John Vincent Weber (born July 24, 1952) is an American politician, lobbyist and former
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Congressman from
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
.
Early life and education
Weber was born in
Slayton, Minnesota
Slayton is a city in and the county seat of Murray County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,153 at the 2010 census.
History
Slayton was platted in 1882 by Charles W. Slayton, and named for him.
Geography
According to the United ...
. He attended the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
,
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...
from 1970 to 1974.
Career
Weber was press secretary to Representative
Tom Hagedorn
Thomas Michael Hagedorn (born November 27, 1943) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from Minnesota.
Early life and education
He was born in Blue Earth, Faribault County, Minnesot ...
from 1974 to 1975 and a senior aide to Senator
Rudy Boschwitz
Rudolph Ely Boschwitz (born November 7, 1930) is an American politician and businessman who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 1978 until 1991. Boschwitz is a member of the Republican Party.
He was born in Berlin to a Jewis ...
from 1977 to 1980. He had been the co-publisher of
Murray County newspaper from 1976 to 1978 and the president of Weber Publishing Company. Weber was a delegate to the Minnesota State Republican conventions in 1972 and 1978. In 1980, at the age of 28, he was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives, defeating Archie Baumann, 53% to 47%. Baumann had been an aide to former Representative
Richard Nolan.
Weber chose not to run for reelection in 1992 and retired from Congress following the
House banking scandal, in which he was implicated for writing 125 bad checks worth nearly $48,000.
As secretary of the House Republican Conference and key adviser to incoming
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U. ...
, he was considered one of the architects of the Republicans' success in 1994. He was a commentator on
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
(NPR) the following year about developments in Congress after the Republicans took control of the House, providing commentary on the "revolution" he had helped create.
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is a progressive left-leaning media critique organization based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1986 by Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee. FAIR monitors American news media for bias, inaccu ...
reported that Weber frequently offered his opinions on NPR about health care issues, but never revealed that he was a paid lobbyist for several health insurance giants.
Weber was a member of the now defunct
Project for the New American Century
The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was a neoconservative[US President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...](_blank)
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
on January 26, 1998, advocating "the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime from power", along with
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former ...
,
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Preside ...
and 29 other notable Republicans.
Weber opened and managed the
Washington, D.C. branch of lobbying firm Clark & Weinstock. In 2006, home mortgage giant
Freddie Mac
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is a publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia.[subprime mortgage crisis
The United States subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010 that contributed to the 2007–2008 global financial crisis. It was triggered by a large decline in US home prices after the col ...]
. Weber also lobbied for
Gazprom
PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the large ...
, Russia's state-owned natural gas company. In 2011, Clark & Weinstock merged with Mercury, and Weber became a partner in the combined firm.
Weber is a prominent strategist in the Republican Party, serving as a top advisor on
Dole for President in 1996, the Bush reelection campaign in 2004, and
Romney for President in 2008. Weber is chairman of the
National Endowment for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization in the United States that was founded in 1983 for promoting democracy in other countries by promoting political and economic institutions such as political groups, trade unions, ...
, a private, nonprofit organization designed to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. He is a senior fellow at the
Humphrey Institute
The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs is a public policy and planning school at the University of Minnesota, a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is named after Hubert H ...
at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
, where he is co-director of the Policy Forum. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the
Institute for Law and Politics at the
University of Minnesota Law School
The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent L ...
and the nonprofit
America Abroad Media.
Weber is a board member of several private-sector and nonprofit organizations, including
ITT Educational Services
ITT Technical Institute (ITT Tech) was a private for-profit technical institute with its headquarters in Carmel, Indiana and many campuses throughout the United States. Founded in 1969 and growing to 130 campuses in 38 states of the United State ...
,
Department 56
Department 56 is a U.S. manufacturer of holiday collectibles, ornaments and giftware, known for its lit Christmas village collections and Snowbabies collection. It is owned by Enesco and based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
History
Department 56 w ...
, and the
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
. He also serves on the board of The
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...
and co-chaired the Independent Task Force on U.S. Policy toward Reform in the Arab World with former
U.S. Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democrat ...
. In addition, Weber is a member of the
U.S. Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board.
Weber was one of the Republicans who
turned against the
surprise Donald Trump candidacy, telling ''
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk s ...
'' on August 3, 2016, "I can't imagine I'd remain a Republican if he becomes president."
On August 17, 2016, the Associated Press reported that
Mercury Public Affairs LLC, which Weber heads, had received $1.02 million from
Paul Manafort
Paul John Manafort Jr. (; born April 1, 1949) is an American lobbyist, political consultant, and Lawyer, attorney. A long-time Republican Party (United States), Republican Party campaign consultant, he chaired the Donald Trump 2016 presidential ...
's
European Centre for a Modern Ukraine
The European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECFMU) was an organisation based in Brussels and operating internationally. It described itself as "an advocate for enhancing EU- Ukraine relations".
Operation
It has been described by the ''Ukrayinska P ...
to lobby Congress to support pro-Russia
Viktor Yanukovich
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of Di ...
during the
Autumn 2012 Ukrainian elections and to block the release from prison of Yanukovich's rival,
Julia Tymoshenko.
For his lobbying Congress on behalf of pro-Russia entities, Weber received at least $700,000.
Established in 2012, the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine had been supported by Yanukovich's pro-Russia
Party of Regions
The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of U ...
and continued to pay Mercury for lobbying until February 2014, when Yanukovich fled Ukraine for Russia after the
Maidan revolution.
[ From 2012 until February 2014 and directed by Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, Weber, who was the principal for Mercury's Ukraine-related lobbying portfolio beginning in 2012, acted as an unregistered agent of a foreign government and foreign political party, a felony offense under the ]Foreign Agents Registration Act
The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)2 U.S.C. § 611 ''et seq.'' is a United States law that imposes public disclosure obligations on persons representing foreign interests. (FARA), with a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. On April 28, 2017, Mercury retroactively filed with FARA within the Justice Department that it had been hired by the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine. Mercury had filed its lobbying efforts with Congress under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Files between Mercury and the Manafort and Gates firms connected to Yanukovich and his Party of Regions were subpoenaed by the Mueller investigation
The Mueller special counsel investigation was an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, links between associates of Donald Trump and Russian officials, and possible obstruction of justice by Trump and his ...
.
In July 2018, New York prosecutors were referred by Mueller to investigate any wrongdoing by Weber and Mercury Public Affairs LLC. The Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
dropped the probe of Weber and Mercury Public Affairs LLC in September 2019.
See also
*Podesta Group
The Podesta Group was a lobbying and public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1988 by brothers John and Tony Podesta and has previously been known as Podesta Associates, podesta.com and PodestaMattoon. John Podesta left ...
, another lobbying group hired by Paul Manafort and Rick Gates from 2012 until February 2014
*Stop Trump movement
The Never Trump movement, also called the #nevertrump, Stop Trump, anti-Trump, or Dump Trump movement, began as an effort on the part of a group of Republicans (known as Never Trump Republicans) and other prominent conservatives to prevent R ...
References
External links
Vin Weber Papers
including extensive records of his congressional service, are available for research use at th
Minnesota Historical Society.
*
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Vin
1952 births
American lobbyists
Living people
People from Slayton, Minnesota
People from Walker, Minnesota
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota
University of Minnesota alumni