The State Department on Friday released the latest batch of Hillary Clinton emails, the third installment of the ongoing process that will result eventually result in the release of 55,000 pages of Clinton electronic correspondence.
And while the emails do shed some light on how Clinton operated as America’s top diplomat, the trove contains few insights into the policy discussions or decision-making process of Secretary Clinton.
It is the third batch of emails the State Department has released from the Democratic presidential frontrunner after it was revealed Clinton used a private email server as secretary of state. Clinton has maintained that no classified information was sent from her private address, however, last week, two inspectors general asked the Department of Justice to investigate if such information was mishandled in relation to Clinton’s email account.
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In all, 55,000 pages of Clinton emails from her time at the State Department are set to be released in the coming months.
Some of the interesting takeaways in the most recent batch of emails include correspondence from Clinton’s longtime friend Sidney Blumenthal, who has factored into previous document releases as well. Blumenthal, who was not employed by the State Department, has been under fire from Congressional Republicans for dozens of memos he sent Clinton about Libya.
Friday’s emails show he was also involved in a 2009 speech Clinton was set to deliver in Berlin, and that he worked with State Department employees to help craft the speech. He also sent her updates on former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s 2009 attempt to head the European Council.
Mostly, the email trove is heavily redacted, with the government censoring passages and sometimes pages worth of emails for national security.
“Today’s email dump shows Hillary Clinton put even more sensitive government information at risk on her secret email server than previously known. Hillary Clinton’s reckless attempt to bypass public records laws put our national security at risk and shows she cannot be trusted in the White House,” Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus said in a statement.
What is left ranges from heart-felt, to humorous to mundane. In 2009, Clinton emailed aides asking if there was something that could be done for a 10-year-old Yemeni girl who she had once met and later appeared in a CNN story talking about her difficult life.
“Is there any way we can help her? Could we get her to the US for counselling and education?” Clinton wrote.
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In another email she asks her chief of staff to lend her a copy of David Shipley’s book “SEND: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better.” And in a message from September 2009, Clinton asked for New York apples. “Will we receive them this fall? How can I buy some for personal use?” she wrote to an assistant. Some of the more substantive documents give insight into how Clinton’s team viewed foreign policy obstacles. Former national security adviser Sandy Berger wrote Clinton in 2009 with advice on how to deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over negotiations with the Palestinians. “Going forward, if Bibi continues to be the obstacle, you will need to find the ground from which you can make his politics uneasy,” Berger wrote. Others gave insights into what it is like to be Clinton. In one note, longtime aide Huma Abedin informs her that Barbra Streisand and James Brolin wants to have dinner with her and Bill Clinton. In another note, she confides in a friend, “This travel gig is never ending– can’t wait for Thanksgiving for a few days off.”
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