New York Times, Dec. 15, 2022: How to Hand Out Billions in Climate Subsidies? Very Carefully.
WASHINGTON — John Podesta, President Biden’s clean energy adviser, said the administration was working to ensure that a record $370 billion in new federal subsidies for electric vehicles, wind farms, batteries and other clean energy technologies is spent properly and avoids waste and abuse.Mr. Podesta said the White House would issue tax code guidelines by early next year to speed the delivery of the money, and was meeting with inspectors general from across the federal government to get advice on ways to safeguard against fraud.😂😂😂😂😂
Introduction
On March 5, 2025, the New York Post dropped a bombshell: John Podesta, the Biden administration’s climate czar and a Democratic Party heavyweight, allegedly oversaw a $375 billion Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) slush fund that funneled at least $20 billion into newly minted environmental charities—many with scant records, no IRS filings, and ties to Democratic insiders. This revelation threatens to unravel not just Podesta’s storied career but the entire network of operatives linked to what could be the most audacious money laundering scheme in U.S. history. With the FBI and DOJ already circling, this scandal might mark the beginning of the end for Podesta and his allies.
The Scheme Unveiled
The Post’s investigation exposes a jaw-dropping operation rooted in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a law sold as a climate change fix but now appearing as a Trojan horse for taxpayer plunder. Podesta, tapped by President Joe Biden in 2022 to helm the IRA’s $370–$375 billion climate fund, allegedly directed billions to groups like the Climate United Fund, which received a staggering $7 billion from then-Vice President Kamala Harris in April 2024—just five months after its incorporation in Delaware on November 30, 2023. This outfit lacks IRS charity listings or federal filings, yet boasted of “historic investments” for “cleaner air” and “energy security.” Where did the money go? No one knows—yet.
NY Post: $375B EPA slush fund handled by John Podesta gave billions to charities founded only months earlier.
The Biden administration funneled at least $20 billion dollars into environmental groups, most of which had only recently been founded, The Post has discovered.
In one case, former Vice President Kamala Harris handed over a check for nearly $7 billion to Bethesda, Maryland, based group Climate United Fund, which does not appear in the IRS’s charities database, and has no federal filings.
The non-profit fund had only been incorporated in Delaware on November 30, 2023, according to public records, five months before Harris handed over the cash in April 2024.
The cash for the charity came from a huge $370 billion climate slush fund of taxpayer money overseen by John Podesta, a political consultant who was chair of Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 bid for president and White House chief of staff to Bill Clinton.
The FBI and the Department of Justice have both launched investigations into the grants, and bank accounts holding billions of dollars have been frozen as the EPA attempts to get it back.
Other recipients tell a similar story. The Justice Climate Fund, formed in 2023 with no tax filings or leadership transparency, pocketed $940 million. Power Forward Communities Inc., also launched in 2023 and linked to Democratic operative Stacey Abrams, reported a laughable $100 in revenue but scored $2 billion. These groups, barely off the ground, reek of shell companies designed to siphon cash with minimal oversight—a setup Podesta, a political fixer with decades in the swamp, was uniquely positioned to orchestrate.
The Smoking Gun
The timing is damning. In the Biden administration’s final weeks, $20 billion was rushed out the door, held at Citibank, as an “insurance policy” against a Trump return, according to EPA adviser Brent Efron’s 2024 Project Veritas confession: “It’s like we’re on the Titanic and we’re throwing gold bars off the edge.” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, now leading the charge under Trump, told the Post on February 13, 2025, that this cash lacked “proper oversight,” triggering investigations by the FBI, the DOJ, and the EPA’s Inspector General. Bank accounts holding billions are frozen, and the net is tightening.
Then, there’s the insider angle. Zeldin revealed on the Alex Marlow Show that the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s director jumped from an NGO to the Biden EPA and then handed their former employer $5 billion. Another grantee’s CEO, previously on Biden’s environmental justice council with $3 million over three years, suddenly landed $20 million. Posts on X amplify the outrage, with users like @RealAlexJones calling it a “heist that dwarfs all scandals,” and @AshleyWeis4 flagging “red flags of corruption.”
Podesta’s Perilous Past
Podesta’s fingerprints on this mess aren’t new. As Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, Obama’s counselor, and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chair, he’s weathered scandals—think WikiLeaks’ hacked emails hinting at cryptic “pizza” references tied to unproven Pizzagate rumors. But this? This is cash, not conjecture. His role in doling out $375 billion—some estimate up to $783 billion with tax credits—puts him at the epicenter of a scheme that could eclipse past controversies. Posts on X from @Zioinfiltration even revive old allegations, dubbing him a “pedophile/pederast,” though evidence here sticks to financial malfeasance.
The Dominoes Falling
This isn’t just Podesta’s reckoning—it’s a potential kill shot for a cabal of Democratic players. Stacey Abrams’ Power Forward Communities ties her to the $2 billion grab. Kamala Harris’s $7 billion check to Climate United implicates her directly. The Climate United Fund’s Beth Bafford, a former Obama aide, and its Calvert Impact Capital roots suggest a deeper network of loyalists. The Post notes three Bethesda-based Calvert entities, muddying the money trail further—classic laundering tactics.
The Trump administration smells blood. Zeldin’s vowing “accountability over every penny,” and with the FBI and DOJ involved, subpoenas and indictments could loom. Posts on X from @WorkPlaceRpt scream “#MoneyLaundering,” while @TheIntelSCIF ties it to “NGOs and front companies.” If the frozen billions lead to hard evidence—bank records, witness flips, or whistleblower leaks—this could topple not just Podesta but a generation of Democratic operatives who’ve thrived on influence peddling.
The Endgame
Podesta’s defiance may be his undoing. He’s dodged bullets before, but $20 billion in taxpayer cash vanishing into phantom charities under his watch is a bridge too far. The lack of transparency—nonprofits with no filings, projects like a $10.8 million Oregon solar loan dwarfed by billions unaccounted for—screams fraud. If investigators connect the dots to campaign coffers or personal enrichment (a frequent X speculation), it’s game over.
This scandal could be the thread that unravels the Biden era’s legacy and the Democratic machine’s backroom deals. Podesta, Abrams, Harris, and lesser-known grantees face a reckoning as Trump’s team digs in. The beginning of the end? It’s looking that way—unless they’ve got one hell of a cover story. Stay tuned; the fallout’s just starting.