Clinton Camp Furious Over Strategist’s Meeting With Colombian Officials on Trade Deal
Sources in the Hillary Clinton campaign told FOX News Friday that staff “outrage” is hitting a boiling point over senior strategist Mark Penn’s meeting Monday with Colombian officials to discuss passage of a trade deal that Clinton vehemently opposes.
Penn has apologized to Clinton, who knew nothing of the meeting until it was revealed Friday in The Wall Street Journal. Sources said Clinton discussed the matter directly with Penn and expressed displeasure.
“The meeting was an error in judgment that will not be repeated and I am sorry for it. The senator’s well-known opposition to this trade deal is clear and was not discussed,” Penn said in a public statement.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Penn met Monday with the Colombian officials as part of his job as chief executive of the lobbying and public relations firm Burson-Marsteller Worldwide.
Other Clinton officials are furious Penn would divert attention from Clinton’s campaign to curry favor with the Colombian government on behalf of the free trade deal. One chief concern is that Penn’s meeting conflicts with Clinton’s statements denouncing Colombia for using violence against union organizers.
“It makes me sick to come here hour after hour and fight for this campaign while Penn is off doing something that hurts the campaign and makes him a bunch of money,” said one aggravated Clinton loyalist.
Penn’s campaign position, however, seems secure.
Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said earlier Penn’s meeting does not reflect the campaign’s stance on Colombia.
“Sen. Clinton’s opposition to the Colombian trade deal remains pretty clear,” he said. Penn’s “meetings were not in any way on behalf of her campaign. … It does not affect her opposition whatsoever to the trade bill.”
Both Clinton and Barack Obama oppose the Colombian trade deal. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe earlier in the week called Obama’s opposition the product of “political calculations.”
The Colombian government is trying to secure congressional passage of the agreement signed in 2006 by Uribe and the Bush administration. According to Justice Department filings, Colombia last year agreed to pay Burson-Marsteller $300,000 to help “educate members of the U.S. Congress and other audiences” about the trade deal and secure continued U.S. funding for the $5 billion anti-narcotics program Plan Colombia.
In economic terms, the deal would largely open up the Colombian markets for American goods without many of the duties that now exist. Colombia is already able to send most products to the United States duty-free, but the deal would cement that preferential access.
Penn has come under criticism for other Burson-Marsteller clients, including tobacco giant Philip Morris and corporate clients accused of union-busting activity. While Penn says he does not personally work on any accounts that could be construed as anti-labor, labor leaders including Teamsters president James Hoffa have publicly expressed concern about his involvement with the campaign.
Penn’s political consulting firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland, has been paid $10.8 million so far by Clinton’s campaign.
Click here to read the story about the Colombia trade deal talks in The Wall Street Journal.
FOX News’ Major Garrett, Aaron Bruns and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
We already have a HUGE trade imbalance with Colombia.. It comes from the cocaine trade.. I would like to see the candidates say that if Colombia doesn’t stop coca production with their military and also allow us to spray off the coca farms each year then there will be no further progress in trade negotiations.. It is impossible for me to believe that 2 entire govt’s along with 2 military structures are incapable of stopping the cocaine industry if they wanted to.. The scope of the cocaine industry makes it visible to citizens and law enforcement alike.. No industry of that size and profitability can exist without the knowledge and complicity of some sort by gov’t officials; probably in both countries …
If these candidates can’t even control their upper level staff, how are we to believe they can institute policy and run a country ?? — This is the Robt Mugabe brand of economic reform and truth in politics …
Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bom Iran!
Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran!
Only reason needed to vote for Obama or Clinton “08″
Hills opposition to the Columbian Trade Deal remains pretty clear?
yeah right do you mean he public veiws or her Private views?
Penn says the meetings were not in anyway on behalf of her campaign..Was it on behalf of Bill Clinton?
He also stated It does not affect her oppostion whatsoever to thetrade bill?
It doesnt affect it cause if and whenit comes up for a vote she will say she thinks it is now a great deal for America..You the statement she made to the TATA consultancy Services..Equal trade
So All voters need to watch her flip flop on this one say bye bye to more Jobs …Hello Hillary’s Job training..Would You Like Fries with that sir?
