Clinton aide mocked campaign bundler's appointment to International Security Advisory Board

Newly released emails show one of Hillary Clinton’s top aides mocked the appointment of a Clinton campaign bundler to the International Security Advisory Board. McClatchy reports:

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Rajiv Fernando, who contributed to Clinton, her family’s foundation and Barack Obama, was named to the International Security Advisory Board in 2011, though he resigned days later after his appointment was questioned.

“Couldn’t he have landed a spot on the President’s Physical Fitness Council?” Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Philippe Reines wrote in a State Department email in 2012 to two other Clinton aides.

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Fernando, appointed to the International Security Advisory Board, was to advise Clinton on nuclear weapons and other security issues alongside nuclear scientists, former cabinet secretaries and former lawmakers, including former Defense Secretary William Perry, Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, a former National Security Adviser to two presidents; and former Sen. Chuck Robb of Virginia.

What this email highlights is that there was never any justification for putting Fernando, who had no national security background, on the Advisory Board. But he had been a major campaign bundler for Hillary Clinton and also donated significant money to the Clinton Foundation.

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In the spring of 2011, Hillary Clinton’s right-hand woman, Cheryl Mills, made Fernando a special government employee, got him a security clearance and placed him on the board. Does anyone think all of this happened without Hillary Clinton’s knowledge and approval?

Despite the fact that Fernando had no business being on the Advisory Board, and dropped out shortly after ABC News asked questions about his appointment, the State Department has continued to defend the decision. Earlier this month a spokesman for State said the agency had no concerns that this appointment might have been done purely for political reasons:

Fox News’ James Rosen explained the story behind Fernando’s appointment to the board last week:

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David Strom 11:20 AM | April 24, 2024
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