GoKawiilFeinberg's Personal Lawyer Waldenberg Also Represented Pentagon in MP Materials Deal
Alan Waldenberg, longtime outside counsel to Cerberus Capital Management and personal trust manager for Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, also served as the Pentagon's lawyer on its $400 million equity stake and $150 million loan to rare earth miner MP Materials. Feinberg, Cerberus's founder, now holds vast sway over Pentagon budgets and contracts, and reportedly picked Waldenberg himself to work on the deal. The arrangement surfaced amid a broader Pentagon push, now exceeding $2 billion, to invest directly in critical minerals and battery firms to counter China.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Having the same attorney manage a top official's personal wealth and simultaneously negotiate government contracts on his agency's behalf raises clear conflict-of-interest questions, especially as the Pentagon rapidly expands direct equity stakes in private companies. It underscores how blurred lines between private equity ties and defense policy could shape which firms benefit from Washington's critical minerals strategy.
- Alan Waldenberg managed Feinberg's personal trust while also serving as DoD's lawyer on the MP Materials deal.
- Feinberg, a Cerberus founder, is now the Pentagon's second-highest civilian official overseeing budgets and contracts.
- The Pentagon has invested over $2 billion in critical minerals and battery firms since the MP Materials deal.
Source: prospect.org — Zachary Groz, 2026-09-04
Published there as: “Top Pentagon Official Contracted Personal Lawyer to Handle Minerals Deal”
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