Clinton Aide Huma Abedin Employment at State Department Flouted the Law
Judicial
Watch reported last month that State Department documents indicate that
former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton personally signed the
authorization for Huma Abedin, her then-deputy chief of staff, to become
a special government employee (SGE). Any doubt that that this position
should have never been approved was erased today with JW's release of new documents
from the Department of State that include an email from the agency's
top financial disclosure official revealing that Abedin failed to
produce important financial transaction records of her husband, former
Rep. Anthony Weiner, as required by law before obtaining her position as
a SGE in 2012. Despite the lack of legally required transparency and
accountability by Abedin and the Obama/Clinton State Department, Abedin
was also given a Top Secret security clearance renewal in anticipation
of her SGE position.
Your Judicial Watch uncovered these records as a result of our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit that seeks records about the controversial employment status of Abedin (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:13-cv-01363)).
Just
getting these records took persistence in the face of fraud and
obstruction by the Obama/Clinton gang. In February 2014, the State
Department assured Judicial Watch that it had searched several
individual offices of the department, including the office of the
Executive Secretariat, which would have included the Office of the
Secretary of State. Relying upon the State Department's representation
that the agency conducted a reasonable search - which Judicial Watch
later learned to be untrue, Judicial Watch agreed to dismiss its lawsuit
on March 14, 2014. We were lied to, as we had no clue about Hillary
Clinton's separate email system at the time.
Thankfully, Judge
Emmet Sullivan reopened the lawsuit on June 19, 2015, in response to the
revelations about Clinton's email games.
Our diligence and
persistence uncovered the corruption behind the Abedin "special" job
appointment. These new records show that Abedin had to be repeatedly
reminded of the need for her financial records to be included in the OGE Form 278 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report
as part of her termination agreement with the State Department. But,
according to a June 5, 2012, email from State Department Financial
Disclosures Chief Sarah Taylor, Abedin failed to produce key sections of
the records, even after her appointment as a SGE had been approved on
June 3, 2012.
On June 5, 2012, Taylor sent the following email to
Heather Samuelson and Marcela Green, both of the State Department's
Financial Disclosures Division, concerning Abedin's failure to complete
the OGE 278 form with the subject line "RE: disclosure questions:"
Her
termination report is Incomplete, Schedule B, Part I and II were left
blank. Schedule C, Part II was left blank. I hope she provided all of
her spouse's assets. Marcella I believe told him, either Huma or her
husband called her yesterday indicating there were more assets. The
documents I have do not have the income information, only the value
information. What was her date of termination? She needs to be aware her
termination report will be going up on a DOS website for the public to
view and it must be accurate.
Unbelievable, isn't it? Again, these questions are still unanswered two days after Abedin gets the sweetheart patronage job.
The sections of the OGE 278 financial disclosures form that Abedin and Weiner failed to complete were:
•
Schedule B, Part 1 - Transactions. Report any purchase, sale, or
exchange by you, your spouse, or dependent children during the reporting
period of any real property, stocks, bonds, commodity futures, and
other securities when the amount of the transaction exceeded $1,000.
Include transactions that resulted in a loss.
• Schedule B, Part 2
- Gifts, Reimbursements, and Travel Expenses. For you, your spouse and
dependent children, report the source, a brief description, and the
value of: (1) gifts (such as tangible items, transportation, lodging,
food, or entertainment) received from one source totaling more than $350
and (2) travel-related cash reimbursements received from one source
totaling more than $350.
• Schedule C, Part 2 - Agreements or
Arrangements. Report your agreements or arrangements for: (1) continuing
participation in an employee benefit plan (e.g. pension, 401k, deferred
compensation); continuation of payment by a former employer (including
severance payments); (3) leaves of absence; and (4) future employment.
The core ethics disclosures required by law were simply ignored by Hillary Clinton's protégé.
It
gets worse. The records show that Abedin had a pre-approved Top Secret
(Critical Sensitive) clearance for her SGE position on March 20, 2012.
The "revalidation" of her security clearance was directly tied to her
pending SGE status. (The clearance document shows that Abedin's
original security clearance investigation and approval took place on the
same day - February 4, 2009.)
Just a few weeks ago, we released new records
indicating that Abedin had failed to provide Weiner's full financial
disclosure records as required by law, despite repeated requests from
State's Human Resources and Financial Disclosures divisions. The
records also indicate Clinton personally signed the authorization for
Huma Abedin, her then-deputy chief of staff, to become a SGE. The
documents also raised questions about whether Abedin's position complied
with federal law that prevents special government positions created for
work already performed by current employees.
