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.
The Clintons must think were are really stupid! If the media buys that, shame on them! The media should be after their tax returns and the donor list to the library! The Clintons will hold off as long as the media does not pressure them. They both lie and prove me wrong!
She should fire Mark Penn, I think that will lead to a little boost in her polls
he is just to divisive and its unclear who he works for sometimes
President Hillary? Give me a break.
After hillary’s lie about Bosnia, how can anyone believe that she has nothing to do with the meeting that her strategist made with Columbia. If her campaign workers do these sort of things behind her back, how is she going to legitimately control her administration if she pulls a curious george and steals the Presidency? I wouldn’t doubt if hillary was behind it, after all, her first lady papers discuss how she was pro NAFTA and made the closing arguments FOR NAFTA, saying that it would benefit our economy. Now look at the repercussions that NAFTA has caused. I don’t like george w, and never have, but our depressing economy is not all of his fault. It took this long for the negative repercussions of NAFTA to show itself.
Let us reflect back on Mrs. Clinton’s words in OH.
“I don’t think people should come to Ohio and tell the people of Ohio one thing and then have your campaign tell a foreign government something else behind closed doors,” Clinton said then. “That’s the kind of difference between talk and action and that I’ve been pointing out in this campaign.”
“I would ask you to look at that story, substitute my name for Senator Obama,” she also said. “If some of my advisers had been having private meetings with foreign governments and basically saying ignore what I’m saying because it’s only political rhetoric … I think it raises serious questions.”
It just gets better and better everyday. Talk about a conflict of interest.
What terrorists need: who?
Let’s see, the terrorists don’t appear on TV or the rest of the Media directly, they use the logistic in situ, exactly what pro-FARC terrorist guerrilla Hugo Chavez is doing, repeating Fidel Castro’s made in USSR plan. Anybody who help them on American or any other country’s soil is a terror logistic.
WMD? Israel BOOOMBED a Sadam’s N U C L E A R reactor already:
The anti-American dems have always been what the enemies need. About 1 decade ago, Israel launched an air attack against a Sadam’s NUCLEAR REACTOR. There still the ruins as a silent monument of SADAM’s WMD PLANS to any self-programmed anti-American, and as a proove of the war on terror.
Also, Sadam was the Hugo Chavez on the region, paying (not sure the ammount) like $30,000 for the family of any suicide bomber against Israel or any other “enemy” of the terrorists.
I can’t believe there still terror logistics in situ USA saying Sadam wasn’t related to terror on the region.
The terrorists even fight between them for oil power, that’s why Iran and Irak whent to war for 10 years, and became friends on 2003 “suddently” (Iran kept Sadam’s air force for protection), they fight, they reconciliate, they are terrorists).
Does anyone believe that she is against this trade agreement especially with how hard she pushed NAFTA early in her husband’s first term?
This, like all trade agreements, will eventually have to go through Congress and then to the President for their signature. With him working for the lobbying firm that is pushing this trade agreement as well as working as the top strategist for the Clinton campaign, can anyone believe that she would not sign it if God forbid she does become President?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against trade, I am against unfair trade agreements that leave the US worker at a disadvantage.
OHHHH what Hypocrites Penn is. Clinton’s campaign showing there true colors again! Why is the media not jumping all over this?
It seems like all Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama seem to continue to do is find reasons for themselves or their associates to apologize. Does America really want a person holding the highest office in the land that is going to have to keep apologizing over and over again? The mistakes made by Clinton and Obama will only continue to grow. One of the many reasons the mistakes have been made is because of them both lacking the experience needed to lead America.
Hillary wants to “unify” the country when she cannot even unify her party. The same goes for Obama. Neither one of these individuals is ready. They have good ideas but want to go about them in a wrong way. The ways they want to do things once was known as a little thing called socialism. They are both so far out of touch with reality and need to get themselves in check to stand any chance against McCain come November.
Vote
McCain ‘08