One of the emails to Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta disclosed by WikiLeaks was sent by Democratic National Committee co-chairman Frank White on August 24, 2015, assuring Podesta that White and his wife, Sylvia, were “firmly in Hillary’s corner, and happy to help communicate how passionate Obama bundlers like us are about making sure Hillary is President in 2016.”
This email may be taken as further evidence the Democratic primary was “rigged” in Clinton’s favor, to use the popular term of the moment. It also offers a flashback to the days when Clinton supporters were nervous about the possibility of Vice President Joe Biden tossing his hat into the ring and blowing a gasket on the Democrat money machine:
I read today’s WaPo story about Biden’s push for prominent Obama supporters and anticipate a number of follow-on stories from other reporters. If it helps, I am happy to go on-the-record with any reporters asking about Obama bundlers breaking ranks from the Clinton campaign to join Biden. As very early and prominent Obama bundlers, Sylvia and I are firmly in Hillary’s corner and are happy to help communicate how passionate Obama bundlers like us are about making sure Hillary is President in 2016
Frank
White corresponded several times with Podesta, often on matters pertaining to the African-American vote.
“If the AfAm vote is Hillary’s firewall, we need to do more to ensure it stays that way,” White said in a January 2016 email, chastising Clinton for skipping an important meeting.
In another conversation from February 2016, White stressed that “the black [vote] is obvious super critical,” and warned he kept hearing the complaint that Clinton’s campaign “doesn’t value black folks and takes us for granted” while he was fundraising.
White suggested “a black campaign vice chair or senior adviser would go a long way during the primary and send the message that Hillary puts her actions where her mouth is, and actually does appreciate the black vote.” He followed up to ask if there was “any progress on the African-American senior staff question” while on a business trip to Nigeria in March.
While Sanders supporters may find it inappropriate that a DNC co-chair was working so closely with Clinton’s campaign before and during the Democratic primary, it should be noted there are quite a few co-chairs listed on the Democratic National Convention agenda. “Co-chairman” is not a unique top-level management position.
Also, White’s long-standing support for Clinton was not a secret. An April 2015 New York Times article, for example, lists White as hosting one of five major fundraising receptions for Clinton held in New York City and Washington, identifying him as “a member of Mr. Obama’s 2008 national finance committee and a prominent African-American businessman.”
The Times article mentioned that “host level” could only be achieved by raising over $50,000 for Mrs. Clinton. $27,000 was good enough to score fundraisers a meeting with Clinton and entry to the “Hillstarters” program, in which the campaign had “begun to entice people to raise 10 maximum-donation checks.”
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