Subject: Re: Staff and G-20
From: Daniel Tarullo <[email-masked]>
To: Stephanie Cutter <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], Denis McDonough <[email-masked]>, Anita Dunn <[email-masked]>, Dan Pfeiffer <[email-masked]>
Cc: Mark Lippert <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2008 07:16:22 -0800 (PST)

This makes me think I shouldn't do any of these meetings.
 
For a statement, here's a first try at something to work with.  

A number of delegations in Washington for the G-20 meeting this week requested opportunities to brief the transition team of President-Elect Obama.  In response to these requests, senior officials of the transition team asked Secretary Madeleine Albright [and ______?] to meet with these delegations.  The purpose of these discussions is to provide the President-Elect and his transition team with any information that the foreign delegations wish to convey with respect to the subject matter of the G20 meeting, in order to ensure effective planning for the activities of the Obama Administration in confronting the global dimensions of the financial crisis.   
If people think we need to be more explicit about the limited purpose of these meetings, we could insert an additional sentence before the final one stating the one government-at-a- time principle.

--- On Sat, 11/8/08, Dan Pfeiffer <[email-masked]> wrote:

From: Dan Pfeiffer <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Staff and G-20
To: "Stephanie Cutter" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], [email-masked], "Denis McDonough" <[email-masked]>, "Anita Dunn" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Mark Lippert" <[email-masked]>
Date: Saturday, November 8, 2008, 9:48 AM

Definitely -- need 2 sentences on the purpose

From: Stephanie Cutter 
To: [email-masked] ; [email-masked] ; Denis McDonough; Anita Dunn 
Cc: Mark Lippert; Dan Pfeiffer 
Sent: Sat Nov 08 08:46:12 2008
Subject: RE: Staff and G-20 

We’ll need guidance on how to handle/characterize these meetings with press.   We’re already getting questions about whether they will happen. 

From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] 
Sent: Friday, November 07, 2008 9:55 PM
To: [email-masked]; Denis McDonough; Anita Dunn; Stephanie Cutter
Cc: Mark Lippert
Subject: Re: Staff and G-20
 
I may do a couple, but will ask Lael to do the rest
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2008 03:48:59 +0000
To: Denis Mcdonough<[email-masked]>; <[email-masked]>; Anita Dunn<[email-masked]>; Stephanie Cutter<[email-masked]>
CC: Mark Lippert<[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Staff and G-20
I lined up Madeleine for this. At least snior level meetings. Need to pair her with econ person. Lael?
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

From: "Denis McDonough" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2008 21:14:50 -0600
To: <[email-masked]>; Anita Dunn<[email-masked]>; <[email-masked]>; Stephanie Cutter<[email-masked]>
CC: Mark Lippert<[email-masked]>
Subject: Staff and G-20
 
Team -

Lippert and I want to be sure we're on the same page in re: staff mtgs and visiting foreign dignitaries around the G-20.

I noticed in an email that Anita sent earlier that Dan T is in charge of arranging staff mtgs around the G-20. If that is the case, we want to be sure we are not off the reservation.

In his protocol calls the last several days, the President-elect has demurred on mtg with visiting leaders (each has requested a meeting) and been equally non committal on meetings with staff.

We had been thinking we would propose that a team of senior, recognizable Democrats (led the Sec. Albright, but also including a finance/econ expert) would take meetings with visiting delegations. Such a posture with get us the benefit of the input from the visiting delegations (as Albright et al would debrief staff or even the President-elect on their meetings) but give us enough distance (since none of these folks like Albright would eventually be serving in an Obama Admin) that we would not own what they say.

Anita and Dan Tarullo, is this different from what you all are thinking/planning? If so, let's synchronize our watches before we get too far down the road.

Thx,
DM