Penn Ducks Disclosure

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Mark Penn, the CEO of the PR firm Burson-Marsteller, was tight-lipped when asked about his role as "chief strategist" for Hillary Clinton's campaign to be the Democratic Party nominee for president. "Both by custom and by contract, it is confidential," he said. Penn has co-authored a new book, "Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes." New York Times reporter Deborah Solomon asked Penn whether he'd "be more credible" if he disclosed who his corporate clients were. "I've worked for hundreds of clients. It's a false notion that my views are related to that. I'm not selling anything in this book," he responded. However, in May 2007, Bloomberg News reported that Penn wrote in a blog post that one of the benefits of "mixing of corporate and political work" was that it was "helpful in cross-pollinating new ideas and skills." "And," he added, "I have found it good for business."