Douglas Band, who headed the Clinton Global Initiative, wrote to top Clinton aides Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills that it was “important to take care of” the associate’s request. The Clinton campaign responds that the emails were regarding a young person who worked for Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and who was neither a Clinton Foundation donor nor employee.
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The evident effort at job placement may add to criticism that the State Department was too close to the foundation during Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state from 2009-2013, despite her pledge not to take actions benefiting her family’s charitable organization.
In one email exchange, Doug Band, an executive at the Clinton Foundation, tried to put billionaire donor Gilbert Chagoury – a convicted money launderer – in touch with the USA ambassador to Lebanon because of the donor’s interests there. “Personnel has been sending him options”.
Last week, before the fresh batch of emails was released, Clinton faced criticism for flubbing her reply to a T V interviewer about her statements on the issue.
The group says 44 of those pages had not been previously turned over to the State Department.
The revelation that Mills was directly involved in foundation work gives new ammunition to critics who complain of a revolving door for Clinton cronies between the State Department and the influential nonprofit.
The Clinton campaign sought in an e-mail to clarify the nature of the contacts.
Chagoury, according to Corallo, said that his contributions to the Clinton Foundation were based on the “good philanthropic work around the world – especially in Africa”. Band was co-founder of Teneo Strategy with Bill Clinton and a top official of the Clinton Foundation.
Before becoming the head of the State Department, Clinton had promised to stop her work with the Clinton Foundation in a bid to ensure no “inappropriate relationships” existed.
Neither Clinton nor the foundation appears to have done anything wrong, Capuano said today, noting the State Department does not appear to have acted on the requests from the foundation. And they would be the hallmarks of a Hillary Clinton administration.
“The Department does not believe it was inappropriate for Mr. Band or any other individual to recommend someone be considered for employment at the State Department”, Trudeau said today.
Judicial Watch obtained the documents as part Freedom of Information lawsuit against the State Department related to Clinton’s top aide, Huma Abedin.
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The Texas Republican wants to know why the Justice Department did not accept the FBI’s recommendation in this case but they did accept Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey’s recommendation that no charges be filed against Hillary Clinton for improperly handling classified information.
