Hacked trove shows Clinton aides suggesting email jokes

[webfact]

Hacked trove shows Clinton aides suggesting email jokes

By LAURIE KELLMAN

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hacked emails from the personal account of Hillary Clinton's top campaign official show her aides considered inserting jokes about her private email server into her speeches at several events — and at least one joke made it into her remarks.

 

"I love it," she told a dinner in Iowa on August 14, 2015, noting she had opened an online account with Snapchat, which deletes posts automatically. "Those messages disappear all by themselves."

 

The crack scored a laugh from the audience, but the issue was plenty serious. About a month earlier, news broke of an FBI investigation into whether some of the emails that passed through Clinton's unsecured server contained classified information. Ultimately, the agency criticized Clinton for being reckless with classified information but declined to prosecute her.

 

But hacked emails of John Podesta, Clinton's top campaign official, show the Democratic candidate and her team were slow to grasp the seriousness of the controversy, initially believing it might blow over after one weekend. It did not, and became the most recent example of a penchant for secrecy that has fueled questions about Clinton's trustworthiness, which she has acknowledged has been a political challenge.

 

The joke was included in hacked emails WikiLeaks began releasing earlier this month, saying they included years of messages from accounts used by Podesta. Podesta warned that messages may have been altered or edited to inflict political damage, but has not pointed to any specifics.

 

Almost from the moment The Associated Press on March 3, 2015, called the campaign for comment on its breaking story that Clinton had been running a private server to five months later, campaign aides sought venues on Clinton's schedule where she could show some humor over the issue, according to the hacked emails.

 

In a series of emails on March 3, 2015 — the same day The Associated Press called for comment — staffers tossed around the idea of making jokes about the emails at a dinner hosted by EMILY's List, a political action committee, that evening.

 

"I wanted to float idea of HRC making a joke about the email situation at the EMILY's List dinner tonight," Jennifer Palmieri, director of communications for Clinton's campaign, wrote at 2:37 p.m., using the candidate's initials. "What do folks think about that?"

 

The idea got a mostly favorable response at first. "I don't think it's nuts if we can come up with the right thing. But it could also be nuts," replied campaign spokesman Nick Merrill a couple of minutes later.

 

"I think it would be good for her to show some humor," added Kristina Schake, now a deputy communications director. "...More jokes are welcome too."

 

But political consultant Mandy Grunwald nixed the idea after speaking with Jim Margolis, a media adviser to the campaign.

 

"We don't know what's in the emails, so we are nervous about this," Grunwald wrote to Merrill and Schake at 6:09 p.m. that night. "Might get a big laugh tonight and regret it when content of emails is disclosed."

 

Clinton's campaign aides also considered using Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's 2015 appearance at the Gridiron Dinner, an annual Washington joke-fest involving journalists and politicians, to try and defuse the email issue. McAuliffe is a longtime confidante of and fundraiser for Clinton, and was chairman of her unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid.

 

"Anyway what do we think about using gridiron to puncture the email story a little," wrote Palmieri, who suggested possible joke topics, including one involving Jeb Bush.

 

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook expressed concern, saying reinforcing the idea that Clinton and McAuliffe are close "conjures the 90s stuff" — a reference, to Bill Clinton's two turbulent terms in office. McAuliffe's routine at the Gridiron did not ultimately include the discussed email routine.

 

Five months later, Hillary Clinton's director of speechwriting, Dan Schwerin, shared a draft of a speech for the annual Iowa Wing Ding dinner in an email to colleagues, asking for input.

 

"I look forward to your feedback. (Also, if anyone has a funny email/server joke, please send it my way.)," he wrote on August 13.

___

Associated Press writers Juliet A. Williams in Sacramento, California, Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio, and Alan Suderman in Gainesville, Florida, contributed to this report.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-10-24

[Thakkar]

12 minutes ago, webfact said:

the most recent example of a penchant for secrecy that has fueled questions about Clinton's trustworthiness, which she has acknowledged has been a political challenge

 

HRC has her faults. No politician is ideal. Sanders, Eisenhower, Obama come close but also have their faults, and, once in power (whether as president, First Lady, senator, or Sec. of State), have to act to balance various interests, pressures, mutually exclusive goals and other practicalities.

 

Jesus Christ himself, if he had a 40-year political career in today's world, would not come out looking good. ("Never achieved much in his carpentry career" ; consorted with prostitutes like Magdalena" ; violent temper tantrums at temple" ; "had to resort to father's magic after failing to plan proper catering services" —you get the picture)

The most virulent anti-Hillary memes are demonstrably false, yet they persist and are alluded to even in supposedly non-partisan and even "liberal" main stream media. See above quoted snippet.

