How Hillary Clinton DONOR Got on Sensitive Intelligence Board

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Newly released State Department emails help reveal how a major Clinton Foundation donor was placed on a sensitive government intelligence advisory board even though he had no obvious experience in the field, a decision that appeared to baffle the department’s professional staff. The emails further reveal how, after inquiries from ABC News, the Clinton staff sought to “protect the name” of the Secretary, “stall” the ABC News reporter and ultimately accept the resignation of the donor just two days later.

Copies of dozens of internal emails were provided to ABC News by the conservative political group Citizens United, which obtained them under the Freedom of Information Act after more the two years of litigation with the government. A prolific fundraiser for Democratic candidates and contributor to the Clinton Foundation, who later traveled with Bill Clinton on a trip to Africa, Rajiv K. Fernando’s only known qualification for a seat on the International Security Advisory Board (ISAB) was his technological know-how. The Chicago securities trader, who specialized in electronic investing, sat alongside an august collection of nuclear scientists, former cabinet secretaries and members of Congress to advise Hillary Clinton on the use of tactical nuclear weapons and on other crucial arms control issues.

“We had no idea who he was,” one board member told ABC News.

Fernando’s lack of any known background in nuclear security caught the attention of several board members, and when ABC News first contacted the State Department in August 2011 seeking a copy of his resume, the emails show that confusion ensued among the career government officials who work with the advisory panel.

“I have spoken to [State Department official and ISAB Executive Director Richard Hartman] privately, and it appears there is much more to this story that we’re unaware of,” wrote Jamie Mannina, the press aide who fielded the ABC News request. “We must protect the Secretary’s and Under Secretary’s name, as well as the integrity of the Board. I think it’s important to get down to the bottom of this before there’s any response.

“As you can see from the attached, it’s natural to ask how he got onto the board when compared to the rest of the esteemed list of members,” Mannina wrote, referring to an attachment that was not included in the recent document release.

Fernando himself would not answer questions from ABC News in 2011 about what qualified him for a seat on the board or led to his appointment. When ABC News finally caught up with Fernando at the 2012 Democratic convention, he became upset and said he was "not at liberty" to speak about it. Security threatened to have the ABC News reporter arrested. Fernando's expertise appeared to be in the arena of high-frequency trading -- a form of computer-generated stock trading. At the time of his appointment, he headed a firm, Chopper Trading, that was a leader in that field.

Fernando's history of campaign giving dated back at least to 2003 and was prolific -- and almost exclusively to Democrats. He was an early supporter of Hillary Clinton's 2008 bid for president, giving maximum contributions to her campaign, and to HillPAC, in 2007 and 2008. He also served as a fundraising bundler for Clinton, gathering more than $100,000 from others for her White House bid. After Barak Obama bested Clinton for the 2008 nomination, Fernando became a major fundraiser for the Obama campaign. Prior to his State Department appointment, Fernando had given between $100,000 and $250,000 to the William J. Clinton Foundation, and another $30,000 to a political advocacy group, WomenCount, that indirectly helped Hillary Clinton retire her lingering 2008 campaign debts by renting her campaign email list. The appointment qualified Fernando for one of the highest levels of top secret access, the emails show. Among those with whom Fernando served on the International Security Advisory Board was David A. Kay, the former head of the Iraq Survey Group and United Nations Chief Weapons Inspector; Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, a former National Security Advisor to two presidents; two former congressmen; and former Sen. Chuck Robb. William Perry, the former Secretary of Defense, chaired the panel.

“It is certainly a serious, knowledgeable and experienced group of experts,” said Bruce Blair, a Princeton professor whose principal research covers the technical and policy steps on the path toward the verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons. “Much of the focus has been on questions of nuclear stability and the risks of nuclear weapons use by Russia and Pakistan.”

cont'

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/clinton-donor-sensitive-intelligence-board/story?id=39710624

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1. Expect more to come out on this story....

[Blanks]

2. I saw that on GMA...

Of course the first thing that came to my mind was this question: "The press is going after an appointee to a 'a sensitive government intelligence advisory board' - seriously"?

I guess intelligence doesn't mean what it used to mean. We aren't supposed to know who they are if they're doing it right. He sure looked upset when the reporter called him out by name.

[Faux pas]

3. K N R-ed

and

[Demsrule86]

4. five days nt

[HumanityExperiment]

5. can't suppress this...

the 16th won't change the fact that this is an issue that shows bad leadership, if the facts point to a truth then that truth can be commented on about a candidate, if that candidate requires this issue to fleshed out to make that candidate stronger in the GE

Are you wanting to make the candidate weaker by suppressing known aspects that can be used against nominee in GE?

[pinebox]

8. Stuff like this will be allowed

[cali]

14. tough for you that legitimate stories from reputable sources like this one

will still be allowed after the 16th. Eat your heart out. Alert 'til your forefinger falls off, but legitimate news stories about HRC will still be allowed.

I'm delighted that you will be disappointed.

[Demsrule86]

15. Attacks will not be permitted...so eat your heart or get hidden

There will not be Clinton attack articles.

[Cali_Democrat]

16. I'm delighted that Bernie lost....

[HumanityExperiment]

6. Bad Leadership?

How much 'leg' will this get as we move towards GE now? Are there more instances of 'pay to play' that will be uncovered?

This is not a good omen, MSM sees blood in the water, does anybody else see a larger problem with this adding to HRC level of unfavorability?

[Arazi]

7. Big HRC donor gets rewarded with lucrative insider gig to grab even more $$

There. Simplified it for Hillary supporters so they can carry on defending this shit

[pinebox]

9. It's always something with the Clinton's & this is a powder keg!

[Armstead]

12. It's always something indeed.....Often it's things that are sketchy but not fatal...

but the accumulation is just.....well it gives one a headache to think of what will go on once they're back in the WH.

(Mandatory disclaimer: I will vote for her but will have a large bottle of Maalox with me.)

[HumanityExperiment]

10. This is the kicker for me in that article, spit take time...

'this summer Fernando will serve as a super delegate at the Democratic National Convention'

[thesquanderer]

13. Yeah, good luck flipping that super delegate.

Also makes me wonder how many other SDs were so tight with HRC that there was never any chance of flipping them as long as she was in the race, even if she had "shot someone on fifth avenue."

[AzDar]

11. K & R

[gollygee]

17. Anyone interested in politics and with money is a donor to someone

We aren't likely to have people who have no interest in politics take positions. Any given candidate for a position will almost certainly have given money to some candidate or another.

[randome]

18. This is at least the 3rd thread on this subject.

And still no one is asking basic journalism questions.

1. Who are the other members of the IAB?
2. Are all of them well-versed in nuclear science or do they represent a wide range of experience?
3. What are their salaries?

So far, all I can find is a list of current members. http://www.state.gov/t/avc/isab/c27632.htm

But it looks like this answers both #1 and #2. The answer to #2 is: yes, they represent a wide range of experience. Which makes the article's declaration that they are all nuclear scientists nonsense.

With that in mind, #3 seems less important.
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