Washington (CNN)A handful of the emails and documents hacked from the private email account of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, detail the at-times uncomfortable overlap between the family charity and the public and private sector careers of the Clintons, dating back long before Clinton's formal campaign for president began.
The anxiety -- centered around the nexus of Clinton Foundation fundraising, paid speeches and requests for access to former President Bill Clinton dubbed "Bill Clinton Inc." by a top aide -dates back to late 2011, when Chelsea Clinton began to take on a greater role in the family foundation and spearheaded an effort to clean house.
Less than two weeks before Band's exchange with Podesta and Mills, Chelsea Clinton had emailed Podesta, Mills and the attorneys an update on her work to "professionalize" the organization, saying she was to meet with Band soon. She said she'd been receiving "concerns" from people about the "Foundation and/or my father's world" and was encouraging those people to talk to attorneys "candidly." Chelsea said it she also relayed that it was "critical that as we move to professionalize the Foundation for the future that professionalism starts with this process - people continue to share things with me." "I continue to want -- and to try -- to disintermediate myself from this muddle, edify the corporate audit and existential process we are in - while also being a responsible board member, daughter and person," she wrote. She added that one of the shared concerns from an anonymous source was that her "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." The tension between Band and Clinton continued for months, with Band forwarding a friendly email from Chelsea to Podesta and Mills in January. "She sends me one of these types of emails every few days/week," Band wrote. "As
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they say, the apple doesn't fall far(.) A kiss on the cheek while she is sticking a knife in the back, and front."
Beyond WikiLeaks and the campaign Emails previously released through a 2015 Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, a conservative legal watchdog group, highlighted how Band communicated frequently with Clinton's closest aides at the State Department, communications that included requests to set up meetings between State Department officials and prominent Clinton foundation donors. "Impossible to get fred eychner a seat at the state dinner?" Band Wrote to Abedin and Capricia Marshall in January 2011, referring to businessman and philanthropist Fred Eychaner, who had given millions to the foundation. That message was from the latest batch of emails released by the conservative watchdog group Thursday. In a 2009 email from an earlier release in August, Band directed Abedin and Mills to put Gilbert Chagoury, a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and Clinton Foundation donor, in contact with the State Department's "substance person" on Lebanon. "We need Gilbert Chagoury to speak to the substance person re Lebanon," Band wrote. "As you know, he's a key guy there and to us and is loved in Lebanon. Very imp." "It's jeff feltman," Abedin responded, referring to Jeffrey Feltman, who was the US ambassador to Lebanon at the time. "I'm sure he knows him. I'll talk to jeff." While it's not always clear what happens with Band's requests, many appeared to be deflected. Feltman told CNN in August that no one spoked to him about Chagoury and that he never met with him. Band's emails also included requests to help find government jobs for associates. Band lobbied Clinton aides for a job for someone else in the State Department. In the email, Band told Mills and Abedin that it is "important to take care of (redacted)." Band is reassured by Abedin that "Personnel has been sending him options." In another email from Thursday's release dated November 2010, Band sent a note to Abedin saying, "for the woman I mentioned for her to get an appointment to the embassy Here is the info As soon as possible pls." When asked about specific incidents, the State Department has maintained it found no evidence of preferential treatment and/or policy decisions being influenced by foundation donations during Clinton's tenure as secretary of state.
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Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/27/politics/bill-clinton-inc-foundation-wikileaksemails/index.html
WikiLeaks reveals Hillary-world vexed by 'Bill Clinton Inc.'
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