Re: HRC

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everyone, and thanks for the introduction, Nick. Here’s a quick update on what’s happening with Chelsea, who I think many of you know devotes her time to the Clinton Foundation as its Vice Chair. Chelsea has been a tireless advocate for the work of the Foundation and its causes. In addition to working alongside her parents at the Foundation, over the last year Chelsea completed her doctorate in International Relations at Oxford University, where her thesis focused on issues of global health governance. She continues to teach at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and also serves as a special correspondent for NBC News, where she’s highlighting people and organizations making a difference in their communities and across the world. Using her experience working in the private sector, as well as the international development expertise she gained through her studies at Oxford, Chelsea focuses her work across a number of programmatic areas including: global health and wellness, women and girls, increasing service and volunteer opportunities, CGIU and the conservation of Africa’s elephants among other areas at the Foundation. She has appeared at countless public events and conducted dozens of media interviews to highlight that work. One of the things Chelsea is most passionate about is data, she's highly focused on ensuring the Foundation is in the vanguard of using data to inform policy and programmatic decisions. As she often notes (and makes fun of herself), she is 'obsessed' with data - an obsession that has threaded through her years at both McKinsey and Avenue and her academic work. At the Foundation, Chelsea is directing our metrics and evaluation work across programmatic areas and has ensured that No Ceilings has a strong data component. Both to better understand the current status of rights and opportunities for women and girls and to find correlations between what changes in laws, norms or practices have made the most difference in advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls over the past twenty years. If you’d like to know more about Chelsea, her current work or about any of Chelsea's work before the Foundation, please let me know. If you want to know if Chelsea and Marc are having a boy or girl - I don't know and neither do they! I look forward to hearing from you, whether prompted by a request or not. I'll also be sending periodic updates about Chelsea's work across health, women and girls, service, CGIU and other areas in the coming months. Sincerely, Kamyl On Aug 5, 2014, at 7:27 PM, "Nick Merrill" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hi everyone, As we enter the quiet days of August I wanted to take a moment to send a quick note thanking everyone for all of your feedback and communication over the past few months. We’re all quite pleased with how it’s gone, and look forward to continuing our run on the best-seller list. We have a little more media that we’re doing over the coming week, the highlight of which is HRC making a *surprise* appearance on The Colbert Report tonight. Tune in at 11:30pm. Beyond that, enjoy the rest of your summers and please continue to be as vocal with your messages as you have been to date. On one final note, I’m cc’ing some colleagues that many of you likely know. Matt McKenna is President Clinton’s spokesperson. Craig Minassian is in charge of communications for the Clinton Foundation, and Kamyl Bazbaz is Chelsea Clinton’s press secretary. Please feel free to communicate with them as you have with us, particularly as we start to see Chelsea in the news a little more lately (but Kamyl is not going to tell you the baby’s name). Thanks very much. Nick On Tue, Jun 24, 2014 at 9:39 AM, Nick Merrill <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hello All, Greetings from CGI America in Denver. I'm writing today because we wanted you to know two things regarding the Secretary's interview with the Guardian that ran over the weekend, just so you have a bit more context than you're getting on TV. First, while the piece ran only a day or two ago, the interview itself was actually conducted 11 days ago, in the very first days of the book launch. Second, someone on the Ops team pulled the whole transcript and said, "I wish people could see the rest of her answer." Well, even though the Guardian didn't run the whole thing, here is her full answer below. Thank you all for your continued input on all matters HRC. Nick QUESTION: Domestically, as you mentioned towards the end of the book, one of the key issues is inequality. MRS. CLINTON: Yes. QUESTION: Presumably whoever runs in 2016 will be talking a lot about that. It’s come up already, but I did want to – it’s such a polar – another polarized issue. Can you be the right person, were you to decide to run, to raise an issue like that when – with your own huge personal wealth, which is something that people have already started sniping about? Is it possible to talk about that subject -- MRS. CLINTON: Absolutely. QUESTION: -- when people perceive you as part of the problem, not the solution? MRS. CLINTON: But they don’t see me as part of the problem because we pay ordinary income tax, unlike a lot of people who are truly well off, not to name names, and we have done it through dint of hard work. We know how blessed we are. We were neither of us raised with these kinds of opportunities, and we worked really hard for them. But all one has to do is look at my record going back to my time in college and law school to know not only where my heart is, but where my efforts have been. I want to create a level playing field so that once again, you can look a child in the eye and you can tell them the truth, whether they’re born in a wealthy suburb or an inner city or a poor country community; you can point out the realistic possibility that they will have a better life. But here’s what they must do: It’s that wonderful combination of individual effort, but social support, mobility and opportunity on the other side of the equation. So I’m willing to have that debate with anybody. On Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 8:18 AM, Nick Merrill <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hi All, We’re trying to use these notes sparingly, but we did want to send a quick update as we enter week 2. We are all really happy with how it's going so far. It's especially great to see HRC so comfortable