Mediaboss Marketing

Story highlights Hillary Clinton has faced controversy over keeping her State Department emails on a personal server Errol Louis: More damaging may be the potential conflicts revealed in the emails that are being released

The emails demonstrate that one of Clinton's main assets as a presidential candidate -- the alliances and personal connections she has painstakingly built over decades spent at the highest levels of government service -- can also be her greatest weakness.

Errol Louis

At least a dozen of the 296 emails made public are detailed missives from Sidney Blumenthal, a talented writer and ferocious partisan warrior who has been a defender of the Clinton family since Blumenthal, as a journalist, began writing one favorable analysis after another about then-Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas as he emerged on the national stage.

Blumenthal eventually traded in his press card for a White House pass, becoming a high-ranking adviser and speechwriter for the President though his impeachment and beyond, and authoring a book, "The Clinton Wars," detailing his days battling in the political trenches for Bill and Hillary.

As an adviser to Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, Blumenthal did enough damage during the bruising primary against Barack Obama that the administration later reportedly barred him from working for Clinton at the State Department.

Fast forward to 2012: the recently released emails show Blumenthal was back on Clinton duty at the height of the crisis that engulfed Libya in the chaotic months following the 2011 overthrow and death of ex-dictator Moammar Gadhafi, sending a stream of detailed memos to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the ins and outs of the power struggle among Libyan leaders seeking to replace Gadhafi.

Blumenthal's missives featured information on what he called private statements and thoughts of Yussef el Magariaf, a well-known leader of the opposition to Gadhafi who eventually became president of Libya's General National Congress and served as de facto leader of the country for about a year.

Clinton forwarded many of Blumenthal's emails for circulation to Jake Sullivan, her deputy chief of staff, who in some cases copied and pasted the information before sending it to top State Department officials as coming from "HRC friend," according to the New York Times.

Clinton made time to act on Blumenthal's information even in periods of emergency; Blumenthal even sent (and she circulated) emails on September 12, 2012, the day after a mob destroyed the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and killed American personnel, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Read more:
Hillary Clinton's emails: A tangled mix of conflicts ...

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took a short break from the campaign trail today to participate in her favorite Memorial Day tradition: the annual New Castle Memorial Day Parade in Chappaqua, New York.

Clinton, who loves the parade (like really, really, really loves it), was joined this year by her husband, Bill Clinton -- marking their first public appearance together since the announcement of her presidential campaign.

The two arrived in Clintons famous Scooby van just before 11 a.m., when the parade was scheduled to start, and were instantly swarmed by crowds of locals, young and old, clamoring for a moment with their towns most famous couple.

Hi! Oh, hi! Hi! So good to see you! Mwah! Clinton called out as one after the next, she greeted friends and neighbors.

The crowds were eventually asked to step aside so the Clintons could take their position at the front of the parade, where they walked alongside friends and other local elected officials.

It's a wonderful tradition, Clinton said as she began walking. Obviously it happens in towns and cities across our country but it's a good way to remember our veterans particularly those who gave their lives or were grievously injured, and we just need to, you know, make sure that it continues from year to year, generation to generation."

Hillary Clinton has attended the parade nearly every single year since she and Bill Clinton moved into the town, about an hour north of New York City, in 1999 -- and its something she does not like to miss no matter what.

"I put this on my calendar every year, and I basically tell my staff I really, really, really want to do this," the then-secretary of state told the New York Times on Memorial Day in 2012. "So unless there's some crisis of significant proportions, I'll be here, and I've had a few crises where I've had to take phone calls as I've marched."

This year, Clinton was greeted by crowds cheering their support for 2016, some even wearing t-shirts reading: It Takes a Village: Chappaqua for Hillary.

But when asked by a reporter about the signs of support along the parade route, Clinton didnt engage.

See the original post:
Bill and Hillary Clinton Make First Public Appearance ...

The roughly 300 emails, about 850 pages, are part of the 30,000 that she turned over to State from her private email server, which she used almost exclusively to conduct both private and public business during her time at State. They reveal a range of correspondence from Clinton, everything from policy briefs to scheduling requests to friendly exchanges with staff.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest says the new emails "do not change in any way anyone's understanding" of what happened in Benghazi, and the State Department reiterated the same in a tweet.

"The emails we release today do not change the essential facts or our understanding of the events before, during, or after the attacks," the department tweeted.

Clinton herself commented on the release at a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Friday, telling reporters she was happy they were out but was waiting for more.

"It's beginning. I just would like to see it expedited, so we could get more of them out more quickly," she said.

