It was reported yesterday that Hillary Clinton’s longtime family friend and Clinton Foundation adviser, Sidney Blumenthal, was providing memos to the then-Secretary of State that included analysis and other information about Libya. Blumenthal’s testimony to the House Select Committee on Benghazi revealed he copied and pasted unverified information before forwarding the memo directly to Clinton.
In a shocking example of mismanagement and poor judgment, Clinton not only received multiple memos from Blumenthal, “who has never been to Libya and is not an expert on the country,” but also forwarded these memos onto top State Department staffers. Clinton’s missteps as the head of the State Department are only worsened when considering the situation on the ground in Libya today, which, as “the public face of the U.S. effort in Libya,” is also part of Clinton’s dismal record at Foggy Bottom. Libya is pulled between two governments and also faces threats from terrorist groups, such as Islamic State.
Blumenthal, who was banned from working in Clinton’s State Department by the Obama administration, said yesterday that he was only forwarding emails to Secretary Clinton as a friend, but Blumenthal was paid $10,000 a month by the Clinton Foundation. For Secretary Clinton to blindly forward around the State Department her crony’s unverified analysis demonstrates horrendous judgment in the stewardship of our nation’s security, and is another example of her poor leadership at Foggy Bottom.