During the Democratic presidential debate Thursday evening, MSNBC moderator Chuck Todd picked a question offered by a viewer and pointedly asked Hillary Clinton if she would release the transcripts of her paid speeches to giant investment bank Goldman Sachs.
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“What I want people to know is, I went to Wall Street before the crash”, Clinton said.
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton spent a lot of time attacking Wall Street and “big banks” in Wednesday’s CNN town hall in New Hampshire, but one answer left the audience cold.
But Clinton’s critics have attempted to use the speaking fees to highlight the former secretary of state’s cozy relationship with Wall Street.
HILLARY CLINTON: Well, Tim, I actually co-sponsored legislation that would have sitting presidents reveal any donation to their presidential library, and I think that’s a good policy.
But when Cooper asked if her speeches constituted an “error in judgement”, Clinton responded glibly, “I made speeches to lots of groups”.
The Clinton campaign has been noncommittal about releasing transcripts of the paid speeches and Clinton has told reporters that she will “look into” making her remarks public. Richard Armitage, Powell’s deputy, is far less expensive, charging ,000 to ,000 per speech – airfare and ground transportation included.
“I’m running for office, for Pete’s sake, I can’t have illegals”.
You know every secretary of State that I know has done that. That’s what they offered. “I’ll look into it. I don’t know the statuc, but I can certainly look into it”, Clinton answered, before quickly bringing up that it was “stressful advising the President about going after bin Laden”. I’m out here every day saying I’m going to shut them down, I’m going after them. “I didn’t know whether I would or not”.
“I didn’t”, Clinton said. The Democratic presidential front-runner said she was simply following the footsteps of past secretaries of state.
CLINTON: To be honest I wasn’t – I wasn’t committed to running.
“And she says she says certain things behind closed doors – so I think she will probably be forced to do that”.
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Meanwhile, Sanders is touting the fact that Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein called his campaign’s insurgence one of the “dangerous moments” of the 2016 election, “not just for Wall Street, but for anyone who is a little bit out of line”. “And I don’t know that there is any ever absolute answer, like, ‘Okay, universe, here I am, watch me roar, ‘ or ‘Oh, my gosh, I can’t do it, it’s just overwhelming, I have to retreat'”. Imagine Donald Trump, the ultimate alpha-male candidate, engaged in that degree of self-reflection and self-questioning.
