Kamala Harris, while serving as California‘s Attorney General, dropped a fraud investigation into the health supplement company Herbalife after a large political donation from Heather Podesta, a powerful Democrat lobbyist—and member of the Podesta family—tied to the company. The Herbalife case and Harris‘s relationship with the Podesta family have renewed questions regarding her so-called commitment to the ‘care economy’ and standing up to corrupt corporate interests.
In 2015, government documents show that San Diego prosecutors for the California Attorney General’s office wrote to Harris requesting additional resources to push their investigation of Herbalife. The company was accused of preying on Hispanics and low-income consumers by enticing them into a multi-level marketing scheme.
However, just three weeks after Harris received the letter from her prosecutors, her nascent U.S. Senate campaign received three contributions from Heather Podesta, according to The Huffington Post. At the time, Podesta worked as a government affairs staffer for Herbalife—and would later serve as an independent contract lobbyist for the company.
‘QUE MALA.’
“It’s disgusting,” Chicago-based anti-fraud activist Julie Contreras said during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. She added that her nickname for Harris was “Que Mala,” a play on Kamala meaning “How bad?” Activists in the Los Angeles Hispanic community had asked Harris to investigate the company, claiming it was a pyramid scheme since 2013.
Even while other state attorneys general launched their inquiries into the supplement company, including a federal FBI investigation that kicked off in 2014, Harris slow-walked California‘s investigation. Concerningly, it came to light after the fact that Herbalife was represented by the Venable law firm, where Harris’s husband, Douglas Emhoff, worked. There is no evidence, however, that Emhoff was involved with the Herbalife client portfolio.
In 2016, Heather Podesta was paid $250,000 for lobbying efforts on behalf of Herbalife.
