[2] Podesta Group, which represented American corporations as well as nonprofits and governments, was said in 2011 to have "close ties to the Democratic Party and the Obama administration",[5] although its CEO, Kimberley Fritts, is identified in her Cogent Strategies bio as "a fixture in Republican politics".

[10][11][12] The Podesta Group acted as a lobbyist for Egypt on United States policies of concern, activities in Congress and the executive branch, and developments on the U.S. political scene generally, according to forms filed with the Department of Justice in 2009.

[14] As of October 2017, the Podesta Group was reported to be under investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for potentially violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act in the course of its work for the ECMU.

[17] As of May 2019, the Podesta Group, along with Mercury Public Affairs and Skadden, has been under investigation for possible lobbying violations regarding former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort by the Southern District of New York.

According to FARA filings at the US Justice Department, the company represented Afghanistan,[21] Vietnam,[22] Switzerland,[23] Georgia,[24] India,[25] Iraq,[26] Japan,[27] Hong Kong,[28] Thailand,[29] Saudi Arabia[30] and Cyprus,[31] among others.