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Here Are The Most Glaring Examples Of Favoritism Revealed In Hillary’s Emails So Far

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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Perhaps the clearest examples of favoritism revealed in Hillary Clinton’s State Department emails are those she received from her longtime friend, Sidney Blumenthal.

The records show that the journalist-turned-political hatchetman frequently emailed Clinton political gossip, intelligence reports, and news clippings he believed she’d find interesting.

He also often emailed her advice on how to handle geopolitical issues. And in many cases, Clinton appeared to go along with his suggestions — decisions from which Blumenthal stood to gain due to his undisclosed consulting gigs with interested parties.

But the Clinton emails — which have been released in seven batches so far this year — including many others which show the then-secretary of state helping out friends, family, political allies, and donors.

Here are the most glaring examples released so far.

‘A Contact In Hillary’s Office’

As The Daily Caller reported earlier this week, an email Clinton sent in Aug. 2012 shows that she appeared open to the idea of meeting with a former Goldman Sachs colleague of Marc Mezvinsky, her son-in-law, who was hoping to get a face-to-face meeting to discuss a deep sea mining company he had invested in. (RELATED: Hillary Sought To Help Millionaire Son-In-Law’s Friend With State Department Business Meeting)

“I need a contact in Hillary’s office,” the friend, Harry Siklas, told Mezvinsky, adding that he hoped to get a sit-down with Clinton directly.

Clinton ordered one of her aides, Thomas Nides, to follow up on the request. It is unclear if the meeting ever took place, however. Neither the Clinton campaign nor the company, Neptune Minerals, has responded to requests for comment.

‘Secret Channels’

On March 18, 2012, the tireless Blumenthal emailed Clinton urging her to meet with Jonathan Powell, a British official who had served as former prime minister Tony Blair’s right hand man.

In the email, Blumenthal told Clinton that Powell was interested in “setting up secret channels between insurgents and governments” through a new non-governmental organization he had set up called Inter Mediate. (RELATED: Sid Blumenthal Emailed Hillary About ‘Setting Up Secret Channels Between Insurgents And Governments)

Clinton seemed receptive to meeting Powell.

“I’d like to see Powell when he’s in the building,” she wrote to two of her aides.

It is unclear if the meeting ever took place. It is also unclear if Inter Mediate was paying Blumenthal to lobby Clinton. The organization has not responded to TheDC’s inquiries on the matter.

African Business Deals With Ex-Ambassador Joe Wilson

Blumenthal was also the go-between for another business pitch to Clinton, this time from former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson. Wilson emailed Blumenthal on Nov. 10, 2009 asking him to forward a message introducing Symbion Power, a U.S.-based energy company that Wilson had just started to consult for.

The company was developing projects in Tanzania, which Wilson hoped to discuss. Clinton’s emails showed that she appeared interested in the company and sought to talk about it with him in person.

The next year, Symbion signed a contract with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to help develop Tanzania’s power grid. MCC is a quasi-governmental agency chaired by the secretary of state.

Wilson has claimed in a lawsuit he filed this year for unpaid fees that his lobbying efforts helped Symbion. The company has disputed Wilson’s claims and said that the former diplomat’s emails to Clinton caused the company “embarrassment.” The company has also denied that Wilson’s efforts helped secure the MCC contract. (RELATED: After An Email To Hillary, Company Directed By Ambassador Joe Wilson Was Awarded Africa Contract)

Clinton also appeared to be receptive to a July 2011 request from Wilson to help Symbion with a business dispute it was having with General Electric over equipment. Wilson had caught wind of a phone conversation that Clinton was set to have with General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt and asked her to bring up the equipment issue with him.

In response to the request, Clinton wrote to Johnnie Carson, then the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, asking him to “pls find out more info about this for me.” (RELATED: Hillary Clinton Intervened In Business Dispute After An Email From Ex-Ambassador Joseph Wilson)

Visa Problems

One email sent on Sept. 22, 2009 contains several instances of Clinton helping out a couple of political allies and donors who were facing roadblocks at their multinational corporations.

Recounting conversations she had during a meeting with Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman at the New York Stock Exchange, Clinton informed Kris Balderston, then the State Department’s special representative for global partnerships, that Schwarzman and Mickey Kantor, an attorney who served as secretary of commerce in the Bill Clinton White House, were seeking help in obtaining a visa for a person whose name is redacted in the email.

“What’s status?” Clinton asked Balderston.

Clinton had several reasons to help Blackstone. The company has donated between $250,000 and $500,000 to the Clinton Foundation. And the company’s president, Tony James, has recently said he plans to support Clinton for president.

‘Help’ Wanted

In the same email, Clinton relayed that she had talked to David Cote, the CEO of the conglomerate, Honeywell, who said he “wanted help” with a business issue, the details of which are also redacted.

“He also complained about export control regs that intertere w sales,” Clinton added. “He said the State Dept is the holdup and gave example of nuts and bolts for an engine being labelled as ‘dual use and therefore couldn’t be exported.'”

“Andrew may know about this,” she added.

Honeywell is also a Clinton Foundation donor.

The business executives appeared happy with the Clinton meeting. Balderston responded to her notes, stating that participants at the meeting where “very happy” and that they wanted “to make it an annual event.”

Powerful Democratic Senator’s Daughter Needed A Job, So He Asked Hillary

In Aug. 2009, then-Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin reached out to Clinton and other State Department staff seeking to find a job for his daughter, Jennifer, at the agency’s Office of War Crimes.

Amid internal chatter — which included an email from one Clinton aide remarking that the office had a “very small with a limited number of slots” — Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, sent an email to her boss, which read “remind me to discuss with you how I want to play this out.” (RELATED: After Lobbying Hillary, Democratic Senator’s Daughter Was Hired At State)

Clinton wrote back, “we have to discuss soon so I can close the loop on this.”

Jennifer Harkin was soon hired at State’s Office of War Crimes, though there was no public announcement about the hire. Tom Harkin, a now-retired Democrat, gave Clinton a much-needed boost this summer when he endorsed her for president.

Bailout for A Blair

Clinton appeared willing to help out the child of another political ally. Cherie Blair, the wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair, contacted Clinton on April 3, 2009 in hopes of finding a job for her son, Nicholas.

Much of Blair’s email to Clinton is redacted, so it is unclear what kind of job she was seeking for her son. But Blair passed along Nicholas’ resume, and Clinton indicated she would help.

“I have passed on the info about [redacted] to my chief of staff. We will follow up. All the best,” she wrote to Blair.

Education Company Pays The Bill For Dinner

In an Aug. 2, 2009 email, Clinton instructed her chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, to find a spot at an upcoming State Department dinner for a representative for Laureate International Universities, a for-profit education company.

Mills was able to secure a spot for a company representative, and months later, Bill Clinton was named an honorary chancellor at Laureate. He was paid $16 million until the end of his tenure earlier this year. (RELATED: New Emails Show Hillary Assisting For-Profit College That Paid Bill $16 Million)

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Clinton’s favors reveal a certain “crassness,” Ken Boehm, the chairman of the ethics watchdog group, National Legal and Policy Center, told TheDC.

“The Hillary Clinton emails confirm that she used her position as Secretary of State as a favor mill for family, friends and — most of all — political supporters,” Boehm said.

“Now we know why she went to such lengths to hide her email traffic. Given the crassness of the disclosed emails, one can’t help but wonder what was on the deleted emails.”

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