and relaxed, calling it like she sees it without fear of the endless parsing and over-analysis that comes with anything she says, no matter how she says it. As she said to Diane Sawyer - and then again on Friday to Lissa - she's done with that. CBS Sunday Morning ran a really wonderful piece yesterday that was taped at the Secretary's Wellesley reunion a couple of weeks ago. You can watch it here<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-on-making-what-appears-to-be-impossible-possible/> if you missed it. And speaking of Lissa, Friday night's event at GW was terrific, you can watch it here<http://www.c-span.org/video/?319882-1/hillary-clinton-hard-choices>. Tomorrow, she'll do a CNN Town Hall, and then a FOX interview conducted jointly by Bret Baier and Greta Van Susteren. As always, let us know what we can do to be helpful, and thank you all for your feedback and suggestions - it has been and will continue to be appreciated by us and by the Secretary, who we share it all with. So please keep it coming. Nick On Mon, Jun 9, 2014 at 1:51 PM, Nick Merrill <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hi Everyone, Attached are some general points for your use. And as always, please don't hesitate to check in with us if you need anything. Nick On Fri, May 30, 2014 at 1:39 PM, Nick Merrill <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Good afternoon, Following up on this morning, I'm circulating some points for use. It's a simple frame of what the article contained. Thanks very much. Nick On 5/30/14, 6:32 AM, Nick Merrill wrote: Good Morning All, As you can see from the story below, POLITICO has obtained and reported on the chapter of the Secretary's book where she discusses the tragic attacks in Benghazi. As noted in the story, we won't be commenting on this development. But to avoid any confusion we wanted to let you know that the quotations in the story that are cited to the book - which are boldfaced for clarity - are in fact accurate. Beyond confirming their accuracy though, we will let them speak for themselves. Over the next month we will, as always, need your help. So please do not ever hesitate to reach out to Huma, Philippe or me with any questions, thoughts, concerns, suggestions - anything you think will help keep us in sync as the book is launched. Kiki Mclean will be helping to ensure that we are smartly deploying and prepping those of you willing to act as surrogates. And as noted in the story, Tommy Vietor is part of the team we've put together to handle whatever comes our way in the coming weeks. You all know - or at least know of - Tommy, but what you may not know is how closely we all worked together throughout the four years we were at State and he was at the White House. As HRC writes in the book, we all quickly went from a Team of Rivals to an Unrivaled Team. And since the response team is made up of former diplomats, we've opted to refer to the effort as the 'Ops Center' (instead of the usual nickname made famous by a certain documentary from 1993). Thank you all in advance for your help, and below is the story from POLITICO. Nick Nick Merrill Press Secretary Office of Hillary Rodham Clinton http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/hillary-clintons-benghazi-chapter-107240.html?hp=t1 Exclusive: Hillary Clinton’s Benghazi chapter By MAGGIE HABERMAN | 5/30/14 5:07 AM EDT Hillary Clinton offers a detailed account of the deadly attack on the American embassy in Benghazi — and a pointed rebuttal to Republican critics who’ve laced into her over the incident — in a much-anticipated chapter of her forthcoming book, “Hard Choices,” obtained by POLITICO. “Those who exploit this tragedy over and over as a political tool minimize the sacrifice of those who served our country,” Clinton writes in the gripping chapter, “Benghazi: Under Attack.” Casting doubt on the motivations of congressional Republicans who have continued to investigate the attacks, including with an upcoming House select committee, Clinton continues: “I will not be a part of a political slugfest on the backs of dead Americans. It’s just plain wrong, and it’s unworthy of our great country. Those who insist on politicizing the tragedy will have to do so without me.” The 34-page chapter is Clinton’s most complete account to date of the attack and its aftermath. Her tone is less defensive than defiant: Clinton takes responsibility for the “horror" of the loss of life in Benghazi, but puts it in the context of “the heartbreaking human stakes of every decision we make” — and she accuses adversaries of manipulating a tragedy for partisan gain. There has been, she writes, a “regrettable amount of misinformation, speculation, and flat-out deceit by some in politics and the media,” but new information from “a number of reputable sources continues to expand our understanding of these events.” The chapter appears intended, in part, to give Democrats a clear framework to respond to Republicans who have raised questions about Clinton’s role and what the Obama administration has said about the Sept. 2012 killing of four Americans. The section was obtained and reviewed by POLITICO on the eve of a meeting in which members of Democratic-leaning groups will be briefed by Clinton’s team about how she addresses the attacks in the book. And in a sign of the concerted effort to rebut the ongoing controversy in a cohesive way, Clinton’s camp has brought on former National Security Council spokesman and longtime President Barack Obama hand Tommy Vietor to assist in the response to the book, a source familiar with the plan said. The book’s arrival comes as Clinton is considering a second presidential campaign in 2016. Pieces that have emerged ahead of the June 10 release include a section about Clinton’s late mother, the author’s note and a four-minute video featuring the former first lady talking about the book. On Thursday, conservative-leaning Fox News - which has heavily covered the Benghazi story — announced Clinton will sit down with two of its anchors for an interview during her book rollout media blitz. Asked to comment on what Clinton hoped to achieve with the Benghazi chapter, among the most anticipated sections of her State Department retrospective, her spokesman Nick Merrill responded, “Until the book is released, there’s nothing to say. And once it’s released, it will speak for itself.” The chapter is a mostly chronological retrospective of the attack interspersed with Clinton’s views. She