Sidney Blumenthal paid $10K/month by Clinton Foundation while doing intel work for Hillary at State

Hotair ^ | 05/28/2015 | Ed Morrisey

[SeekAndFind]

When asked about her interactions with Sidney Blumenthal during her tenure as Secretary of State, especially on Libya, Hillary Clinton told reporters that she always valued input from trusted friends:

“I have many, many old friends, and I always think that it’s important when you get into politics to have friends that you had before you were in politics and to understand what’s on their minds. He’s been a friend of mine for a long time—he sent me unsolicited emails, which I passed on in some instances, and I see that that’s just part of the give-and-take,” she said.

“When you’re in the public eye, when you’re in an official position, I think you do have to work to make sure you’re not caught in the bubble and you only hear from a certain small group of people, and I’m going to keep talking to my old friends, whoever they are.”

Apparently, she put her money where her mouth was when it comes to “value.” During the period in which Blumenthal reportedly operated a private intel network for Hillary, the Clinton Foundation paid Blumenthal $10,000 a month as a full-time employee, Politico’s Ken Vogel reports:

Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime confidant of Bill and Hillary Clinton, earned about $10,000 a month as a full-time employee of the Clinton Foundation while he was providing unsolicited intelligence on Libya to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to multiple sources familiar with the arrangement.

Blumenthal was added to the payroll of the Clintons’ global philanthropy in 2009 — not long after advising Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — at the behest of former president Bill Clinton, for whom he had worked in the White House, say the sources.

Vogel reminds us that this wasn’t Blumenthal’s only income. At the same time, he drew income from Media Matters and American Bridge, two organizations run by David Brock which are operating on behalf of Team Clinton, if a bit sotto voce for tax purposes. This is almost a perfect nexus between public authority, personal wealth, and campaign activism. It’s certainly not just taking occasional calls from a friend offering free advice.

The arrangement at the Clinton Foundation rubbed staffers there the wrong way, as they wondered what value Blumenthal added to a supposed charity, Vogel reports. Nevertheless, it stretched on for about four years, coincidentally (or not) ending in March 2013 just after Hillary left the State Department. Either the change from SecState to nascent candidate ended Blumenthal’s usefulness at the Clinton Foundation, or more likely, the expected increase in scrutiny made the arrangement less than desirable — and less than defensible.

If nothing else, this renders laughable the notion that Hillary engaged with Blumenthal out of a sheer desire to be outside a “bubble.” The Clintons used their family foundation to run a private intel network, one that had a significant connection to activist political organizations involved in the upcoming presidential election, and did so through a private communications network designed to avoid Congressional scrutiny and FOIA compliance. Let’s not forget that we wouldn’t even know about the Blumenthal nexus unless hackers hadn’t exploited the comically poor security employed by Hillary on her e-mail server — this connection was supposed to go unnoticed. On top of that, how anyone can claim to have hired Sidney Blumenthal to get outside a bubble surpasses all comprehension. Blumenthal, along with Brock and other Clinton cronies, spend almost all of their time constructing bubbles to deflect any scrutiny or criticism of the Clintons.

The slush fund of the Clinton Foundation looks slushier and slushier every day, no? The only think missing here is G. Gordon Liddy and the name “plumbers.”

[Liz]

I would like to know who fed Sidney Blumenthal the intel that he was passing on to Hillary.

The NYT reports on Blumenthal's secret emails to Hillary
(emails she scrubbed to dupe Americans---brought to light by a hacker):

<><> Blumenthal was on the payroll of the Clinton Foundation,

<><> at the same time Blumenthal was being paid by political groups aiding 2016 Clinton,

<><> at the same time he was a paid advisor to businesses seeking Libyan contracts,

<><> at the same time he was secretly advising Secy of State Clinton about Libya.

====================================================

The crimes committed here are so numerous that they boggle even the most astute mind. Just for starters: Collusion, conspiracy, bribery, govt fraud, falsified documents, wire transfers, accounting fraud, misuse of govt position, etc, etc, etc.

[tennmountainman]

I would love to take a 2x4 and slap Sid Vicious in the head with it.

[smokingfrog]

Nice work if you can get it.

[centurion316]

Sid was helping Hillary with her intel operation in his spare time. He was being paid 10K per month by the Clinton Foundation to help feed starving children around the world. Don’t you people understand that the Clinton Foundation is a charity?

[mass55th]

I want to see his tax returns.

[mass55th]

"I would like to know who fed Sidney Blumenthal the intel that he was passing on to Hillary."

According to one Townhall.com article, he had his own secret intelligence network, one of which was supposed to be an ex-CIA clandestine officer. Wouldn't be surprised if Valerie Plame and her mint tea-drinking hubby weren't in on it. Wouldn't that be juicy?

[Ann Archy]

Brock and Blumenthal are two of the CREEPIEST, MOST DISGUSTING creatures on earth! Slimy and DIRTY to the NTH degree.

I wonder if Strobe Talbot's dumpster diving for DIRT on Republicans sister is on Clinton's SLUSH FUND Payroll!

[Ann Archy]

I think those e-mails exist someplace and that they will be revealed.

[mass55th]

"This has been the Clinton modus operandi for decades."

Don't forget the firing of the White House travel office, and the criminal charges brought against Billy Dale, plus the selling of access to the Lincoln Bedroom. They ran their own bed and breakfast there.

[mass55th]

"Brock and Blumenthal are two of the CREEPIEST, MOST DISGUSTING creatures on earth! "

Back in February, Brock resigned his position on the board of Hillary's PAC, because it came to light he was paying one of his fund raisers a bonus from the money she raised.

A New York Times report "...pointed out that veteran Democratic fundraiser Mary Pat Bonner got a 12.5 percent commission on funds she raised for Brock’s groups and a smaller percentage commission on cash she raised for Ready for Hillary."

I remember listening to Rush talking about this when it happened. As he explained it, the bonuses were paid from the funds she raised, and more than likely, the donors to the PAC were unaware that bonuses were being paid out of the money they gave.

[hoosiermama]

Rush said the Clinton’s paid SuB $10,000 to do their dirty work. My thought — the money was blackmail money —used to keep him quiet He knows their secrets

[Mouton]

“Does anyone believe that Chelsea does anything to justify her half million dollar a year salary there?”

She is surely NOT another pretty face!

[EagleUSA]

“...They ran their own bed and breakfast there.”

Yes, they are pigs. Compare them, and their criminal and unethical actions, to Reagan while he was in office. He had so much respect for the nation and the Oval Office, he would not even walk into the Office without a jacket on. Talk about both ends of the human spectrum....