Like so many other things, it’s the “scandal” that isn’t. A recent WikiLeaks dump included emails from Huma Abedin, aide to Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. Some of these emails included discussion of an invitation from the King of Morocco — an invitation the nominee ultimately declined.
Huma Abedin: ‘She Created This Mess’
One of the lines from Huma Abedin’s emails that everyone — from the Trump campaign to mainstream and even some liberal news outlets — is jumping on is this:
“The King has personally committed approx $12 million both for the endowment and to support the meeting. It will break a lot of china to back out now when we had so many opportunities to do it in the past few months. She created this mess.”
Abedin sent that email months before Clinton declared that she was running for president. It’s safe to assume, however, that the ducks were being put into the proverbial row by that time. Abedin is an intelligent woman. She knew that Clinton’s withdrawal from the event could cause some problems down the line.
The problem, though, is that people are drawing a false conclusion from what they’ve read, referring to it as a “quid pro quo” or a “pay-to-play” meeting. As Jeff Stein writes for Vox:
“One argument emerging from the Morocco story is that it somehow confirms that Clinton traded government favors for her own personal enrichment. That is the impression you would get from an array of sources taking that claim as either a proven fact or a credible allegation. Let’s be clear: This is laughable and should not be taken seriously.”
It’s laughable because the money from the Clinton Foundation does not go to Hillary, Bill, or Chelsea Clinton. Politifact published information showing all three of them drawing a salary of zero dollars for their work with the foundation.
Stein goes on to say:
“The second big problem with the claim that Clinton traded government favors for personal enrichment is that she was not secretary of state at the time of the scheduled gala in Morocco.”
Hillary Clinton was not in a government role at the time. She had not yet declared her candidacy for president. She was, for all intents and purposes, a private citizen.
The Real Problem? Spending Time With The Ultra-Wealthy
In his article, Stein goes on to say that the real problem is that Hillary Clinton perhaps spent too much time with the über-rich while trying to court donations to the foundation (which does some amazing work, by the way). If anything, Huma Abedin’s emails do confirm that people gave money in the hopes that they would get to meet with Hillary Clinton.
Republicans jumping on this is hypocrisy at its finest. Every single one of them present their tailfeathers to billionaires like Sheldon Adelson and the Koch brothers on a daily basis. Their presidential nominee is Donald freaking Trump, of all people.
That’s not to say it shouldn’t bother liberals that Hillary Clinton has done this. As Stein points out:
“Opening your ears to the rich and powerful isn’t the same as consenting to do their bidding. But doing so can have crucial implications for structuring how you think, whom you turn to for advice, and, ultimately, what you decide to do.”
But is it a scandal of monumental proportions, as some would have you believe? Not even close.
Of course, Faux News is all over this, lying in the process:
