internal deliberations. The documents, released sporadically by State in response to a request made more than five years ago, are often a confusing muddle. Redactions obscure most of the State lawyers’ specific concerns. In addition, the State emails have been released separately from the original memos from Bill Clinton’s office, which were sent to his lawyers to be reviewed for potential confidential information. However, it’s clear that the vast majority of Bill Clinton’s proposed speaking engagements sailed through with no resistance from State, while a handful of proposals drew scrutiny over possible funding from foreign governments. Asked about the ethics consultations with Hillary Clinton’s immediate staff, a current State Department official defended the practice. “As a practical matter, the office of Secretary Clinton was included for additional perspective on the Secretary’s schedule and work she personally involved herself in. Their role was to identify concerns that could present even the appearance of a conflict and which may not have been apparent to the ethics officials reviewing each case,” said the official, who commented on condition of anonymity. It does not appear the former president ever spoke to the Beijing Forum, although the records made public by the State Department don’t show a definitive decision one way or another. Bill Clinton did give at least two high-dollar, paid speeches in China while his wife served as secretary: a $750,000 address in Hong Kong paid for by telecom firm Ericsson and a $550,000 speech in Shanghai paid for by the Huatuo CEO Forum. They took place days apart in 2011. The State ethics review process — established under a series of agreements struck prior to Hillary Clinton becoming secretary in 2009 — has come under close scrutiny in recent months as reports emerged that the Clinton Foundation did not always submit foreign-government donors for conflict of interest reviews or disclose them publicly. POLITICO sought records of that process under the Freedom of Information Act more than five years ago, in November 2009. In late 2013, State began releasing some of its files on the ethics reviews after the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit. The internal State Department records released this week reveal new details about the process, including: —The level of concern at State about foreign-government funding appears to have varied dramatically by country. Government financial backing seems to have scuttled several proposed speeches by the former president in China and at least one in Turkey. However, events in Canada, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates were green-lighted despite money from government sources. — One such government-funded speech delivered by Bill Clinton appears not to have been reported on his wife’s annual financial disclosure, as required by law. Bill Clinton’s aides sought and received approval for a November 12, 2010 speech in Bangkok paid for by the Thai energy ministry and a state-owned oil-and-gas company there, PTT. Photos of the event show Clinton stood under logos for the Thai ministry and PTT as he delivered a speech titled, “Embracing Our Common Humanity.” PTT’s role in the event is also noted in the company’s annual report. However, the address does not appear on the yearly list Hillary Clinton submitted of paid speeches given by her husband, nor was the fee the former president received ever made public. The speech itself was mentioned in passing in news accounts about something else the former president reportedly did in Bangkok on that trip: film a cameo for Hangover II. (The scene was apparently cut and one actor in the film said Clinton just visited the set and never planned a cameo.) —Until now, agency officials and Clinton aides have been vague about whether any foundation donations ever wound up being cleared under a vetting arrangement set up before Hillary Clinton became secretary, but the records show at least one such foreign-government gift was submitted and approved at State. Part of the current controversy surrounding the foundation was generated in February when the fund acknowledged, in response to a query from the Washington Post, that Clinton aides had not submitted for review a $500,000 gift the Algerian government contributed for earthquake relief in Haiti. But a request for approval did come in for a planned $175,000 donation from a Colombian government agency to a development program run by the Clinton Foundation in coordination with Canadian mining magnate Frank Giustra. Part of the money was intended for a spice-growing cooperative; another chunk was destined for a foundation run by singer Shakira. The initial submission to State prompted Mills to ask Bill Clinton’s office by email: “Can you provide any context for the purpose of the contribution?”
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internal deliberations. The documents, released sporadically by State in response to a request made more than five years ago, are often a confusing muddle. Redactions obscure most of the State lawyers’ specific concerns. In addition, the State emails have been released separately from the original memos from Bill Clinton’s office, which were sent to his lawyers to be reviewed for potential confidential information. However, it’s clear that the vast majority of Bill Clinton’s proposed speaking engagements sailed through with no resistance from State, while a handful of proposals drew scrutiny over possible funding from foreign governments. Asked about the ethics consultations with Hillary Clinton’s immediate staff, a current State Department official defended the practice. “As a practical matter, the office of Secretary Clinton was included for additional perspective on the Secretary’s schedule and work she personally involved herself in. Their role was to identify concerns that could present even the appearance of a conflict and which may not have been apparent to the ethics officials reviewing each case,” said the official, who commented on condition of anonymity. It does not appear the former president ever spoke to the Beijing Forum, although the records made public by the State Department don’t show a definitive decision one way or another. Bill Clinton did give at least two high-dollar, paid speeches in China while his wife served as secretary: a $750,000 address in Hong Kong paid for by telecom firm Ericsson and a $550,000 speech in Shanghai paid for by the Huatuo CEO Forum. They took place days apart in 2011. The State ethics review process — established under a series of agreements struck prior to Hillary Clinton becoming secretary in 2009 — has come under close scrutiny in recent months as reports emerged that the Clinton Foundation did not always submit foreign-government donors for conflict of interest reviews or disclose them publicly. POLITICO sought records of that process under the Freedom of Information Act more than five years ago, in November 2009. In late 2013, State began releasing some of its files on the ethics reviews after the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit. The internal State Department records released this week reveal new details about the process, including: —The level of concern at State about foreign-government funding appears to have varied dramatically by country. Government financial backing seems to have scuttled several proposed speeches by the former president in China and at least one in Turkey. However, events in Canada, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates were green-lighted despite money from government sources. — One such government-funded speech delivered by Bill Clinton appears not to have been reported on his wife’s annual financial disclosure, as required by law. Bill Clinton’s aides sought and received approval for a November 12, 2010 speech in Bangkok paid for by the Thai energy ministry and a state-owned oil-and-gas company there, PTT. Photos of the event show Clinton stood under logos for the Thai ministry and PTT as he delivered a speech titled, “Embracing Our Common Humanity.” PTT’s role in the event is also noted in the company’s annual report. However, the address does not appear on the yearly list Hillary Clinton submitted of paid speeches given by her husband, nor was the fee the former president received ever made public. The speech itself was mentioned in passing in news accounts about something else the former president reportedly did in Bangkok on that trip: film a cameo for Hangover II. (The scene was apparently cut and one actor in the film said Clinton just visited the set and never planned a cameo.) —Until now, agency officials and Clinton aides have been vague about whether any foundation donations ever wound up being cleared under a vetting arrangement set up before Hillary Clinton became secretary, but the records show at least one such foreign-government gift was submitted and approved at State. Part of the current controversy surrounding the foundation was generated in February when the fund acknowledged, in response to a query from the Washington Post, that Clinton aides had not submitted for review a $500,000 gift the Algerian government contributed for earthquake relief in Haiti. But a request for approval did come in for a planned $175,000 donation from a Colombian government agency to a development program run by the Clinton Foundation in coordination with Canadian mining magnate Frank Giustra. Part of the money was intended for a spice-growing cooperative; another chunk was destined for a foundation run by singer Shakira. The initial submission to State prompted Mills to ask Bill Clinton’s office by email: “Can you provide any context for the purpose of the contribution?”