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Former Clinton Pollster Quits as Lobbyist for Pakistani Party

Campaign still owes Mark Penn $5 million

By Gabriel Winant,  Newser User

Posted Dec 29, 2008 12:02 PM CST
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(Newser) – It could get awkward for the secretary of state to be deeply in debt to a flack for the political party running one of the most incendiary countries in the world. That could be why pollster Mark Penn has ended his company's relationship with Pakistan’s ruling People’s Party, Politico reports. Penn’s firm, to which Hillary Clinton’s campaign still owes $5 million, had a contract that included not only polling, but also romancing journalists, rounding up supporters, and lobbying the House and Senate for its client.

Penn’s firm, Burson-Marsteller, is still registered as a foreign agent, but a spokesperson says it hasn’t done any work for President Asif Ali Zardari's People’s Party since March. And though Clinton fired Penn as her pollster, she still intends to pay him. “There is a debt remaining,” says Penn. “And she has consistently said she is going to clear that up.”

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari waves to media in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Dec. 5, 2008. Zardari is a signatory on the contract with Burson-Marsteller.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari waves to media in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Dec. 5, 2008. Zardari is a signatory on the contract with Burson-Marsteller.   (AP Photo/Murad Sezer)
Hillary Clinton cups her ear as reporters ask her about Mark Penn, her former pollster and senior strategist on April 6, 2008.
Hillary Clinton cups her ear as reporters ask her about Mark Penn, her former pollster and senior strategist on April 6, 2008.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Mark Penn, former pollster for Hillary Clinton, is seen in this Feb. 3, 1998 file photo, in New York.
Mark Penn, former pollster for Hillary Clinton, is seen in this Feb. 3, 1998 file photo, in New York.   (AP Photo/The New York Times, Librado Romero, File)
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Burson-Marsteller will work with the [Pakistan People's Party] to draft and seek placement of op-ed pieces on the issue and will identify appropriate 'authors,' depending on tone and subject. - Burson-Marsteller's contract

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Don't send Bill to be special India-Pakistan envoy
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No, Mark Penn owes America
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Hillary Clinton • Pakistan • Pakistan People's Party • Asif Ali Zardari • Mark Penn • Burson-Marsteller

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