Podesta Pens Op-Ed about the FBI

The chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, John Podesta, published an op-ed in The Washington Post criticizing the FBI for its handling of Clinton’s email investigation and the hacking of his emails as well as the emails of the Democratic National Committee. Read Podesta’s full op-ed below:

Something is deeply broken at the FBI
By: John Podesta
December 15, 2016

The more we learn about the Russian plot to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s campaign and elect Donald Trump, and the failure of the FBI to adequately respond, the more shocking it gets. The former acting director of the CIA has called the Russian cyberattack “the political equivalent of 9/11.” Just as after the real 9/11, we need a robust, independent investigation into what went wrong inside the government and how to better protect our country in the future.

As the former chair of the Clinton campaign and a direct target of Russian hacking, I understand just how serious this is. So I was surprised to read in the New York Times that when the FBI discovered the Russian attack in September 2015, it failed to send even a single agent to warn senior Democratic National Committee officials. Instead, messages were left with the DNC IT “help desk.” As a former head of the FBI cyber division told the Times, this is a baffling decision: “We are not talking about an office that is in the middle of the woods of Montana.”

What takes this from baffling to downright infuriating is that at nearly the exact same time that no one at the FBI could be bothered to drive 10 minutes to raise the alarm at DNC headquarters, two agents accompanied by attorneys from the Justice Department were in Denver visiting a tech firm that had helped maintain Clinton’s email server.

This trip was part of what FBI Director James B. Comey described as a “painstaking” investigation of Clinton’s emails, “requiring thousands of hours of effort” from dozens of agents who conducted at least 80 interviews and reviewed thousands of pages of documents. Of course, as Comey himself concluded, in the end, there was no case; it was not even a close call.

Comparing the FBI’s massive response to the overblown email scandal with the seemingly lackadaisical response to the very real Russian plot to subvert a national election shows that something is deeply broken at the FBI.

Comey justified his handling of the email case by citing “intense public interest.” He felt so strongly that he broke long-established precedent and disregarded strong guidance from the Justice Department with his infamous letter just 11 days before the election. Yet he refused to join the rest of the intelligence community in a statement about the Russian cyberattack because he reportedly didn’t want to appear “political.” And both before and after the election, the FBI has refused to say whether it is investigating Trump’s ties to Russia.

There are now reports that Vladimir Putin personally directed the covert campaign to elect Trump. So are teams of FBI agents busy looking into the reported meeting in Moscow this summer between Carter Page, a Trump foreign policy adviser, and the Putin aide in charge of Russian intelligence on the U.S. election? What about evidence that Roger Stone was in contact with WikiLeaks and knew in advance that my hacked emails were about to be leaked? Are thousands of FBI person-hours being devoted to uncovering Trump’s tangled web of debts and business deals with foreign entities in Russia and elsewhere?

Meanwhile, House Republicans who had an insatiable appetite for investigating Clinton have been resistant to probing deeply into Russia’s efforts to swing the election to Trump. The media, by gleefully publishing the gossipy fruits of Russian hacks, became what the Times itself calls “a de facto instrument of Russian intelligence.”

But the FBI’s role is particularly troubling because of its power and responsibility — and because this is part of a trend. The Justice Department’s Inspector General issued a damning report this summer about the FBI’s failure to prioritize cyberthreats more broadly.

The election is over and the damage is done, but the threat from Russia and other potential aggressors remains urgent and demands a serious and sustained response.

First, the Obama administration should quickly declassify as much as possible concerning what is known about the Russian hack, as requested by seven Democratic members of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Second, the administration should brief members of the electoral college on the extent and manner of Russia’s interference in our election before they vote on Dec. 19, as requested by a bipartisan group of electors.

Third, Congress should authorize a far-reaching, bipartisan independent investigation modeled on the 9/11 Commission. The public deserves to know exactly what happened, why and what can be done to prevent future attacks. Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) have introduced legislation to authorize such an investigation.

Finally, Congress should more vigorously exercise its oversight to determine why the FBI responded overzealously in the Clinton case and insufficiently in the Russian case. The FBI should also clarify whether there is an ongoing investigation into Trump, his associates and their ties to Russia. If ever there were a case of “intense public interest,” this is it. What’s broken in the FBI must be fixed and quickly.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

News Source: The Washington Post

Clinton Speaks at Children’s Defense Fund Event

On Wednesday evening, Hillary Clinton spoke at a gathering in Washington, DC for the Children’s Defense Fund. It was her first speech since her concession speech a week ago, and she spoke about the election. She said that she understands everyone’s disappointment because she is also disappointed, but she urged everyone to keep fighting. “I know this isn’t easy. I know that over the past week a lot of people have asked themselves whether America is the country we thought it was. The divisions laid bare by this election run deep. But please, listen to me when I say this: America is worth it. Our children are worth it. Believe in our country, fight for our values, and never, ever give up,” she said.