Below, a collection of some of the most newsworthy tidbits from the emails:

In one email, sent four days before Christmas in 2012, Clinton sent a note to her entire State Department staff, acknowledging a "challenging week." She had fainted about a week prior and suffered a concussion, which prevented her from testifying before House and Senate committees on the attacks.

"We need to learn from the tragedy in Benghazi and make every possible improvement -- and we will," she wrote in the five-paragraph note.

One day earlier, Clinton wrote in an email to two top aides headed to the Hill on her behalf: "I'll be nursing my cracked head and cheering you on as you 'remain calm and carry on!'"

One of those aides, Tom Nides, hints that he's not entirely excited about the grilling.

Excerpt from:
Hillary Clinton emails released from State Department ...

Today the State Department has released 296 emails from former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons private e-mail account related to the Sept. 2012 terrorist attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The documents made public today were provided to the House Select Committee on Benghazi several months ago in response to its request for more information about the incident that remains the most troubling moment in Clintons tenure at the State Department -- and a major vulnerability as she campaigns for the presidency.

"The emails we release today do not change the essential facts or our understanding of the events before, during, or after the attacks, which have been known since the independent Accountability Review Board report on the Benghazi attacks was released almost two and a half years ago," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement on Friday.

The documents cover the period from January 2011 through December 2012.

Among some of the findings from today's e-mail release:

The FBI redacted a portion of an email sent to Hillary Clinton on Nov. 18, 2012. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, Clinton, and State Department officials have all acknowledged that the FBI chose to "classify" some of the names of Benghazi suspects in that e-mail.

In an e-mail to Clinton from her Deputy Chief of Staff, Jake Sullivan, he forwards the transcript of then-U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rices appearance on a Sunday news show and writes there was, "Nothing to this one." Of course, that was one of the appearances where she famously gave inaccurate information about what had occurred during the Benghazi attack -- information the White House argued was the best of their knowledge at the time.

In late 2012 and early 2013, a serious concussion sidelined Clinton from her work at the State Department. Ill and dehydrated while suffering from a stomach virus in December 2012, Clinton fainted and fell at her home. After a follow-up exam revealed a blood clot in her head, requiring blood thinners and a hospital stay, Clinton returned work Jan. 7, 2013, but she missed an appearance at a Congressional hearing in late December. Here's a note Clinton sent to two top State Department officials who filled in for her at the hearing.

At least one e-mails shows that the State Dept. reached out to the Internet search and video giants in the wake of the Benghazi attack.

When Clinton e-mails to check on the status of Ambassador Chris Stevens, she mistakenly refers to him as Chris Smith in the subject line. Whether she was referring to Chris Steven or Sean Smith, who both died in the attack, she got the name wrong.

Continued here:
Hillary Clinton E-Mails: State Department Releases ...

An early high-profile endorsement came from Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka Flame, who announced his own candidacy for the 2016 presidential race on 4/20 last month in a video posted by Rolling Stone, promising to legalize marijuana if he became president.

RELATED: Rapper Waka Flocka Flame blazes new 2016 trail

Waka later endorsed Clinton in an interview with MTV News, proclaiming that "A woman could do it. I've seen my momma raise five boys -- that's super hard, so women can do the same s--- that men could do," adding that he might even help Clinton with her campaign if she helps him promote his newest album, "Flockaveli 2."

Another Clinton endorsement came from Queens rapper Ja Rule, who topped U.S. Billboard charts in the early and mid 2000s.

In an interview with Fox Business, the "I'm Real" rapper said "I like Hillary. But, you know, it's crazy because ... I also think Jeb is a good candidate as well." But Ja quickly added that he's a Democrat, "so yeah, so I would vote Hillary."

And earlier this month, Clinton won a ringing endorsement from legendary rapper Snoop Dogg, who endorsed Texas Rep. Ron Paul in 2012 due to the Republican's stance on marijuana, before voicing support for Obama.

In an interview on Bravo TV, the "Peaches N Cream" rapper said "I'll say that I would love to see a woman in office because I feel like we're at that stage in life to where we need a perspective other than the male's train of thought," and added that he will be voting for "Ms. Clinton."

Back in 2008, Snoop told Larry King that he was torn between Clinton and Obama but this time around, he is unambiguously backing Clinton.

And most recently, the former secretary of state got an enthusiastic endorsement from rapper and actor 50 Cent on Thursday, who had also said that he "likes Hillary" back in 2007, during her primary fight with then Sen. Obama.

Unlike many celebrities who often have a strong allegiance to the Democratic Party, 50 Cent has expressed support for former President George W. Bush in the past, calling him "incredible" and "a gangsta."

Continued here:
Rappers endorse Hillary Clinton - CNNPolitics.com