The
Democrats on
the House Benghazi committee released their final
conclusions from
the inquiry into attacks on Americans in that Libyan city in 2012,
and in the report they say, once again, that the investigation is a
politically motivated sham aimed at damaging the reputation of
Hillary
Clinton.
But
the report, which the Democrats published as a preemptive strike
before the Republican majority releases findings likely to charge
ineptitude and deception by the former secretary of State, also
revealed, apparently unintentionally, details about the
eye-popping amount of money a close
Clinton friend
and advisor made in a contract with a pro-Clinton nonprofit.
Democrats
released but redacted a transcript of Clinton confidant Sidney
Blumenthal answering the committee’s questions to make the point
that
Republicans do
not want the public to know what went on during the his
interrogation, during which GOP members arguably used their subpoena
power to conduct political opposition research unrelated to
Benghazi.
But
the redaction marks are easily erased by anyone able to use a
computer’s cut-and-paste function. Once the marks are lifted,
the transcript portion reveals some unflattering things for any
partisans on the committee, Republican or Democrat. It shows that
Republicans did, indeed, leverage their subpoena of Blumenthal for
political gain, digging into his financial contracts with David
Brock and forcing him to reveal the details of a lucrative financial
arrangement that congressional sources would
ultimately
leak to Fox News.
And
for Democrats, the exchange exposes once again the absurd amounts of
money people in the orbit of the Clintons sometimes seem to rake in
just for, well, being in the orbit of the Clintons. “I’d say it’s
about $200,000 a year,” Blumenthal said when asked by a committee
member how much the part-time work offering up advice and ideas was
worth.
“Redacted
due to Chairman Gowdy’s refusal to allow release of transcript,”
says a footnote to the pages of thick black redaction marks. “If
released, the transcript would show that Republicans asked Mr.
Blumenthal questions about his relationship with Media Matters,
David Brock and Correct the Record.” Brock is a longtime Clinton
loyalist, and Correct the Record and Media Matters are among the
nonprofits he uses to attack Clinton opponents.
And
how did Blumenthal get such a contract? “I have had a very long
friendship with the chairman of Media Matters, whose name is David
Brock, from before he founded this organization, and I have
sustained that friendship. And he asked me to help provide
ideas and advice to him and his organizations,” Blumenthal said.
Actually,
the two got to know each other during the impeachment of Bill
Clinton, during Brock’s former incarnation as a right-wing “hit man”
journalist. He was starting to undergo his political conversion and
in the process was feeding then-White House aide Blumenthal
intelligence about what the right was plotting against Bill Clinton.
Both men
wrote about
it in their
books.
Below
is the full transcript excerpt that Democrats intended not to
publish. It is unclear who the questioner is in the first
section.
Q: Did
you ever receive any payment from an organization called Media
Matters?
A: Oh,
yes. I did — I did receive payment in that period from
Media Matters.
Q: Okay. And
what was your relationship with Media Matters at that time
period?
A: I was a
consultant to Media Matters. I’m sorry I—
Q: That’s
okay.
A: I
overlooked that.
Q: When
did you become a consultant for Media Matters?
A: I would
say the very end of 2012.
Q: Okay. And
how did that come about, that you became a consultant for
Media Matters?
A: I have had
a very long friendship with the chairman of Media Matters,
whose name is David Brock, from before he founded this
organization, and I have sustained that friendship. And he
asked me to help provide ideas and advice to him and his
organizations.
Q: So you
began your relationship, your paid relationship, with Media Matters
at the end of 2012.
A: Right.
Q: Does
that continue to this day?
A: It does.
Q: Okay. And
what is your salary or your contract with Media Matters? How
much money are you earning from them?
A: I’d say
it’s about $200,000 a year.
Q: And has
that been roughly consistent from when you began receiving
payment from Media Matters?
*[redacted
due to Chairman Gowdy’s refusal to allow release of transcript].
A: I would
say it’s — I’d have to check. I think it’s increased a little
bit. It’s increased some.
Q: Okay. Are
you familiar with the organization American Bridge?
A: Yes.
Q: Have you
received any compensation from American Bridge over the last
five years?
A: Yes.
Q: Okay.
And how much compensation have you received from American Bridge?
A: Well, when
I talk about that amount of money, I mean all of those
organizations.
Q: So
all of David Brock’s entities —
A: Right.
Q: —
combined are 200,000?
A: About.
Q: Okay.
A: Something
like that.
Q: Okay. So
there’s American Bridge.
A: Yes.
Q: There’s
Media Matters.
A: Right.
Q: Are
there any other organizations on which you have done work for Mr.
Brock?
A: Correct
the Record
Q: Okay.
A: — is
another organization.
Q: Okay.
A: And then
there’s the American Independent Institute, which is a
journalistic foundation.
Q: So,
when you receive your paycheck, who signs the paycheck? Where does
that come from?
A: It’s
deposited directly. I imagine it comes from David Brock.
Q: Okay. Not
David Brock personally but one of his —
A: Whoever —
whoever is responsible for that payment.
Blumenthal
and Republican Select Committee Member Mike Pompeo had the following
exchange about Correct the Record:
Q: Fair
enough. I’m going to jump around a little bit. You said I
think earlier this morning that you still are working for
Correct the Record?
A: I
am.
Q: And tell
me what the mission of Correct the Record is.
A: Correct
the Record is pretty much what it says, to correct — it’s a
nonprofit organization to correct the record about public
misstatements about prominent Democrats.
Q: Including
this committee. If this committee said something, Correct the
Record might comment on things that it said incorrectly and
indeed it has?
A: That may
well be so.
Q: Have you
written any of that?
A: No.
Q: Yeah. So
you haven’t made any comments as part of your role in Correct
the Record related to this committee’s work? You haven’t
written any —
A: I have not
written those.