The Secret Affair of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Philip Morris

By GottaLaff

I have this thing about smoking. And Big Tobacco. And death. And transparency:

The best-kept secret in the halls of Congress -- until today -- may have been the extent to which New York's new senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, helped cigarette maker Philip Morris during her former employment as an attorney with the global law firm Davis, Polk & Wardwell. Information about her relationship with the cigarette maker wasn't included in her official biography or her campaign materials, but on Friday, March 27, 2009, the New York Times published an article describing in detail how Gillibrand, under her maiden name Kirsten Rutnik, was involved at high levels in the legal affairs of Philip Morris.

In 1998, as an attorney at Davis Polk, Gillibrand served on Philip Morris' Privilege and Crime Fraud Committee, an elite group of attorneys from both inside and outside Philip Morris. Some of Gillibrand's colleagues on the Committee were full partners in their respective law firms, which reveals the respect she earned in her service to the company.

That information should have been made public.

UPDATE:

Here it is, better later than never -- and apologies to Gillibrand's staff, who passed it along Friday morning:

An unbiased look at Senator Gillibrand’s record shows that 100% of the time she has stood up for the health of our children, and stood firmly against big tobacco.

Senator Gillibrand has voted repeatedly to tax tobacco products to pay for children's health insurance and demand the FDA regulate tobacco products. She also strongly and consistently supports smoke-free laws, education initiatives and tobacco cessation programs to help tobacco users quit and prevent young people from ever starting to smoke. She is also advocating for tough Internet access regulations to ensure that children can’t purchase cigarettes online.