To be clear, all
these records have been produced only after the State Department
performed a second search, after the first search in 2014, only produced
eight pages.
Huma Abedin, with the direct help of Hillary
Clinton, obtained a sweetheart government job in violation of the law.
The Obama State Department tells us it has given us all the documents
they have concerning the Abedin employment controversy, which means that
Abedin obtained her "special" job despite her refusal to provide her
basic financial information and her agreements and arrangements for
future employment. None of this prevented Abedin from getting a scam
position and - disturbingly - a coveted Top Secret clearance.
Your Judicial Watch isn't the only one hot on the trail. Politico
recently reported, since June 2012, Abedin had been double-dipping,
working as a consultant to outside clients while continuing as a top
adviser at State. Abedin's outside clients included Teneo, a strategic
consulting firm co-founded by former Bill Clinton counselor Doug Band.
According to Fox News, Abedin earned $355,000 as a consultant to Teneo, in addition to her $135,000 SGE compensation. The New York Times reported "It is not clear how much Ms. Abedin was paid by Mrs. Clinton privately, or from the Clinton Foundation and Teneo."
The Clinton, Inc. influence-peddling Teneo describes its activities as providing "the leaders of the world's most respected companies, nonprofit institutions and governments with a full suite of advisory solutions." [Emphasis added] Outside of the U.S., it maintains offices in Dubai, London, Dublin, Hong Kong, Brussels, Washington, and Beijing. Teneo was also the subject of various investigative reports, including by the New York Times, which raise questions about its relationship with the Clinton Foundation. Politico reports that other State Department documents show that Abedin was asked to help both the Foundation and Teneo in April 2012.
News is breaking today that the FBI, despite more impeachable obstruction
from Barack Obama, is criminally investigating Hillary Clinton for
violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of Justice. This is
another remarkable testament to the impact of JW's work. Our FOIA
litigation forced both the disclosure of the Clinton email system and
the criminal investigation of her email games - all of which could land
Hillary Clinton in jail.
The FBI might want to follow our lead
again and add the Abedin job scandal into their investigations. Why
were the documents withheld from the public for years? Giving one's
political operative a government job in violation of law is a crime,
too.
There may be more to come. There's little doubt that the
Hillary Clinton operation (which includes Abedin, who is now on the
Clinton campaign staff) is holding documents back. So Judicial Watch
lawyers will be requesting that discovery take place to determine
whether all emails from the clintonemail.com
server have been returned to the State Department and have been
reviewed to determine whether they are responsive to our FOIA request.
This means potentially putting some of these individuals under oath.
So stay tuned...
Obama Jet Setting Racks Up Nearly $70 Million Tab for Taxpayers
As
Senator Everett Dirksen once said: "A million here, a million there,
pretty soon, you're talking real money." Everyone knows that golf is an
expensive sport, but when two golf outings alone cost $1,836,555 in
travel expenses alone, that's a bit much. If it's your own money,
that's one thing, but who other than President Obama would spend someone
else's millions that way? And by "someone," I mean you and other
taxpayers already oppressed by confiscatory federal taxes.
When
Obama went on a series of costly fundraising and entertainment trips
this spring, the total bill paid by American taxpayers was close to $4.5
million dollars in travel expenses! We still do not know many of the
other costs involved in these trips. For one, it is unknown what the
elaborate security required to cover presidential travel cost taxpayers
because the Secret Service has not provided the requested information,
as required by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), regarding its
security expenses.
This week, Judicial Watch released records obtained
from the U.S. Department of the Air Force revealing that Barack Obama's
spring fling travel for golf vacations and fundraisers totaled
$4,436,245.50 in taxpayer-funded transportation expenses.
Using the Air Force's official cost estimate of $206,337 per hour, the newly released records obtained by Judicial Watch show:
• Obama's February 14, 2015, golf outing to Palm Springs required a five-hour flight, costing taxpayers a total of $1,031,685.
• Obama's March 28, 2015, golf outing to Palm City required a 3.9-hour flight, costing taxpayers $804,870.30.
The Washington Examiner noted that the golf outings cost almost $20,000 per hole.
These trips were not to the local pitch and putt. They were elaborate
trips to premier golf courses. In Palm Springs, Obama played golf at the
luxurious Sunnylands country club, located on the former estate of the
late ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg. Obama reportedly spent
the weekend on the exclusive, gated property, where he has twice stayed
before.
