Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-Philip Morris Brands)

Smokescreen

Congresswoman Gillibrand on her father's work for Philip Morris in today's Times Union:

"I don't talk to my dad about his clients at all."

At all.

She must be kidding with that nonsense. Kirsten Gillibrand owes her seat in Congress to Big Daddy super lobbyist.

Successful political families talk about everything and everyone. It's why they achieve success.

Going Up In Smoke

The Times Union followed up yesterday's exclusive post reporting Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand's shady ties to tobacco giant Philip Morris.

It's a brutal 1,150 word story by James M. Odato.

* Fellow Democratic Congressman Michael McNulty on Gillibrand accepting Big Tobacco contributions, and why he once returned a $500.00 Philip Morris check:

"I didn't want to take money from a tobacco company.''

* Bill Corr, Gillibrand supporter and executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, on the Congresswoman's representation of Philip Morris:

"I did not know that."

* Stanton Glantz, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California at San Francisco, dismissing Gillibrand's I-Was-Just-Following-Orders-Because-I-Was-A-Mere-Associate excuse:

"I think it's highly relevant because she was an active advocate in one of the world's biggest tobacco companies against claims that they were manipulating the nicotine delivery in cigarettes . . . "

"These are very important things she was doing for them. I think this is definitely newsworthy. If she had done this 10 years ago and hadn't gotten a nickle from them, then I'd say, 'well, she was just a junior member of the law firm.' But they consider her their pal."

* Michael Cummings of the Buffalo-based Roswell Park Cancer Institute on Gillibrand's legal ethics.

"Big law firms have other clients. You could work for somebody else."

Just a wild guess, but Congresswoman Josephine Camel and her campaign staff are not having a good day.

McNulty didn't hesitate to throw her under the bus. Anti-tobacco activists were in the dark about her Big Tobacco past. A professor of medicine from California unloaded on her. And the prestigious Roswell Park Cancer Institute was one step removed from calling her a shyster lawyer.