Clinton also spoke about the importance of the Children’s Defense Fund and how no child should grow up living in fear and that “every child deserves the opportunity to live up to his or her potential.” She spoke about her mother’s story of being abandoned as a child and how no child should have to go through that. Watch a video of Clinton’s speech below.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

News Source: The Boston Globe, Us Weekly

Clinton Releases Final TV Ad of the Campaign

Hillary Clinton will deliver a special 2-minute national closing message tonight in a television ad that lays out the choice in this election and the type of president she wants to be for the entire country. The 2-minute closing message ad is airing to an estimated 20 million people Monday night during the shows with the largest audience available – the Voice (NBC) and Kevin Can Wait (CBS).

In the personal and positive closing message, Clinton makes the case that people are rejecting a campaign “defined by fear and division” and choosing one that is “hopeful and inclusive.” She also lays out a hopeful future for our country saying she’s “convinced our best days are still ahead of us, if we reach for them together” and pledged to “be a President for all Americans.  Not just those who support me in this election — for everyone.” And, she makes clear her mission as President will be “To give our kids – and every American — the chance to live up to their God-given potential.”

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

HFA Ohio Director on Trump and Republican National Convention

On Sunday, Hillary for Ohio State Director Chris Wyant released a memo highlighting the divide between Donald Trump and the Republican Party, particularly the GOP leadership in the state of Ohio. Trump has been criticized by a number of key Republican leaders, and as the Republican National Convention begins this week, disagreements are expected to take center stage. Read Wyant’s full memo below.

FROM: Chris Wyant, Hillary for Ohio State Director

TO: Interested Parties

DATE: July 17, 2016

SUBJECT: As Trump Comes to Cleveland, Ohioans See Stark Choice on Display: Dangerous Division vs. Stronger Together

Two years ago, Republicans were envisioning a united GOP convention in Cleveland that would help them win a critical presidential battleground. But that dream never came to fruition. This week, the choice facing Ohio voters in November will crystallize as Donald Trump — and his divisive rhetoric, dangerous ideas, and record of selling out American workers to profit personally — descends on Ohio.

Already, Ohio Republicans are fleeing Trump’s candidacy following more than a year of words and deeds that prove he is temperamentally unfit to serve as president.  Elected and Republican Party officials are using phrases like “condescending and simplistic,” “very deep reservations,”  “embarrasses me,” “the opposite of how my husband and I are trying to raise our children,” “total disaster,” “hasn’t impressed me at all,” “a very dangerous president,” and “not fit to hold office anywhere in this country” to describe the man set to formally accept their party’s nomination in Cleveland.

Ohio Republicans, just like Americans across the country, are looking at Trump and deciding that we are better than this.

The negative reviews of the GOP’s nominee are far from outliers, and Ohio Republican operatives and consultants have been similarly blunt in assessing how Trump has squandered his first months as the presumptive nominee. Local Republican activists have been dismayed by the lack of a Trump organization, many Ohio operatives have refused to work for him, and even now Trump is relying completely on the state Republican Party’s field efforts. This same group helped defeat him in the primary and has 75% fewer staff than expected. As Cleveland.com put it: “Stop us if you’ve heard this before: The GOP has ground game issues in Ohio.”

While Trump is creating disunity and exasperation with Republicans here, Ohioans are uniting behind Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, driven by the shared belief that we are stronger together. More than 2,000 individuals from more than 300 towns, cities and municipalities across Ohio have shared their own personal stories for supporting Hillary Clinton with us – many are now engaging their friends and neighbors online.

Public polling will show a tight race in Ohio every day up to November 8, so we are taking nothing for granted. For months, we have been working to build the kind of grassroots organization that helps Democrats up and down the ballot win close elections in Ohio and across the country. Earlier this month, organizers registered voters at 28 different Fourth of July parades.  By the end of this week, the Ohio campaign will have a dozen offices open in communities around the state – with dozens more on the way.

Engaging voters where they are and using the latest and most prevalent tactics is critical to any candidate’s path to victory in Ohio every four years. Grassroots organizers and volunteers for Hillary for Ohio are employing every digital tool at their disposal — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email, text messages, Snapchat, and even Pokémon GO to reach new volunteers and unregistered voters.

Equally important to the number of voter contacts is the quality of those contacts. Collectively, local organizers in Ohio have completed 4,441 hours – or more than six months worth – of training. It is a reflection of both the breadth of our organization here, as well as the seriousness with which we view the work they are doing.

Hillary Clinton has been back to Ohio four times since the state’s primary, engaging Ohioans in a conversation about how we raise wages, create more jobs, make the economy work for everyone not just those at the top — and end division so we can be united and strong.  In a visit to Athens, she focused on the aspirations and needs of families in often overlooked or underserved communities. In Cleveland in June, she discussed the horrific shooting in Orlando and the need for our nation to unite in resolve to end violence and defend against terrorism. And in Columbus, she laid out — using Trump’s own words — how the self-described ‘King of Debt’ would endanger the American economy as president. And on Monday, she will campaign alongside campaign volunteers in Cincinnati and address the NAACP’s annual conference there, while Trump will be the only presidential candidate of either party in the past 20 years not to attend.

While Donald Trump’s offensive and divisive words are streaming from Republican National Convention into Ohio homes, we will be using every day of this week to expand our campaign in Ohio and talk to voters about Hillary Clinton’s belief that we are stronger together because know at stake in just 114 days is the future of our country and we can’t afford to waste a single minute.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: Cleveland.com