In Palm City, Obama played golf at the "spectacular" Floridian National Golf Club, where members pay a $50,000 initiation fee and $15,000 in annual dues. According to the resort's website: "This stunning, yet formidable
par 71 will certainly impress. At 7,114 yards, the 18-hole course
offers perfectly manicured rolling fairways and greens, demanding
hazards, breathtaking views of the St. Lucie River, and is surrounded by
a natural preserve and native wildlife."
And then there were the fundraisers.
Taxpayers,
regardless of party affiliation, ponied up over $2.5 million to jet
Obama around the country in an effort to - of all things - raise money!
The
White House attempted to paint Obama's jaunt to Chicago as a
non-political event to declare the Pullman Historic District a national
monument. Members of the press on the scene, who usually grant Obama
the benefit of the doubt, reported that the trip was heavily political
in nature. As reported by CNN, "Obama gives Emanuel re-election boost:"
President Barack Obama went to Chicago bearing gifts Thursday
for his former chief of staff, Mayor Rahm Emanuel ... But the day had
all the trappings of a campaign - and Obama even made an unannounced
stop at a Kenwood campaign office for Emanuel on his way out of town.
"I'm glad he's my mayor, and I'm glad he's going to be my mayor for
another four years," Obama told volunteers.
There is
no getting around that fact that Obama's travel to California was
solely to raise money for the Democratic National Committee. In a show
of solidarity nationwide for fellow Democrats, Obama began his visit to
Los Angeles with an appearance on ABC's late night comedy program "Jimmy Kimmel Live," and followed that up later with a "roundtable discussion" fundraiser
hosted at the Santa Monica home of ICM Partners cofounder Chris
Silbermann and his wife Julia Franz. Guests paid up to $33,400 per
couple for attendance, donations that are being used to aid DNC
political activities. As noted by the LA Times:
"In 2015 the DNC is focused on investing resources in opposition
research and press, the voter file and analytics infrastructure, voter
protection, and building our state networks." Obama's March 12 fundraising trip to Los Angeles was his 32nd fundraiser in L.A. County since he became president.
Once again, using the Air Force's own estimated hourly rate of $206,337:
• Transportation for Obama's February 19 day trip to Chicago cost taxpayers $619,011.00.
• Transportation for Obama's March 2015 fundraising trip to Los Angeles cost taxpayers $1,980,835.20.
The
American people are justifiably outraged that Barack Obama's has wasted
over $4.4 million of their precious tax dollars on golf vacations and
political fundraising. And to make matters worse, the Secret Service
has simply refused to respond to our requests for documents about the
security costs of these controversial trips. The Obama travel scandal
is about abuse of office, abuse of the taxpayer, and contempt for the
rule of law.
Records released earlier this year by Judicial Watch showed that Michelle Obama's 2014 trip to China
cost more than $360,000 in air transportation costs. Judicial Watch
uncovered an expensive combination of trips by the Obamas to Africa and Honolulu, which cost taxpayers $15,885,585.30 in flight expenses. The single largest prior known expense for accommodations was for Michelle Obama's side-trip to Dublin, Ireland,
during the 2013 G-8 conference in Belfast, when she and her entourage
booked 30 rooms at the five-star Shelbourne Hotel, with the first lady
staying in the 1500 square-foot Princess Grace suite at a cost of $3,500
a night. The total cost to taxpayers for the Obamas' Ireland trip was $7,921,638.66.
To date, the known travel expenses of the Obamas and Vice President Joe Biden: $69,944,325.75! And counting...
The Real Benghazi Story
The
infamous al Qaeda terrorist attack on the American diplomatic compound
in Benghazi, Libya, took place on the evening of September 11, 2012,
killing U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. Foreign Service
Information Management Officer Sean Smith. Shortly afterward, a second
assault on a nearby compound killed two CIA contractors, Tyrone S. Woods
and Glen Doherty. Ten others were also injured in the attacks.
The
lies and inaction by President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Susan Rice
(who is now Obama's national security adviser) were monstrous. Rather
than tell the truth, and risk political blowback for the Libya mess and
the lack of security - the Obama administration abandoned those under
fire and pretended the attack had nothing to do with terrorism.
Judicial
Watch saw through the lies and began what has become the most
nationally significant investigation ever by a non-governmental entity.
Our Benghazi Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and subsequent
dozen-plus FOIA lawsuits changed history. One of these lawsuits led to
the disclosure of White House records confirming that top political
operatives at the White House concocted the talking points used by Susan
Rice to mislead the American people in order save Obama's reelection
prospects.
