Even if you're not a "conspiracy theory" buff this kind of stuff sticks out like a sore thumb when looking at how the Clinton's play the political game(s).
In this case the game included the newest member to the Clinton political machine; son-in-law Marc Mezvinsky, ex-Goldman Sachs banker and present owner/operator of a Wall Street hedge fund. (Who Is Marc Mezvinsky? Chelsea Clinton's Husband ).
What went on here also shines a little light on why Hillary preferred a "private" email server to conduct her then government business;
“It appears that then Secretary Hillary Clinton gave a private company special access to the State Department based upon the company’s relationships with Secretary Clinton’s family members and donors to the Clinton Foundation,” the group says in the complaint first obtained by TIME.
The complaint comes two weeks after emails released by the State Department show that Clinton followed up on a special request from Marc Mezvinsky, Chelsea Clinton’s husband.
In May 2012, Harry Siklas, an investor in a deep-sea mining firm called Neptune Minerals, asked Mezvinsky to connect him with officials at the State Department in order to discuss mining regulations affecting his investments.
Siklas noted he was lobbying for access on behalf of a friend who had founded the deep-sea mining firm.
“Hey bud,” the Siklas wrote in his note to Mezvinsky. “I need a contact in Hillary’s office: someone my friend Josh (and I perhaps) can reach out via email or phone to discuss mining and the current legal issues and regulations.”
Three months later, State Department emails show, Clinton forwarded the message to another department official. “Could you have someone follow up on this request which was forwarded to me?” Clinton asked in email to Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides. “I’ll get on it,” Nides replied.
“Hey bud,” the Siklas wrote in his note to Mezvinsky. “I need a contact in Hillary’s office: someone my friend Josh (and I perhaps) can reach out via email or phone to discuss mining and the current legal issues and regulations.”
Three months later, State Department emails show, Clinton forwarded the message to another department official. “Could you have someone follow up on this request which was forwarded to me?” Clinton asked in email to Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides. “I’ll get on it,” Nides replied.
The email exchange was made public by the State Department’s release of Clinton’s emails and first reported by the Associated Press.
FACT alleges that the emails appear to show Clinton gave preferential treatment to her son-in-law by following up on the request to give Neptune Minerals an audience with government officials.
The emails do not show whether Siklas or anyone at Neptune Minerals succeeded in meeting with Clinton or any other State Department officials.
Siklas, the investor who made the request, was also an employee of Goldman Sachs at the time. Goldman Sachs employees were major donors to Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.
FACT is asking the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to investigate “the circumstances surrounding these apparent unethical communications.” It’s unclear what actions OGE could take. The office does not investigate matters that are within the purview of other inspectors general, and the Department of Justice is responsible for prosecuting criminal offenses. Whitaker said OGE could refer the matter to the Department of Justice.
“We believe that requests like this from anyone other than Goldman Sachs and her son-in-law were not passed along, so there was a preference given in her duty as Secretary of State in comparison to other requests,” Whitaker said.
FACT is asking the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to investigate “the circumstances surrounding these apparent unethical communications.” It’s unclear what actions OGE could take. The office does not investigate matters that are within the purview of other inspectors general, and the Department of Justice is responsible for prosecuting criminal offenses. Whitaker said OGE could refer the matter to the Department of Justice.
“We believe that requests like this from anyone other than Goldman Sachs and her son-in-law were not passed along, so there was a preference given in her duty as Secretary of State in comparison to other requests,” Whitaker said.
Read more; Hillary Clinton Faces Call for New Ethics Investigation After Son-in-Law Asked for a Business Favor
Hillary's email sent from her private server went like this;
From: Nides, Thomas R
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2012 2:28 PM
To:
From: H [mailto:HDR22@clintonemail.com]
Subject: Request
Tom---
Hey bud,
On the professional front, I've been involved, as a passive investor, with a privately held deep sea mining company,
Neptune Minerals, Inc., a Nevada corporation founded on January 5th, 2011 for the purpose of engaging in the business
of Sea floor Massive Sulfide (SMS) Mining - they have the second most extensive prospective tenement position in the
South Pacific after rolling up the number 2 and 3 players in the industry, Neptune Minerals Plc. and Dorado Ocean
Resources Ltd.-(http://www.neptuneminerals.com)
started the company. I introduced them to GS and the bankers took them on as a client.