 

It is fascinating to study how this has happened and a fine analysis can be found here*:

http://peterdaou.com/2015/03/hillary-decoder/

 

*it is a short piece from 2015. Read the updates too.
**granted, it is written by a former Clinton advisor but is illuminating on it's own merit.

 

T

[geriatrickid]

I am disappointed in those who hang onto these emails and wag their moral fingers. These people ignore the fact that they were illegally obtained, that their release is an invasion of the most fundamental of freedoms, that of privacy and that they have often been  taken out of context.

 

How can one be expected to respect those who drool and rub their hands in glee everytime the Russians send these criminal proceeds their way via the Assange puppet?  I see that Trump and his crew hang on these emails as a drowning man lunges for a stick of wood to stay afloat.

 

On the other hand, it is heartening to see some GOP leaders still have their integrity and have refused to hang their hats on the emails. E.g. Jeb Bush, John Kusich. There are still some people within the GOP with some class and an understanding of the concept of decency.

 

Slobs like Chris Christie now embroiled in his own political scandal, and adulterers like Guilliani caught lying when he claimed  Mrs. C. was a no show in NYC  after 9/11 despite there being multiple photos of him posing with her at ground zero,  will pay the price for their moral bankruptcy.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2016 by geriatrickid

[BadBouy]

7 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

I am disappointed in those who hang onto these emails and wag their moral fingers. These people ignore the fact that they were illegally obtained, that their release is an invasion of the most fundamental of freedoms, that of privacy and that they have often been  taken out of context.

 

How can one be expected to respect those who drool and rub their hands in glee everytime the Russians send these criminal proceeds their way via the Assange puppet?  I see that Trump and his crew hang on these emails as a drowning man lunges for a stick of wood to stay afloat.

 

On the other hand, it is heartening to see some GOP leaders still have their integrity and have refused to hang their hats on the emails. E.g. Jeb Bush, John Kusich. There are still some people within the GOP with some class and an understanding of the concept of decency.

 

Slobs like Chris Christie now embroiled in his own political scandal, and adulterers like Guilliani caught lying when he claimed  Mrs. C. was a no show in NYC  after 9/11 despite there being multiple photos of him posing with her at ground zero,  will pay the price for their moral bankruptcy.

 

 

 

 

 I'm curious, did it bother you when Trump's taxes were illegally obtained and published by the media?

 

"I am disappointed in those who hang onto these emails and wag their moral fingers."

 

Are you waving your moral finger?

 

"Slobs like Chris Christie now embroiled in his own political scandal, and adulterers like Guilliani caught lying when he claimed  Mrs. C. was a no show in NYC  after 9/11 despite there being multiple photos of him posing with her at ground zero,  will pay the price for their moral bankruptcy."

 

I suppose you also dislike whistle blowers too. I'm for the truth no matter how it is obtained and where it falls. Let the sun shine into all the dark corners of government.

   

[geriatrickid]

18 hours ago, BadBouy said:

 I'm curious, did it bother you when Trump's taxes were illegally obtained and published by the media?

 

"I am disappointed in those who hang onto these emails and wag their moral fingers."

 

Are you waving your moral finger?

 

"Slobs like Chris Christie now embroiled in his own political scandal, and adulterers like Guilliani caught lying when he claimed  Mrs. C. was a no show in NYC  after 9/11 despite there being multiple photos of him posing with her at ground zero,  will pay the price for their moral bankruptcy."

 

I suppose you also dislike whistle blowers too. I'm for the truth no matter how it is obtained and where it falls. Let the sun shine into all the dark corners of government.

   

 

I  have not  relied on the information  published by the NYT or used it. Nor has Mrs. Clinton done so. Trump has refused to release his tax returns and offered the unfounded excuse that he is being audited by the IRS. 

Trump's tax return were not illegally obtained by the New York Time.  Are you aware that the documents that were sent to the NYT were not federal  income tax returns, but were state tax returns? Do you even know what was released?

 

 Please cite the  law which states that what the NYT did was illegal. The NYT did not hack into anyone's  files, nor did they encourage, aid or abet the theft of any of any documents. Nor did the NYT  violate the confidentiality laws for the US federal income tax.  Tell us how they violated the law.   Are you aware that  Trump had casinos in  Atlantic city, you know the ones that are closed now? How do you think a casino license is obtained?

 

 

 

 

[halloween]

The trouble with political jokes is that they sometimes get elected. It becomes a problem when the choice is a bad joke or one even worse.