Report: As Secretary of State, Hillary Aide Blackmailed Media For Glowing Coverage

Cortney O'Brien | February 10, 2016 3:15 PM

I know what you’re thinking: Another Hillary email controversy? Yet, that’s exactly where the New Hampshire also-ran finds herself.

A FOIA request obtained by Gawker reveals a suspicious email exchange between a Hillary Clinton aide and a reporter conniving for flattering coverage of the former secretary of state.

In 2009, Atlantic reporter Marc Ambinder asked Philippe Reines for an advanced copy of Clinton’s speech to the Council on Foreign Relations relating to Obama’s foreign policy. Reines was happy to help Ambinder but insisted on a few requests: He must refer to her speech as “muscular” and that the envoys will be strategically placed in front of her. Oh, and in no way could he say he was blackmailed.

Here’s just an excerpt of what Ambinder produced, clearly following Reines’ instructions.

“When you think of President Obama’s foreign policy, think of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,” read the story. “That’s the message behind a muscular speech that Clinton is set to deliver today to the Council on Foreign Relations. The staging gives a clue to its purpose: seated in front of Clinton, subordinate to Clinton, in the first row, will be three potentially rival power centers: envoys Richard Holbrooke and George Mitchell, and National Security Council senior director Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL).”

Now, Ambinder admits the exchange made him “uncomfortable.”

Clinton has had nothing but bad news, it seems, in recent weeks. Before she cratered in the New Hampshire primary, her email scandal was getting ever more serious with reports that material on her unsecure server were even more top secret than we thought. The FBI confirmed it is undergoing a serious criminal investigation and media everywhere are asking, "Will she be indicted?"

Then, she raised more voter suspicion after refusing to release her Wall Street speech transcripts, which more than likely show her cozy (and lucrative) relationship with financial firms.

All these controversies help explain those embarrassing exit polls from Tuesday night that show voters do not trust her.