Subject: RE: Memo to the Board for tomorrow's meeting
From: "Chris Lu" <[email-masked]>
To: "John Podesta" <[email-masked]>, "Melody Barnes" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:57:16 -0500

I'll make the change and send it out.

-----Original Message-----
From: John Podesta [mailto:[email-masked]] 
Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 5:57 PM
To: Chris Lu; Melody Barnes
Subject: Re: Memo to the Board for tomorrow's meeting

This looks good. 2 items:
Re strobe say that john will ck with strobe who managed career
ambassadors (D committee recommendations for Clinton)
Let's share memo with denis, jim, heather, jason, jim messina, anita
and david p as well as bd.

On 8/14/08, Chris Lu <[email-masked]> wrote:
> Here you go.  Let me know if I should send this to everyone:
>
>
> MEMORANDUM
>                                            August 14, 2008
>
> TO                          :               Transition Project Board
>
>
> FROM                    :               John Podesta and Melody Barnes
>
> SUBJECT               :               Meeting with Josh Bolten
>
>
>
>                 This memo will provide you with a summary of our
meeting
> with Josh and other White House staff on Wednesday, August 13th.
>
> General Information
>
>                 Bolten contacted both the Obama and McCain campaigns
to
> initiate conversations about the transition process.  According to
Bolten,
> their goal is to run a smooth process.  They met with Will Ball who
leads
> the McCain effort, and they will confirm with the press that they
requested
> meetings with both campaigns.  Bolten said they will be sensitive to
the
> "presumptuousness" charge.
>
>                 Blake Gottesman - Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
--
> will be the point of contact for the White House.  The White House
team
> consists of Bolten, Gottesman, Mike Farren (Dpty Counsel), Fred
Fielding
> (Counsel), Ed Gillespie (Counselor to the President), Joie Gregor
(Asst to
> President, Presidential Personnel), Clay Johnson (Dpty Dir,
Management,
> OMB), and Joel Kaplan (Dpty Chief of Staff for Policy).  They
requested a
> list of our team members, and John gave them our contacts for GSA,
> Personnel, Agency Review and National Security.
>
>                 As a general matter, the White House is preparing a
number
> of documents for transition.  Prior to the election, they will tell us
which
> documents have been created (to prevent duplication of effort on our
end)
> and in some cases, make the documents available for review at the
White
> House (though some portions may be redacted).  They said the
limitations are
> necessary to avoid triggering requirements to make the information
available
> more broadly.  After the election, they will freely share information
with
> the President-elect and his team.   They also told us there have been
some
> congressional inquiries pertaining to the Transition (for example,
Waxman's
> Oversight Committee).
>
>                 Anticipating the information that will be available to
us
> (including budget - see below), we can make requests and should think
about
> our list.  However, it's important to keep in mind that our requests
will be
> conveyed to the McCain campaign and vice versa.
>
>                 One issue for Chris Lu to consider and take steps to
> address:   helping the Transition Board get a handle on the
implications the
> Intelligence Act of 2004 has on our work.
>
>  National Security
>
>                 Information was provided on a range of National
Security
> issues:
>
> *         Arrangements are being made for briefings after the
convention and
> more expansive briefings after the election.  John requested
additional
> intelligence clearances for Jim and Susan as the process already
accounts
> for Denis and Mark.   This remains an open issue.
>
> *         For briefing purposes, NSC is preparing  (1) a "world tour,"
(2)
> scenario-based information (specific hot spots) and (3) operational
plans
>
> *         Homeland security exercises are being prepared to share with
our
> team during the transition period
>
> *         John and Bolten discussed the point of contact for homeland
> security information - it will come from ODNI or NCTC, not Homeland
> Security.
>
> General Policy and Budget
>
>                 Information shared on general policy and budget
issues:
>
> *         The policy functions are preparing chronologies, timelines,
90 day
> critical paths and other key information (e.g., information about
relevant
> Executive Orders).
>
> *         Immediately after the election, an Administration team,
including
> senior leaders, will be prepared to meet with and brief our budget
team.
> The Administration will prepare a skeletal current services plus
specific
> needs budget.
>
> Personnel
>
>                 Information discussed regarding personnel:
>
> *         Within 15 days of the Convention, OPM will provide a list of
> Presidential appointments and openings (consistent w/ the 2004
Intelligence
> Act).  Briefing books are being prepared with organizational charts
and
> descriptions of the agencies and functions within the agencies
>
>
>
> *         With Bolten and Gottesman, as well as the team that included
Joie
> Gregor from Personnel, we discussed the technology issues.  Joie feels
> strongly that the current system is in bad shape and needs to be
replaced.
> John raised our desire to build/use a system that's compatible with
the
> White House system or could be "gifted" to the White House.   Ideas
that
> emerged from the conversation included:  both campaigns working with
GSA to
> develop a system that could be deployed and the government could pay
for on
> November 5th (avoiding expenditures on our end) or designing a system
that
> could be gifted to the White House after inauguration.  Mike Farren of
the
> Counsel's office is looking into various options
>
>
>
> *         The White House is very focused on working with us, the
McCain
> campaign and the Senate to reach an agreement on an expedited
confirmation
> process.  Their goal:  100 confirmations by the end of February.  To
achieve
> the goal, they want OPM to share the clearance process, including the
> process for special clearances, with the FBI.   OPM has been doing
this
> work, including all DoD career and contractor clearances.  Bolten also
> believes it's critical for all parties to agree which positions are in
the
> 100; there's disagreement between Bolten and Clay Johnson who believes
we'll
> never reach agreement on that issue.  Podesta believes they want to
focus on
> Cabinet and National Security positions (potentially not being
receptive to
> our senior level energy people, for example).  The White House wants
to know
> who from our team will work on that issue - John said it would
probably be
> Mike and he would also stay highly involved.
>
>
>
> *         The White House also asked our opinion on a process they've
> proposed for moving career diplomats.   In the normal course of
business,
> rotations are due to occur.  The White House proposes that names be
cleared
> but not nominated, and we can identify which of those positions we
don't
> want to move through the nomination process - the others would be
allowed to
> move forward.    This is probably OK, but we should check with Strobe.
>
> Agency Review
>
>                 We were told the following:
>
> *         The clearance process will allow us to connect directly with
the
> FBI and our teams should be able to go into the agencies immediately
after
> the election.   We asked when names had to go to the FBI to ensure
this
> timetable, and we were told the White House is discussing that with
the FBI
> now.   As we're able to base our requests on "need" and requests will
be
> coming from both campaigns, the FBI is concerned about the number of
names
> they'll be asked to clear.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> Chris Lu
> Obama for America
> 312-505-4864 (cell)
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: John Podesta [mailto:[email-masked]]
> Sent: Thu 8/14/2008 2:30 PM
> To: Melody Barnes; Chris Lu
> Subject: Re: Memo to the Board for tomorrow's meeting
>
>
>
> I can't open this for some reason. Can you paste into an email.
>
>
>
> On 8/14/08, Melody Barnes <[email-masked]> wrote:
>> Chris
>>
>>
>>
>> I don't know what other materials you're distributing to the Board
for
>> tomorrow's call, but would you circulate this one, too.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks so much,
>>
>> Melody
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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