We can go into further detail at anytime, but there is a favor I need to ask, and hopefully it will not put you out, as I'm
not one to ask for favors typically.
SMS mining and the current legal issues and regulations.
went in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 23rd, urging to ratify the Law of the Sea Convention,
and spent a good third of her time talking about deep sea mining.
Josh Adam, my friend, co-founder and SVP of Finance for the company, is one of the smartest, logical, understated and
honest people I know.
at some point we get in front of the Secretary herself. However, for now, if you, or your better half, know someone in
her office who would at least READ an email or take a fifteen minute call, it would be a huge boon.
The email raises two key issues.
First, it is unclear why there is no record of Clinton being forwarded the email that Siklas sent to Mezvinsky.
Clinton wrote in her email to Nides that she was forwarded the email from Siklas to her son-in-law. If Clinton had turned over all work-related emails that she has sent or received — as she has repeatedly claimed — it would be expected that she had an email sent directly to her inbox with Siklas’s email attached.
But perhaps more importantly, the email shows that people close to Clinton had the inside track in pushing her their pet projects — a pattern that has been on display with nearly every monthly release of Clinton emails.
As a Daily Caller investigation showed, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson frequently emailed Clinton to lobby for an American power company in which he was involved.
But perhaps more importantly, the email shows that people close to Clinton had the inside track in pushing her their pet projects — a pattern that has been on display with nearly every monthly release of Clinton emails.
As a Daily Caller investigation showed, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson frequently emailed Clinton to lobby for an American power company in which he was involved.
The company, Symbion Power, was awarded a contract by the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a quasi-government agency which Clinton chaired when she was in office. (RELATED: After An Email To Hillary, Company Directed By Ambassador Joe Wilson Received Lucrative African Contract)
Other emails showed that in 2009, after then-Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin repeatedly pressed Clinton and her aides for a job for his daughter at the State Department, she was hired at the agency’s Office of War Crimes Issues. (RELATED: After Lobbying Hillary, Democratic Senator’s Daughter Was Hired At The State Department)
Harkin provided Clinton with a political boost when he endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate over the summer.
Clinton also received business pitches from her longtime friend, Sidney Blumenthal. Blumenthal frequently emailed intelligence reports to Clinton pushing for regime change in Libya.
Other emails showed that in 2009, after then-Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin repeatedly pressed Clinton and her aides for a job for his daughter at the State Department, she was hired at the agency’s Office of War Crimes Issues. (RELATED: After Lobbying Hillary, Democratic Senator’s Daughter Was Hired At The State Department)
Harkin provided Clinton with a political boost when he endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate over the summer.
Clinton also received business pitches from her longtime friend, Sidney Blumenthal. Blumenthal frequently emailed intelligence reports to Clinton pushing for regime change in Libya.
At the same time he was emailing Clinton, Blumenthal was consulting for Osprey Global Solutions, a defense contractor that stood to benefit from the removal of Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi. Clinton was one of the most vocal supporters within the Obama administration seeking Gaddafi’s ouster.
The Mezvinsky email — and the other business pitches sent to Clinton — would not have come to light if Clinton had had her way. She held onto her State Department emails for nearly two years after leaving office, preventing the federal records from being made available to Freedom of Information Act requests and congressional inquiries.
The Mezvinsky email — and the other business pitches sent to Clinton — would not have come to light if Clinton had had her way. She held onto her State Department emails for nearly two years after leaving office, preventing the federal records from being made available to Freedom of Information Act requests and congressional inquiries.
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