Politics

Aide Who Helped Set Up Hillary’s Server Was Accused Of Loading Spyware On Clinton Foundation Computers

(Reuters/Samantha Sais) / Reuters

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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One of the Bill Clinton aides who helped set up Hillary Clinton’s secret email system was suspected by Chelsea Clinton of uploading spyware on Clinton Foundation computers, new emails released by Wikileaks show.

In the Nov. 4, 2011 email, the former first daughter alleged that longtime Bill Clinton aide Justin Cooper was caught red-handed uploading spyware to two Clinton Foundation employees’ computers.

Clinton also claimed that another Bill Clinton aide, Oscar Flores, believed that Cooper was reading his emails.

Cooper was interviewed several times by the FBI as part of its investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email system. The aide helped develop the system along with Bryan Pagliano, a former Clinton campaign official who would go on to work at the State Department.

“Ilya physically saw/caught Justin a couple of days ago reading his bberry and loading the same spyware onto his computer that he loaded onto Bari’s computer,” Clinton wrote in the email, which was addressed to John Podesta, Clinton’s State Department chief of staff Cheryl Mills and two lawyers conducting an internal audit of the Clinton Foundation at the time.

Ilya is likely a reference to Ilya Aspis, a special assistant to Bill Clinton at the Clinton Foundation. Bari is Bari Lurie, an assistant to Chelsea.

“Oscar told my father he knows Justin reads his emails,” she also wrote, likely referring to Oscar Flores, another longtime Clinton aide.

The email was released on Monday by Wikileaks as part of a hack of Podesta’s Gmail account. Podesta currently serves as chairman of Clinton’s campaign.

At the time of the email, Chelsea Clinton had taken on a new role at the top of the Clinton Foundation. Podesta’s email traffic shows that she butted heads with her father’s former body man, Doug Band, as she tried to professionalize the non-profit. Band had started up a consulting firm called Teneo Holdings which relied heavily on the former president’s connections. (RELATED: Wikileaks Emails: Chelsea Clinton Acted Like A ‘Spoiled Brat Kid’)

Clinton mentions Band and Teneo in her missive to Podesta and Mills, and not in positive terms.

“My father was told today of explicit examples at CGI of Doug/ Teneo pushing for — and receiving – free memberships — and of multiple examples of Teneo ‘hustling’ business at CGI – and of people now having quit at CGI,” Clinton wrote.

CGI is a reference to the Clinton Global Initiative, one of the non-profits directed by the Clinton family.

She expressed other concerns about Cooper, who testified in front of Congress last month about his role in setting up the Clinton server.

“A secret service agent told Marc (my husband) that Justin had asked another secret service agent to lie about the parking pass absurdity [we can talk about this really ridiculous anecdote offline],” she wrote.

She also said that Cooper had referred to her father using derogatory terms.

“Multiple people shared with me how upset they were at hearing how Justin referred to my father in the last week – in very derogatory ways widely sadly.”

She also said that Aspis, the official whose computer was allegedly loaded with spyware by Cooper, claimed that Cooper was fleecing the Clintons.

“Ilya believes Hannah and Justin have taken significant sums of money from my parents personally – some in expenses – cars, etc. – and others directly,” she wrote.

Cooper did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

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