Hours before Hillary Clinton dined with George Soros, members of Clinton’s inner circle debated how to handle an anticipated request from the notorious billionaire. Longtime Hillary handler Huma Abedin forwarded an invitation for Hillary to attend a December 2014 fundraiser in Soros’ New York home for the Soros-backed group America Votes to Robby Mook and John Podesta.
The email exchange from October 2014 is included in the Wikileaks release (Podesta Email 15201) and shows the campaign preparing for the dinner between Hillary and Soros. The thread highlights the lengths the campaign was willing to go “to make Soros happy.”
“She is having dinner with George Soros tonight,” Abedin explained to Mook and Podesta. “Do you know much about America Votes? As Greg Speed explained to me, they are the coordinated campaign for various outside groups. Soros is a big supporter of the group and hes going to ask her tonight if she will come to a fundraiser for them at his house in December. Thoughts?”
“I would only do this for political reasons (ie to make Soros happy),” Mook responded before dismissing the importance of America Votes. “It’s very unclear to me how much AV will matter next cycle. And I haven’t seen them adding any value this cycle. I also worry a little it will cause donor confusion vis a vis Priorities.”
Abedin responded to Mook by saying that she spoke with Podesta and “he agrees with you.”
Podesta chimed in and offered Attorney General Loretta Lynch as a possible alternative for the America Votes fundraiser. Abedin reported back, “Checked with her. She doesn’t really know her and thus has no opinion. Sorry we aren’t more helpful.”
Soros has pledged more than $25 million to help elect Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Dustin Stockton is a political reporter for Breitbart News, a community liaison for Gun Owners of America, and a political strategist. Follow him on Twitter @DustinStockton or Facebook.