A delegation of American business leaders with lobbying ties to relatives of a top Obama administration adviser wrapped up a four-day tour in Egypt aimed at laying the groundwork for increased economic cooperation on Tuesday, as violent rioters stormed the US Embassy in Cairo.

Senior State Department officials accompanied more than 100 executives from 50 American companies on the trip, which included high-level powwows with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-backed president, Mohamed Morsi, and other Egyptian officials.

Among the Obama administration officials present on the tour, which was jointly sponsored by the State Department and the US Chamber of Commerce’s Egyptian affiliate, was John Podesta, a senior adviser to the Secretary of State and former Clinton administration official who founded the liberal Center For American Progress.

Ten of the 50 companies present on the tour have been clients of lobbying firms separately run by Podesta’s brother and sister-in-law, leaving some observers wondering what role the Democrat insider may have played in determining which companies earned slots on the potentially lucrative junket.

One of the firms, The Podesta Group, is operated by Tony Podesta, who is John’s brother. The other, Heather Podesta + Partners, is run by John’s sister-in-law.

During the several-day jaunt, business leaders from the finance, defense, and aerospace sectors, among others, were exposed to investment opportunities in Egypt’s burgeoning public and private sectors.

“The group, which included representatives from 50 leading American companies and top administration officials, traveled to Egypt to deliver a simple message to the nation’s new government: Egypt is open for business, and the US business community is ready to invest,” according to an account of the trip on the Chamber of Commerce’s website.

Ten of the most prominent companies to participate in the trip have been or are currently represented by either The Podesta Group or Heather Podesta + Partners, highlighting the close ties between the Obama administration and Democratic-leaning lobbying outfits.

The companies whose representatives John Podesta accompanied to Egypt have collectively spent millions on firms run by his brother and sister-in-law, records show.

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Editor's Note: So, it would appear that Progressives, both inside government and out, have no issue selling out to an Egyptian government who not only knew of upcoming violence against US assets and failed to alert their US counterparts, but figuratively urinate on the concept of free speech. Are you starting to understand the close ideological relationship between the Progressive Movement and fundamentalist Islamists yet?


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