On Thursday, Hillary Clinton spoke at the Women in the World Summit in New York City. After being introduced by Samantha Bee, Clinton was interviewed by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. Clinton and Kristof discussed a number of topics including recent chemical attacks by Syrian President Bashar Assad. Clinton called for airstrikes on Syrian airfields, which President Donald Trump announced hours later. Other topics discussed include the failure of Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the Trump presidency, women’s rights around the world, sexism in the election, and what she learned from the election, and whether she will run for office again in the future.
Clinton said that she still does not fully understand the animosity some people feel toward her saying, “I am not perfect, everybody knows that by now … Sometimes I don’t know quite how to fix what they are concerned about. But I try. And so, I take it seriously, but I don’t any longer, and haven’t for a long time taken it personally. Because part of the attacks … part of the bullying and part of the name calling — and that has certainly become more pervasive — is to crush your spirit and feel inadequate. And I just refused to do that — and that infuriated everyone.” However, she vowed to keep fighting for what’s right and for the American people. A full video from the event is below.
Late this past week, Hillary Clinton spoke with audiences at two major New England Colleges. First, on Thursday evening, Clinton spoke at a private, student and faculty only event on the campus of Wellesley College. As Clinton’s Alma Mater, the event focused on Clinton’s time at the school and her political career. Clinton spoke briefly and took questions from the audience. According to sources inside the room, Clinton was asked by one audience member about what she would have changed about her campaign. She responded simply, “I’d win.” Clinton graduated from Wellesley College in 1969 and is scheduled to give this year’s commencement address in May.
On Friday, Clinton took part in a series of “Fireside Chats” on the campus of Harvard University. Clinton’s appearance was part of the “American Secretaries of State Project: Diplomacy, Negotiation, and Statecraft” series sponsored by the Kennedy School, Law School, and Business School. She met with undergraduate members of the IOP’s Student Advisory Committee and a few lucky residents of Kirkland House. Clinton is the seventh former Secretary of State to take part in the series. Like the event at Wellesley College, it was closed to the public and press.
On Saturday, Chelsea Clinton campaigned for Hillary Clinton in North Carolina where she traveled across the state. At events in Elizabeth City, Charlotte, and Asheville, Chelsea spoke about her mother’s platform and her plans to ensure equal pay for women, create new jobs, and create an economy that works for everyone. She concluded each event by asking everyone to get out and vote for Hillary and make sure their voice is heard. “Every vote really matters. Lots of people haven’t voted yet. It’s just not OK to sit (this election) out. We still have three days to make our case,” she said. A video from the event in Charlotte, where she also took questions from the audience, is below.
While a lot has been published about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s platform plans for foreign and domestic policies, most outlets have ignored thier stance on science, STEM, and space exploration. Clinton has outlined proposals to combat climate change and increase research for certain diseases, but a number of prominent science and space publications have asked the candidates for their thoughts on science and space exploration. If you consider STEM education, science, and space exploration to be important factors in your decision for whom to vote, which you should, check out the publications below for a better understanding of the positions of Clinton and Trump.
The Planetary Society – The Planetary Society is a non-profit group that specializes in space policy. They help fund missions and inform members of Congress on issues related to space. The group has assembled the key positions on space offered by Clinton and Trump.
Planetary Radio – Part of The Planetary Society, Planetary Radio’s most recent episode of its Space Policy Edition outlines the stances of Clinton and Trump. Listen to the episode on iTunes or click HERE to download the MP3.
Science News – As the official magazine for the Society for Science & the Public, the editorial board released a breakdown of where the candidates stand on specific science policies including space exploration, genetic research, climate change, health, vaccines, gun violence, and STEM education. The articles uses quotes and policy proposals from each candidate and the full break down can be read HERE.
Scientific American – As one of the most popular science magazines in the country, Scientific American is a great resource for the latest in the realm of scientific research. Readers of the magazines voted on the 20 top questions they wanted to ask each presidential candidate, and all four candidates responded. A number of topics are covered including innovation, research, climate change, the internet and technology, education, nuclear power, and access to clean water. Read the full answers from each candidate HERE.
Ars Technica – As a site about science and technology, Ars Technica writer John Timmer offered his point-of-view on the proposals of Clinton and Trump. Read his full article HERE.
ReCode – The tech site run by tech journalists Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, ReCode is an advocate for STEM education. In an article published on November 5, Luther Lowe outlined Clinton’s dedication to STEM and education from her time as First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, Senator from New York, and Secretary of State. Read Lowe’s full article HERE.
In response to new reporting from the Wall Street Journal on Donald Trump’s dangerous and unprecedented foreign business entanglements, Hillary for America deputy communications director Christina Reynolds issued the following statement:
“Donald Trump has business all around the world, and while he has failed to disclose full details of his business record, what we know is truly disturbing. The idea of a President Trump trying to negotiate with foreign leaders while having his business at stake is simply unacceptable and raises real questions about how he would handle matters of national security. This is just one more reason why he cannot be president.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
KEY POINT: “Those whom Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have worked with abroad include: the family of a developer in India who is a ruling-party politician, an Azerbaijani government minister’s son and a media company that became the Turkish president’s outlet of choice during the July 15 coup attempt.
