Obama Fundraiser Gets Energy Department Post

Dozens of major fundraisers for President Obama’s re-election campaign have been appointed to plum posts on advisory boards and humanities commissions and at embassies.

The practice is not new to Mr. Obama, but it’s generally viewed as unsavory.

Not to Steve Westly, a financier who has raised between $200,000 and $500,000 for Mr. Obama this election season.

In correspondence with the Energy Department as they were vetting him for a post on an advisory board to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, he was upfront about his political connections and money-raiser role.

“I am honored to be asked to serve on the Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board,” Mr. Westly wrote to a conflict-of-interest investigator who was checking Mr. Westly’s suitability for the job.

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