These smoking-gun documents embarrassed all of
Congress and forced Speaker John Boehner to appoint the House Select
Committee on Benghazi.
And the pressure from our Benghazi
litigation led to the disclosure of the Clinton email scandal, the
historical ramifications of which we are now witnessing.
Hillary
Clinton is scheduled to testify next week to the Select Committee. Rep.
Trey Gowdy (R-SC), the thanks-to-JW famous politician running the
Committee, has steadfastly refused to talk to JW about what we've
uncovered. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the leader of panel Democrats,
also had no interest in learning about Judicial Watch's efforts.
We'll
see what happens with Mrs. Clinton's testimony, but if the past is any
indication of the future, the scene will shed more heat than light on
the terrible scandal (and Mrs. Clinton's massive obstruction of its
investigation).
As the Benghazi Select Committee has done little
of note for the last year to educate the American people about a scandal
that may be a key factor that led to the rise of ISIS (and our failing
war against it), my colleagues and I have compiled what we believe to be
each and every press release documenting our discoveries, actions, and
updates from our Benghazi work. Please review this educational material
and share with your friends and family, as much of this material
deserves widespread attention and notice. This is a body of work that
is a testament to the persistence, hard work and patriotic commitment of
my JW colleagues. Of course, none of this would have been possible
without the steadfast support of our members. The JW Benghazi list is
below, in reverse chronological order:
2015
Sept. 17 Judicial Watch: State Department Asked Hillary Clinton to Delete Copies of Classified Benghazi Emails Four Months Ago
July 8 Judicial Watch: Secret Emails Show Hillary Clinton Tied To Benghazi Talking Points
June 29 Judicial Watch: Newly Released Documents Confirm White House Officials Set Hillary Clinton's Benghazi Response
May 26 Judicial Watch: State Department Almost Immediately Labeled Benghazi Attack as "Terrorism Event"
May 18 Judicial Watch:
Defense, State Department Documents Reveal Obama Administration Knew
that al Qaeda Terrorists Had Planned Benghazi Attack 10 Days in Advance
Feb. 26 Documents Obtained by Judicial Watch Reveal Top Hillary Clinton Advisers Knew Immediately that Assault on Benghazi was Armed Attack
Feb. 19 Judicial Watch Forces Obama Administration to Release Pentagon Benghazi Attack Documents
Jan. 26 Judicial Watch Obtains State Department DSCC Records on Terrorist Attack on Benghazi
2014
Dec. 11 Judicial Watch: State Department Documents Show Its Security Contractor Operating without a License in Benghazi on Day of Terrorist Attack
Sept. 17 Judicial Watch Statement on Special Select Committee on Benghazi
Sept 10 Documents Reveal State Department Officials Told Three Months before Attack that Benghazi Security Guards Abandoning Posts Out of Fear for Safety
Sept. 10 Judicial Watch Announces Three New Lawsuits against Obama Administration for Records Relating to Benghazi Attack
June 5 Judicial Watch Sues Departments of Defense and State for Records about Benghazi Briefings of Congressional Leaders
May 6 Judicial Watch: Obama Administration Still Withholding Documents about Benghazi Attack
May 2 Judicial Watch Reacts to Speaker Boehner's Support for Select Committee on Benghazi
April 29 Judicial Watch: Benghazi Documents Point to White House on Misleading Talking Points
April 1 JW Obtains Documents Revealing Questionable Security Contracting in Benghazi
Feb. 5 Obama Administration Withholds Key Benghazi Emails
Jan. 6 Benghazi victims' families, conservative leaders demand Boehner create Select Committee
2013
Nov 18 Judicial Watch Obtains New Photos of Benghazi Attack Aftermath
Sept. 11 Judicial Watch Issues Special Report on Anniversary of Benghazi Massacre and Cover-Up
July 23 JW Sues Obama State Department for Talking Points and Updates Given to Susan Rice Related to Benghazi Attack
June 21 Judicial Watch Obtains First Photos from State Department Depicting Aftermath of Benghazi Attack
March 5 Judicial Watch Sues U.S. Department of State for Details on $400,000 Benghazi Security Contract
March 5 JW Sues Obama State Department for Benghazi Attack Videos and Photographs
Feb. 20 JW Sues Office of the Director of National Intelligence for Docs Describing Attack on U.S. Consulate in Benghazi
Jan. 22 JW Special Report: "The Benghazi Attack of September 11, 2012: Analysis and Further Questions"
Until next week...
 Tom Fitton President
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