal has been a sort of 24-7 mini-mart of ideas for Clinton. He has been a two-legged LexisNexis who plies her with articles she must read. He also provided her with background information from private sources on the turmoil in Libya—intelligence of dubious reliability and provenance, and possibly tainted by the commercial ambitions of American businessmen.
Vanity Fair
tomjefferson1976.wordpress.com
CFR Corporate Members
Another important aspect of the council is its powerful corporate partnerships. Along with an extensive list of powerful and influential individuals the council is intimately tied to multi-national corporations.
Once again, near the top of the list we find Citigroup as one of the founding members of the CFR.
Founders
logos.wikia.com
There are dozens and dozens of additional corporate partnerships falling under the appropriately titled category of:
President's Circle
Within this classification we find:
- American Express
- Barclay's
- Dell
- KKR
- MasterCard
- Newmont Mining Corp
- S&P Global
- Shell Oil
- Soros Fund Management
- Thompson Reuters
- Toyota
- Veritas Capital
- Warburg Pincus
There are many more in the President's Circle but it doesn't end there. There are a multitude of corporations within the Affiliate designation. From banks to oil companies and mining giants and significant relationships with media organizations. The reach of the CFR is staggering but the council remains unknown to the vast majority of the general public.
Summary
As demonstrated in the Wikileaks emails of John Podesta and Hillary Clinton, non-elected CFR members hand pick who will occupy key positions in presidential administrations. This assures continuity of government and overarching policy goals of the organization and it's affiliates.
Citgroup Exec/CFR member Froman selects Obama Cabinet
Citigroup Exec/CFR Co-Chair Robert Rubin
Citigroup Corporation is founding member of CFR
Citigroup awarded $45 billion in gov. bailouts
This proves what many of us already know, that the US is no longer a democracy but is has a ruling elite oligarchic class that ultimately rules the US government.
Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups and Average Citizens
Essentially, the CFR is a shadow government. An invisible government that influences all levels of US government policy in coordination with Wall Street, corporate America, the military, and the intelligencia.
Through the release of insider emails, Wikileaks has provided tangible evidence of a shadow government that would be difficult for anyone to dispute.
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