points out that she ordered an investigation into what happened nine days after the attacks, and that she agreed with and implemented all 29 of the recommendations made by a review board. While saying that as a former senator she respects the “oversight role that Congress is meant to play,” Clinton later adds, “Many of these same people are a broken record about unanswered questions. But there is a difference between unanswered questions and unlistened to answers.” Clinton defends the intelligence at the time preceding the attack on the American compound in Libya. An anti-Islamic video that had sparked a protest at an embassy in Cairo was proven in “later investigation and reporting,” including by the New York Times, to have been “indeed a factor” in what happened in Benghazi, Clinton writes. That point is among those that has been debated during hearings into the attacks. “There were scores of attackers that night, almost certainly with differing motives,” she writes. “It is inaccurate to state that every single one of them was influenced by this hateful video. It is equally inaccurate to state that none of them were. Both assertions defy not only the evidence but logic as well.” Clinton addresses lingering questions about how military assets were deployed to try to rescue personnel at the under-siege compound, writing that Obama “gave the order to do whatever was necessary to support our people in Libya. It was imperative that all possible resources be mobilized immediately. … When Americans are under fire, that is not an order the Commander in Chief has to give twice. Our military does everything humanly possible to save American lives — and would do more if they could. That anyone has ever suggested otherwise is something I will never understand.” Clinton also highlights some of the findings of an Accountability Review Board investigation into the attacks, including that there had been security upgrades to the Benghazi compound but that they were “simply inadequate in an increasingly dangerous city.” She notes that Benghazi compound personnel told the Review Board that they felt their requests for additional security were not given adequate weight by the embassy in Tripoli, a point Republicans have in the past argued does not absolve Clinton since those officials report to the Secretary. Clinton reiterates a point she made during congressional testimony last year: that she never saw cables requesting additional security. The cables were addressed to her as a “procedural quirk” given her position, but didn’t actually land on her desk, she writes: “That’s not how it works. It shouldn’t. And it didn’t.” Clinton addresses claims that the investigation of the attack was rigged since she appointed some of the Accountability Review Board members and she was not interviewed. The board, she writes, “had unfettered access to anyone and anything they thought relevant to their investigation, including me if they had chosen to do so.” She defends then-United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice for describing the Benghazi attack as a “copycat" of the video-spurred Cairo protests when she appeared on Sunday TV shows days later. Rice, Clinton writes, was relying on existing intelligence. And the talking points she used were written to help members of Congress address the attacks, and that the information began with and was signed off on by CIA officials. Intelligence officials didn’t know Rice would use them, Clinton writes. The talking points have been a focus of Republican critics, who insist they stemmed from the White House as an effort to control a politically sensitive issue — a terrorist attack on the eve of Obama’s reelection. “Susan stated what the intelligence community believed, rightly or wrongly, at the time,” Clinton writes. “That was the best she or anyone could do. Every step of the way, whenever something new was learned, it was quickly shared with Congress and the American people. There is a difference between getting something wrong, and committing wrong. A big difference that some have blurred to the point of casting those who made a mistake as intentionally deceitful.” Clinton takes aim at people who “fixate on the question of why I didn’t go on TV that morning, as if appearing on a talk show is the equivalent of jury duty, where one has to have a compelling reason to get out of it. I don’t see appearing on Sunday-morning television as any more of a responsibility than appearing on late-night TV. Only in Washington is the definition of talking to Americans confined to 9 A.M. on Sunday mornings.” Early on in the chapter, she describes her grief over losing American ambassador Chris Stevens and three of his diplomatic colleagues – “a punch in the gut,” she writes — and says she takes responsibility. The deaths of “fearless public servants in the line of duty was a crushing blow,” Clinton writes. “As Secretary I was the one ultimately responsible for my people’s safety, and I never felt that responsibility more deeply than I did that day.” Clinton also addresses her much-seized-upon remark before a congressional committee in Jan. 2013, when she used the phrase “what difference at this point does it make.” Republicans have claimed it betrayed Clinton’s lack of interest in getting to the bottom of the attack. Clinton writes that her words were blatantly twisted. “In yet another example of the terrible politicization of this tragedy, many have conveniently chosen to interpret” that phrase “to mean that I was somehow minimizing the tragedy of Benghazi. Of course that’s not what I said,” she writes. “Nothing could be further from the truth. And many of those trying to make hay of it know that, but don’t care.” She adds, “My point was simple: If someone breaks into your home and takes your family hostage, how much time are you going to spend focused on how the intruder spent his day as opposed to how best to rescue your loved ones and then prevent it from happening again?” Clinton describes how important it was to communicate with the public and to lead her agency during and after the violence. But she also says the details of the Benghazi attacks have been clouded “in part because of continuing turmoil in Libya. And despite the best efforts of officials from across our government. …there will never be perfect clarity on everything that happened. …But that should not be confused with a lack of effort to discover the truth or to share it with the American people.”