The political world was rocked two weeks ago by FBI documents showing State Department undersecretary Patrick Kennedy reportedly offered agents a quid pro quo for changing the classification status of some of Hillary Clinton’s emails from her time as secretary of state.
One person who may not have been surprised by those revelations is former president Bill Clinton, who privately assured donors in October 2015 that the State Department was “fighting with the intelligence agencies” over the classification of Hillary’s emails as part of the investigation into her use of a private server as secretary of state.
Bill’s comments came in the context of an October 15 closed-door fundraiser at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, a swanky venue where guests are “surrounded by grandeur and elegance.”
As he wrapped up the speech — which covered everything from the economy to healthcare — the former president pivoted to a comment made by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who claimed the American people were sick of hearing about Clinton’s “damn emails.”
“The final thing I want to say is that Bernie Sanders said it better than I could talking about the emails and I give him a lot of credit –” Bill said before getting interrupted by applause from the audience of donors, politicians and candidates.
“He often talks about the larger implication of what is going on now, as you know; that has nothing to do with her,” Clinton claimed. “The State Department is fighting with the intelligence agencies over whether these emails should be retroactively classified.”
“Now I have read the newspapers, this is what I have seen in the papers. A lot of what we are talking has been in the public domain for years. It is a ludicrous interagency bureaucratic fight,” Clinton continued. “But they have to have a fight before they can release them. That is really what is going on.”
The transcript of Bill’s speech was found in an email from Clinton campaign chair John Podesta’s personal Gmail account that was published by WikiLeaks on Sunday.
Previously leaked Podesta emails have shown a pattern of State Department officials using their positions to secretly aid the Clinton campaign.
In March 2015, for example, the State Department tipped off the Clinton campaign that a New York Times reporter was asking questions about Hillary’s emails. (RELATED: State Dept. Tipped Off Clinton Campaign About NYT Reporter Working Email Story)
Other leaked emails show the State Department coordinating the release of Hillary’s emails with the Clinton campaign. (RELATED: State Dept Coordinated Email Release With Clinton Campaign)
The FBI recently renewed its investigation into Clinton’s email server after seizing devices belonging to Huma Abedin and her estranged husband, former congressman Anthony Weiner, as part of an unrelated investigation into Weiner’s alleged sexting relationship with a 15-year-old girl.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch promised in July to accept the recommendation of FBI director James Comey regarding whether or not to press charges in the Clinton investigation.