{"id":27219,"date":"2016-06-11T05:55:50","date_gmt":"2016-06-11T13:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=27219"},"modified":"2016-06-11T05:55:50","modified_gmt":"2016-06-11T13:55:50","slug":"state-department-emails-reveal-how-unqualified-clinton-donor-was-named-to-intelligence-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/11\/state-department-emails-reveal-how-unqualified-clinton-donor-was-named-to-intelligence-board\/","title":{"rendered":"State Department Emails Reveal How Unqualified Clinton Donor Was Named to Intelligence Board"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emails recently released by the State Department give more information on how a securities trader and big-money Clinton donor was appointed by her office to the International Security Advisory Board (ISAB), a group that advises the Secretary of State on nuclear weapons and other security issues.<\/p>\n

According to the State Department’s own website<\/a>, members are “national security experts with scientific, military, diplomatic, and political backgrounds.” The current members<\/a> show a lot of generals, ambassadors and academics.<\/p>\n

So it seemed odd to ABC News<\/a> that Clinton felt that Rajiv K. Fernando<\/a>, above, qualified for the group, since his background is in high-frequency stock trading and Internet “ventures.” He has donated heavily both to the Clinton Foundation, Hillary Clinton\u2019s two presidential campaigns, and the Obama campaigns.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The newly released emails show he was added to the panel by then Clinton chief of staff Cheryl Mills. \u201c\u201cRaj was not on the list sent to [the Secretary of State]; he was added at their insistence\u201d reads one 2011 email<\/a> from Wade Boese, Chief of Staff for the Office of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, to a press aide.<\/p>\n

Fernando\u2019s appointment even confused some staffers, the emails reveal. One press aide wrote internally, \u201cit appears there is much more to this story that we\u2019re unaware of,\u201d and \u201cit\u2019s natural to ask how he got onto the board when compared to the rest of the esteemed list of members.\u201d<\/p>\n

That press aide wrote<\/a> in a separate email: \u201cWe must protect the Secretary\u2019s and Under Secretary\u2019s name, as well as the integrity of the Board. I think it\u2019s important to get down to the bottom of this before there\u2019s any response.\u201d<\/p>\n