Hillary approved special status for aide Huma Abedin

Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin job arrangement

 

 

Hillary approved special status for aide Huma Abedin

By Rachael Bade
09/24/15 05:25 PM EDT
Updated 09/24/15 09:58 PM EDT

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greenlighted paperwork that changed her top aide Huma Abedin’s job status to “special government employee” — a classification that allowed Abedin to work for an outside consulting firm and the Clinton Foundation at the same time she was advising Clinton at State.
According to documents obtained by conservative group Judicial Watch through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, Clinton was the immediate supervisor who approved the title change that came with the new post on March 23, 2012, permitting her then-deputy chief of staff to work several jobs at once.
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That dual role, which didn’t go into effect until June of that year, is currently under investigation by Senate Judiciary Committee Republican staff. Republicans and outside groups have openly wondered if the post presented a conflict of interest for Abedin, who is now vice chair of Clinton’s presidential campaign, or if Abedin’s outside work influenced actions at State.
The Clinton Campaign argued Thursday that the document wasn’t the actual approval of the SGE status but only approved the title change that came with Abedin’s transition. The document states that the position was “new” and an SGE job: “The incumbent serves as a Senior Adviser, Expert-Special Government Employee.”
Huma Abedin’s lawyers have maintained that she did nothing wrong, noting that government workers have moved to SGE status before.
POLITICO reported Wednesday that the president of the outside company where Abedin ended up working later that year, Doug Band of Teneo, had contacted her in April 2012, asking her for help getting a client appointed to a post on the President’s Global Development Council.
In the email, he made sure Abedin knew that the woman, Judith Rodin, president of The Rockefeller Foundation, was also a big supporter of the Clinton Foundation — another place Abedin would collect a paycheck after her SGE status was approved.
Clinton, in an interview with MSNBC on Sept. 4, said she “was not directly involved” with Abedin’s job arrangement.
“Do you think [Donald Trump] had a point in raising the question of whether it was appropriate for her to be taking a State Department salary and also be paid by an outside company closely associated with your husband, by you?” asked reporter Andrea Mitchell.
“Well, I was not directly involved in that, but everything that she did was approved under the rules as they existed by the State Department,” Clinton said.
The document states the following: “I certify that this is an accurate statement of the major duties and responsibilities of this person… and the position is necessary to carry out government functions for which I am responsible,” the form reads in a box labelled “supervisory certification.”
“Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State,” reads the name in that box.
The signature, however, has been blanked out by the State Department.