The latest tranche of emails from the account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair John Podesta has been released by WikiLeaks.
The 29th batch consists of almost 1,800 emails, bringing the total number released so far to 47,275. WikiLeaks said it will publish 50,000 emails in the lead up to the US presidential election.
Thursday morning’srelease exposed frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within the Clinton camp and a ruthless determination to grind Bernie Sanders ‘like pulp’, with Podesta asking a strategist “Where would you stick the knife in?”
READ MORE: ‘Obama betrayer & false promiser’: Sanders blasted in #PodestaEmails 27
WikiLeaks released a second batch of emails later that day, titled ‘DOJ/FBI/Huma special,’ referring to Clinton’s personal aide Huma Abedin. More details on Clinton’s staff discussing her use of a private email server are included in the messages, along with their scramble to find information on superdelegates following Sanders victory in the New Hampshire primary.
Sanders’ ‘Bullsh*t conspiracies’
Podesta accuses Bernie Sanders’ team of believing in “bullsh*t conspiracies” in a February 2016 email to Brent Budowsky titled ‘Superdelegates’, in which the pair discuss Clinton’s tactics approaching the end of her primary campaign.
Podesta tells Budowsky that if Clinton were to lose the popular vote she would not become the nominee but points out that “She got more votes than Obama in 08 and graciously endorsed him so enough of Bernie's team bullsh*t conspiracies.”
“If she says now that superdelegates should vote with the people, that gives her a big lift. And any other answer hurts," Budowsky advises.
Bill’s paid speeches while HRC was Secretary of State
A March 2015 email chain from Bill and Hillary Clinton aides discusses an upcoming release of documents from the Department of State. The conversation is in response to conservative group Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information request into the department’s “process for reviewing WJC’s speaking engagements.”
They include a request from Turkey for Bill Clinton to speak, which his office declined. The documents contain “20 pages of internal, heavily redacted email traffic among DOS officials on request for WJC to speak at UNIQFEST in 2009” the email reads.
Discussion about a Canadian speaking engagement includes “heavily redacted email traffic between DOS officials, including our Embassy in Canada, with several emails from WJC’s office asking for status update, at one point saying they only have “about more 30 minutes before we lose the offer.”"
The email points to a financial disclosure form of Hillary Clinton’s showing Bill received $175,000 from the Canadian National Exhibition speech in August 2009.
Another request shows CISCO paid Bill Clinton $255,000 for a speech “two months before HRC awards CISCO the State Department’s Award for Corporate Excellence.”
‘John thinks media is psychotic’
Clinton aide Neera Tanden mails Podesta on July 14, 2015, the day Hillary Clinton announced her support for the nuclear deal reached between the US and Iran. “It's such outrageous bullshit,” she writes in an apparent reference to media coverage.
“I feel like tweeting of course john thinks media is psychotic.” she says, adding “But I won't do anything unless you tell me it helps.”
WJC ‘needs more scripting’
Paul Begala, a political adviser to Bill Clinton and CNN contributor, emails Podesta in January 2008 to discuss reaction to the former president's controversial campaign statements.
“Was your nose growing long today on Today? That was rough,” Podesta asks.
Begala replies: “It's okay for Barack's campaign to push reporters to pry into Clinton's sex life, but if Clinton says Barack is fudging his story about the war, he's a racist?”
“Comparing Barack's S.C. win to Jesse's was really stupid,” Begala adds, referring to Bill Clinton’s statement that suggested Obama’s victory in South Carolina was like Jesse Jackson’s wins in the state in 1984 and 1988, a result of black support that failed to spread to white voters.
“They're not staffing him right, John. He's just out there saying whatever pops into his head. As ever, he needs more scripting; she needs less.”
Clinton’s team warned: ‘You really don't want to get me into this’
Clinton aide Cheryl Mills appears to be threatened by a contact identified as CP in a March 2015 mail. A Breitbart story, in which Colin Powell’s use of a private email account during his time in the State Department is discussed, is linked in the mail.
“You really don't want to get me into this. I haven't been asked nor said a word about HRC and won't unless you all start it.” CP says to Mills.
In September 2016 leaked emails from Powell revealed he had been in discussion with Clinton’s team, warning them not to compare her situation to his.
GMO bill gives Sanders an advantage
Gary Hirshberg, founder of Stonyfield Organic Yogurt, emails Podesta in March 2016 to discuss the Roberts Bill, which sought to make food producers disclose genetically modified ingredients on labelling. A compromised version of the bill made the labelling voluntary.
Hirshberg worries this amended bill, “blatantly validates Bernie's entire campaign message about Wall Street running our government, this will give Bernie a huge boost and 10,000 -20,000 outraged citizens (who WILL turn up because they will be so angry at the President for preemption vt) will be marching on the Mall with Bernie as their keynote speaker.”
Hirshberg says he thinks Obama signing the bill “will result in adding at least another month or more of money and attention to the Sanders campaign.”
“This bill can still be stopped if the WH and Clinton campaign come down now on the 12-14 farm state dems who Roberts will need to pass this compromise,” Hirshberg adds. “It will be terrible to hand Sanders this advantage at such a fragile time.”
Podesta replies, “We’ll discuss.”
In August, Obama signed the amended bill which allowed food manufacturers the option of labelling GM food.