OBAMA 08
It took her 6 months to pay for the Boston Smphony . I wonder how long it took her to pay Penns Political Consultant Service the 10.8 Million she paid him?
I wonder if she is getting a kickback?
She angry !!Mo E. says hillary does not reflect the campaigns stance on Columbia . Yeah the public stance..HOw about her private veiws?
Of course it hurts Hillary…We all know this lady doesnt know what the truth is . The truth is what ever comes out of her mouth.
BOsnia , NAFA, and hers little tid bit
I’ve heard Hillary Clinton tell the story many times in speeches, and it rarely fails to bring a horrified gasp from the crowd: An uninsured and pregnant Ohio woman, working for minimum wage at a pizza parlor, is turned away from a hospital because she can’t come up with $100. The baby dies, and so does the woman. Clinton talks about how this woman haunts her, and how stories like this show the moral imperative–and the urgency–of fixing a badly broken health care system. (You can see a video here.)
Except, it turns out, it didn’t happen–at least, apparently, not the way Clinton said it did. There was indeed a tragedy last August in Athens, Ohio, in which a woman, Trina Bachtel, gave birth to a stillborn baby and subsequently died herself. But the New York Times reports this morning that the hospital involved says Bachtel had coverage,and received treatment. And here’s the remarkable part, given how important this story has become to the overall narrative of the Clinton candidacy:
Linda M. Weiss, a spokeswoman for the not-for-profit hospital, said the Clinton campaign had never contacted the hospital to check the accuracy of the story, which Mrs. Clinton had first heard from a Meigs County, Ohio, sheriff’s deputy in late February.
A Clinton spokesman, Mo Elleithee, said candidates would frequently retell stories relayed to them, vetting them when possible. “In this case, we did try but were not able to fully vet it,” Mr. Elleithee said. “If the hospital claims it did not happen that way, we respect that.”
Hillary Clinton is far from the first politician to find herself in this kind of embarrassing situation. Remember how hard Al Gore got hit after the first debate in 2000, when it turned out that in his description of the very real problem of overcrowded schools in Sarasota, Fla., he used the wrong verb tense in telling of children who were forced to stand in their classrooms?
What is astounding here is that for all the research that the Clinton campaign has spent scouring and scrubbing the opposition, they didn’t put a bit more effort into looking at what their own candidate is saying.
We,the public, need to hear more about this outrageous conduct. This looks worse then “sniper fire.”
Once again, the Clinton campaign is a house of cards: inconsisitency, lies, deceit, corruption and all of the Clintonian Tactics & Lifestyle that none of us see any virtue in. Behind the scenes of her Team are (1) Money Mismanagement (2) Internal Squabbling and (3) Campaign Leaders Doing Anti-Campaign Initiatives.
Let’s all wake up and just say WE’RE MAD AD HELL AND NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE.
Hilliary, Bill and Chelsie just go away….the country doesn;t need you and certainly doesn;t want you. Bill had some good qualities (and a bunch of big flaws) and President, but his best days are behind him and he is at best a “has been”. And Hillary is no Bill — he had charm, she has none.
We’ve had Bush, Clinton, Bush and couldn’t take another Clinton. God help us all…
Once again you can see how narrow minded Mr Obama’s supporters are. Do they actually read the entire article or do they just see an article that mentions Hillary and go Bazerk on her. I would bet not a single Obama supporter could sit down and look at each of these canidates reseme without bias and truthfully say which one is more qualified. I have not read one blog where there has been an intelligent reason why they are backing mr Obama. All three canidates have misspoken yet everyone only points out the mistakes of the opposing person. I realize Mr Obama has done very little compared to his competitors. I also realize he has shown the poorest judgement. Hillary will straighten this problem out. Why can’t Mr. Obamas people ask David Gergan what Hillarys opinion was on nafta instead of making up a false version of it. I chalenge Mr Obamas backers to put down their beer cans spit out thier bubble gun get a good nights sleep and actually read Mr Obamas’s Books, read what Mrs Obama had written and listened to what each of these two have spoken. Then tell me this is what you want for your president. If then you still want this young man heaven help us.