Bill Clinton wanted to cash in on North Korea gig
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Bill Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un Photo: Getty Images; AFP/Getty Images
Bill Clinton was so eager to rake in six-figure speaking fees he asked his wife’s staff at the State Department whether he could accept invitations involving the repressive nations of North Korea and Congo.
The ex-president angled to attend events tied to the countries even though his staff understood they could conflict with Hillary Rodham Clinton’s work as secretary of state, e-mails obtained by Citizens United and published by ABC revealed.
“Is it safe to assume USG [US government] would have concerns about WJC [William Jefferson Clinton] accepting the attached invitation related to North Korea?” Clinton Foundation staffer Amitabh Desai wrote to Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, in May 2012.
Mills’ blunt reply: “Decline it.”
But Bill Clinton was still interested in the event linked to the secretive country led by brutal dictator Kim Jong-un, and Desai name-dropped Hillary Clinton’s brother in a follow-up sent three weeks after Mills’ rejection.
“This came via Tony Rodham. So we would be grateful for any specific concerns that we could share, beyond just saying it would be concerning,” Desai wrote.
“Tony is seeing WJC in a couple hours,” he added.
In her reply, Mills made it clear Hillary Clinton didn’t approve.
“If he [Bill Clinton] needs more let him know his wife knows and I am happy to call him secure when he is near a secure line,” she replied.
A month later, Desai was at it again with another questionable invitation, this time for a speaking engagement in the oil-rich Republic of Congo for the launch of the Forbes Africa magazine.
The event would net Clinton $650,000 and require him to hobnob with dictators, including the nation’s president, Denis Sassou Nguesso, at a meet-and-greet.
President Joseph Kabila, of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been called the “rape capital of the world,” would also be attending.
“Given President Kabila and others invovlement [sic] we anticipate you’ll want us to quickly decline,” Don Walker, head of Clinton’s lecture agency, wrote in June 2012.
Still, Bill Clinton had aides ask his wife’s staff what it would think if he gave his six-figure speaking fee “100 percent” to a charity — namely, his Clinton Foundation.
“We’d welcome your thoughts,” Desai wrote.
Clinton did not end up speaking at either event.
Hillary Clinton dismissed the requests as routine Friday, saying all of her husband’s invitations were vetted by the State Department.
“There were some unusual requests, but they all went through the process to try to make sure that the State Department conducted its independent review,” she said.
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