Obama adviser and 2008 campaign manager David Plouffe accepted an $100,000 speaking fee from a subsidiary of MTN Group, a company with ties to Iran, in 2010. The subsidiary of the South Africa–based company made the payment to Plouffe in December, shortly before he joined the staff at the White House. The company has been the subject of close inspection by the government since then, and MTN’s ties are reported to go back to before Plouffe spoke at the company’s behest. The company had a five-year deal with an Iranian telecommunications company at the time of the Obama adviser’s appearances at two company events in Nigeria.
