Hillary Clinton reached out to three Democratic members of Congress who were on the fence about Obamacare in the days before the landmark health care bill was set for a vote, new emails released by the State Department reveal.
And in one email from the March 20, 2010 email chain, Clinton’s then-deputy chief of staff, Huma Abedin, offered up “intel” on one of the undecided Democrats, California’s Loretta Sanchez. (RELATED: Hillary Emailed With John Kerry And Another State Department Official At Center Of Scandal)
The emails provide a glimpse into the desperation rippling throughout the Democratic establishment to pass President Obama’s health care law. The bill was in great jeopardy in the days leading up to the March 21, 2010 House vote, when it passed by a slim margin, 219-212.
The first email in the chain — entitled “HC Calls” — came from Miguel Rodriquez, who at the time was deputy assistant Secretary of State and now serves as Abedin’s attorney.
Rodriguez provided background information and talking points for the three Democrats — Sanchez, Arkansas’ Marion Berry, and Pennsylvania’s Paul Kanjorski. The talking points provided projections about the supposed economic benefits of Obamacare that Clinton could tout in her conversations with the lawmakers.
Minutes after Rodriguez sent the email, Abedin offered a curious response, referring to her husband, then-New York U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner. (RELATED: Why Do Federal Agencies Keep Hiding Information About Hillary Clinton’s Emails From Congress?)
“Anthony told me a few hours ago that he heard hrc is expected to call sanchez but I hadn’t heard. he has some intel on her. I can find out,” Abedin wrote.
It is unclear if the “intel” Abedin referenced was positive or negative for Sanchez.
Whatever the case, Sanchez did end up voting for Obamacare. As did Kanjorski, who ended up losing his re-election bid that year. In interviews after losing his House seat, Kanjorski blamed the rollout of the health care law for his loss.
Berry is the only one of the three seemingly contacted by Clinton to not heed her call to back Obamacare.
Sanchez was initially hesitant to support the bill because it was not progressive enough. She supported a public option, something that Obamacare did not have. Kanjorski’s and Berry’s hesitation was of a different nature. Both represented competitive and relatively conservative districts.
In the email chain, Rodriguez responded to Abedin’s offer to provide “intel” on Sanchez, though it is not clear what he said. The bulk of the response is redacted.
Clinton responded the next day — the morning of the vote — to discuss strategy and give an update on her lobbying effort. (RELATED: Emails Show Hackers With Ties To Russia Tried To Infiltrate Hillary’s Account)
“I don’t think the [White House] knows I spoke w Berry last week,” she wrote.
She also referred to then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
“Pelosi’s guarantee that the DCCC would support his Chief of Staff who is running to succeed him was very helpful,” Clinton wrote. It is unclear if she was referring to Berry, who had announced that he would retire at the end of his term that year.
Clinton also wrote that she and husband Bill Clinton had reached out to Sanchez but had not heard back at the time of the email.