No recent president has had a portfolio of international business interests as extensive as Mr. Trump’s—or as great a level of business engagement on his behalf by offspring, who have also played a role in his campaign.”
Hillary Clinton spoke at a canvass kick-off rally in Daytona Beach, Florida on Saturday. She began the event by addressing yesterday’s revelation that the FBI is is looking into “new evidence” related to her emails. Clinton called on FBI Director James Comey to release the full details of the investigation for the benefit of American voters saying, “Some of you may have heard about a letter written by the FBI director. You probably have a few questions about it. It is pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information right before an election. In fact, it’s not just strange, it’s unprecedented and deeply troubling.”
Clinton then gave one of her typical campaign stump speeches in which she laid out several of her proposed policies. She stressed the importance of the election and said it is about more then just Republican vs. Democrat. This election is about the direction of our country. She said, “Everything we care about is at stake. The American dream itself is at stake.” Clinton said that Donald Trump’s hope is that women, young people, and minorities do not turn out to vote, but she urged everyone to vote saying, “That goes against everything we stand for. And do you know how to stop him? By showing up with the greatest turnout of voters ever. Let’s break every record.” Watch a video Clinton’s speech below.
Chelsea Clinton returned to Michigan on Saturday where she spoke for about half an hour about the importance of voting in Muskegon. Chelsea spoke about a number of Hillary Clinton’s platform points including her plans to create new jobs, invest in manufacturing, and make college more affordable. She then took questions from the audience and was asked about a variety of topics including her reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement. Chelsea said that her mother has plans to reform the criminal justice system including updating the three strikes rule and minimum sentencing. “If we only focus on criminal justice reform, we’re not doing enough,” she said. A video from the event will be added when/if available.
In Battle Creek, Chelsea spoke about Hillary’s dedication to ensuring equality in the United States. She said that her mother has plans to protect the rights of women, workers, minorities, and the LGBTQ community. At both events, Chelsea urged everyone to vote on November 8th saying that the stakes of this election are very high for everyone in America interested in seeing the progress of the last eight years continued. She asked voters to head to the polls on election day or to take advantage of early voting. A partial video of the event is below.
On Friday, FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to a Congressional Judiciary Committee explaining that the FBI had decided to reopen the case investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State. The three page letter did not go into much detail which lead the Clinton campaign to respond. Campaign Chair John Podesta released a statement calling on Comey and the FBI to release more information surrounding their reasoning considering the election is less than two weeks away. The statement from Podesta is below.
“Upon completing this investigation more than three months ago, FBI Director Comey declared no reasonable prosecutor would move forward with a case like this and added that it was not even a close call. In the months since, Donald Trump and his Republican allies have been baselessly second-guessing the FBI and, in both public and private, browbeating the career officials there to revisit their conclusion in a desperate attempt to harm Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
FBI Director Comey should immediately provide the American public more information than is contained in the letter he sent to eight Republican committee chairmen. Already, we have seen characterizations that the FBI is ‘reopening’ an investigation but Comey’s words do not match that characterization. Director Comey’s letter refers to emails that have come to light in an unrelated case, but we have no idea what those emails are and the Director himself notes they may not even be significant.
It is extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election.
The Director owes it to the American people to immediately provide the full details of what he is now examining. We are confident this will not produce any conclusions different from the one the FBI reached in July.”
The FBI did elaborate later in the day saying that additional evidence related to the Clinton investigation was discovered on a laptop seized during the investigation of Rep. Anthony Weiner. FBI officials said that the bureau will investigate the newly discovered emails on the laptop and that it is possible that the emails could be duplicates of ones previously turned over by the Clinton camp. State Department officials said they have not been made aware of the FBI’s new evidence. More details are likely to be released in the coming weeks, but the news of a reopened investigation could affect Clinton at the polls.
Read the letter from Comey to Congress below (download the letter HERE).
UPDATE (10/28): Following an event in Des Moines, Iowa, Hillary Clinton spoke at a press event and addressed the issues of the FBI reopening its investigation. Clinton said that the FBI needs to release additional details regarding its investigation with the election being less than two weeks away. “Voting is underway, so the American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately,” she said. She said that she was confident that nothing new would be found and that she did not know what new evidence the FBI might be referring to adding, “Right now, your guess is as good as mine, and I don’t think that’s good enough.” A video of Clinton’s statement is below.
