Emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman published by WikiLeaks seem to imply that successful fundraising efforts might lead to an ambassadorship.
Charles Adams was nominated to be ambassador to Finland on July 2014 by President Barack Obama. He was a top Democratic fundraiser in Europe when he worked as the co-chair of Americans Abroad for Obama, a Democratic Party organizations that raises funds and networks for overseas Americans. He was also a member of National Finance Committee for Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Clinton aide Sara Latham was organizing a Geneva, Switzerland fundraiser for Clinton on Sept. 7, 2015 when she emailed Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Latham bemoaned the absence of Adams, whom she credits with raising most of the money before his ambassador appointment.
“We don’t have a solid Geneva list at all, so from a finance perspective this is an extremely useful gathering to build that out and go back for fundraising in the next Q[uarter],” Latham wrote. “There is real money there. As you know Charles Adams did most of the fundraising there in the past and he is now Ambassador to Finland.”
Latham expressed concern that “our donor list in Geneva right now is very slim,” noting that she was looking for people who can both “host and raise” and that they didn’t need to be “Dems Abroad folks necessarily.”
Some of those attending her fundraiser were “a mix of folks who have maxed out in the past (via George Clooney dinner, etc.) but have not given yet as well as those hosting and attending the upcoming Tim Kaine fundraiser in October,” she wrote.