• Altria Group Inc.
—One of the largest tobacco and cigarette companies in the world
—Is a publicly traded company on the NYSE—Altria Group Inc. (MO)
—Owns the subsidiaries Phillip Morris USA and Phillip Morris International
—Altria Group Inc. contains two specific board members: Gerald Baliles and George Muñoz
• Gerald Baliles
—Gerald Baliles is a former Governor of Virginia (D), an attorney, and has worked directly with the government, specifically former president Bill Clinton (D)
—Became a Board of Director at Altria in 2008
• George Muñoz
—George Muñoz was the Assistant Secretary and CFO of the US Treasury Department from 1993-1997
—George Muñoz was appointed to the President's Commission on White House Fellows by former president Barack Obama in 2009
—Became a Board of Director for Altria in 2004
—Principal of the firm, Muñoz Investment Banking Group, LLC.
• The FDA
—Profits from regulation, etc…in this case, the FDA regulates Big Tobacco in exchange for money, authoritative powers and expansion of regulatory reach.
• The White House
—The White House published a press release on June 17, 2009 concerning the President's Commission on White House Fellows and George Muñoz was one of the 28 people appointed to the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships by former president, Barack Obama.
• George Muñoz, a board member on one of the largest tobacco product companies in the world, just so happened to be appointed to the President's Commission on White House Fellowships the same year, and actually, just days prior to when the Tobacco Control Act was set into law.
• The Tobacco Control Act created restrictions on the FDA's regulatory powers over tobacco products:
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Require prescriptions to purchase tobacco products.
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Require the reduction of nicotine yields to zero.
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Ban face-to-face sales in a particular category of retail outlets.
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Ban certain classes of tobacco products.
• In 2008 Altria Group Inc. relocated its headquarters to Richmond, Virginia
• In 2008 Gerald Baliles, the former Governor of Virginia, became a Board of Director at Altria Group Inc.
• In 2009, Phillip Morris USA, a subsidiary owned by Altria Group Inc., consolidated its state of the art HQ in Richmond, Virginia
• In 2009 George Muñoz, the former Assistant Secretary and CFO of the US Treasury Department, was appointed to the President's Commission on White House Fellows by former president Barack Obama. Appointed by president Barack Obama ’91, the 28-member commission also included HLS graduates George Muñoz ’77, co-founder of Muñoz Group Investment Banking, and Paul Sarbanes ’60, former U.S. senator from Maryland. “The men and women of this commission embody what makes the White House Fellows program so special,” said President Obama. “These leaders are diverse, non-partisan, and committed to mentoring our next generation of public servants."
• In 2009 the Tobacco Control Act was passed and implemented which put specific restrictions on the FDA's regulatory powers over tobacco. This Act
protected Big Tobacco's interests, the FDA's interests, and Obama's interests.
www.altria.com…
www.munoz-group.net…
www.fda.gov…
www.fda.gov…
https://today.law.harvard.edu/tribe-and-two-other-alumni-help-to-choose-white-house-fellows/