Meghan Markle Joining US Politics? Tax Docs Reveal $100K Payment to The Obamas’ Former PR Expert
The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has received some expected news. According to rumors, she gave Katie McCormick Lelyveld’s PR firm, KMLSA LLC, a whopping $100K. Lelyveld previously served as Michelle Obama’s press secretary. Particularly, since she met US presidential candidate, Gavin Newsom in a private setting in 2020, this payment has raised questions about Markle’s political aspirations.
According to reports, the Duchess of Sussex has previously supported causes such as paid parental leave. A commentator was quoted as saying that Meghan Markle may have “exposed” her “political allies”. It came after news of her covert meeting with the 40th governor of California since 2019, Gavin Newsom.
Meghan Markle has always been outspoken about social issues and causes, particularly those affecting women. The wife of Prince Harry claimed that ever since she started dating the Duke of Sussex, the idea of “ambition” that she, as a woman, had in her head had taken on a negative form.
Meghan Markle’s Org Paid Michelle Obama’s Former PR $110k
Some feel politics are on the minds of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, as their nonprofit organization recently paid a hefty sum to the person who once handled Michelle Obama’s public relations strategy.
The information was discovered in the Archewell Foundation’s 2021 tax disclosure documents, which appeared to have just been published in March but were reviewed by the media over the weekend. It revealed that Markle and the company spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on strategic PR consulting.
A little over $215,000 was paid to an organization called Invisible Hand, which focuses on social impact and culture and provides a wide range of PR-related services.
The $110k paid to KMLSA, a traditional PR firm based close to San Diego, California, was what got people’s attention, though. Katie McCormick-Lelyveld, who has a close relationship with the Obamas, is the boss of this organization.
She did indeed serve as Michelle Obama’s press secretary for a time, formally representing the former First Lady from 2007 to 2011.
Michelle Obama gave Katie McCormick-Lelyveld high praise during her tenure as her press secretary (which lasted from 2007 to 2011).
The Duchess of Sussex Has Been in Touch With Politicians
Meghan Markle got involved in politics in 2021, making cold calls to senators to advocate for a law requiring paid family leave. Republican Senator and retired educator, Shelley Capito was taken aback when Markle managed to get her contact information. In the same year, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle traveled to New York, where they went to the 9/11 memorial and as well as the UN to promote greater vaccine equity.
It is no secret that Markle is interested in politics. She and her husband even had a video meeting with Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, in October 2020. He is just one of the politicians she has nurtured. The sister of Joe Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, also once urged Markle to run for office because she believed that the Duchess of Sussex would win over voters.
We are aware of the royal couple’s involvement in philanthropy, so it’s possible that PR consulting is also related to that. But on the other hand, we also know that Markle is all about causes, and there is no better city to support and fight for those causes than Washington, D.C.
We can only wait and see!
Source- The Sun