UPDATE (10/29):The Washington Post obtained a copy of an internal memo sent by FBI director James Comey to FBI employees. In the letter, he briefly explains his reasoning for taking the early details of an investigation to Congress. Read the letter below:
To all:
This morning I sent a letter to Congress in connection with the Secretary Clinton email investigation. Yesterday, the investigative team briefed me on their recommendation with respect to seeking access to emails that have recently been found in an unrelated case. Because those emails appear to be pertinent to our investigation, I agreed that we should take appropriate steps to obtain and review them.
Of course, we don’t ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations, but here I feel an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed. I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record. At the same time, however, given that we don’t know the significance of this newly discovered collection of emails, I don’t want to create a misleading impression. In trying to strike that balance, in a brief letter and in the middle of an election season, there is significant risk of being misunderstood, but I wanted you to hear directly from me about it.
Jim Comey
UPDATE (10/29): Hillary for America responded to the news with several press releases and a post on Medium from campaign chair John Podesta.
UPDATE (10/30): The FBI announced that it obtained a warrant to search the emails found on a laptop belonging to former Congressman Anthony Weiner. While it is unclear how many emails on the laptop, if any, are relevant to the Hillary Clinton email investigation, an official revealed that there are over 650,000 emails on the computer. It is likely that the majority belong to the former Congressman, but his wife, Clinton aide Huma Abedin, also used the laptop. FBI officials also revealed today that several lower level investigators knew the emails existed weeks ago, but only recently brought them to the attend of Director James Comey. It is also unclear why a warrant was received after Comey briefed Congress of the investigation on Friday.
Hillary for America campaign chair John Podesta and campaign manager Robby Mook have been on the defensive since the revelations were announced. The campaign released a video about the facts of the case and calling for more details to be released considering the timing. The video released by The Briefing is below.
UPDATE (10/31): Former Attorney General Eric Holder wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he called FBI director James Comey “a good man,” but said that he made a mistake by telling Congress about evidence that may have nothing to do with the Hillary Clinton email case. In the editorial, Holder says, “The department has a practice of not commenting on ongoing investigations. Indeed, except in exceptional circumstances, the department will not even acknowledge the existence of an investigation. The department also has a policy of not taking unnecessary action close in time to Election Day that might influence an election’s outcome. These rules have been followed during Republican and Democratic administrations. They aren’t designed to help any particular individual or to serve any political interest. Instead, they are intended to ensure that every investigation proceeds fairly and judiciously; to maintain the public trust in the department’s ability to do its job free of political influence; and to prevent investigations from unfairly or unintentionally casting public suspicion on public officials who have done nothing wrong.” Read the full editorial HERE.
Tim Kaine appeared on this morning’s episode of NBC’s Meet the Press. During an interview with Chuck Todd, Kaine spoke about a number of issues including Hillary Clinton’s thoughts on the Trans Pacific Partnership and the future of trade, some of the content of emails leaked by WikiLeaks, and the proposed merger between telecom giant AT&T and Time Warner. Kaine suggested that a Clinton administration would be skeptical of the merger. Several politicians have expressed their concern about the consolidation of various types of media. Kaine said, “I share those concerns and questions. We’ve got to get to the bottom of them. Less concentration I think is generally helpful, especially in the media.” Watch a video of the interview below.
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine campaigned together in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Their first event was in Pittsburgh where Kaine began by speaking about Clinton and their vision for the future. When Clinton took the stage, she had a populist tone speaking about a number of her key platform points including her plans to create jobs, invest in manufacturing jobs, raise the minimum wage, and her pledge to not raise taxes on middle class families. While she admitted that the campaign between her and Republican Donald Trump has been anything by calm, she hoped that everyone can come together after the election because we all have a stake in America’s future. “You probably know people who are thinking about voting for Donald Trump. I want you to tell them that I understand that they need a president who cares about them … and I want to be their president. Whether you vote for me or against me, I believe we can disagree without being disagreeable,” she added later. A video from the event is below.
Clinton and Kaine then traveled to Philadelphia where he spoke first about Clinton saying that despite what Trump says, he thinks that Clinton “looks damn presidential.” She then spoke to a crowd of over 7,000 supporters on a cool evening about the importance of the 2016 election and voting a Clinton-Kaine ticket to the White House, but she also stressed the importance of other down ballot races, especially the Pennsylvania race for Senate. She spoke about Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Katie McGinty and how she will work for Pennsylvanians in Congress. Clinton then urged everyone to vote on November 8th adding, “Friends don’t let friends vote Donald Trump.” A video from the rally is below.
Clinton and Kaine also spoke to reporters on board their plane between the events in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. They spoke about their focus during the last two weeks of the debate, and they react to a speech from Trump earlier in the day. Watch a video of the press briefing below.
Meanwhile, two fundraisers were held on behalf of Hillary for America. The first was in Durham, North Carolina and featured a conversation with actress Angela Bassett. In Long Beach, California, a fundraising event was held featuring a conversation with singer Cher.
Hillary Clinton Speeches 