Clinton Chief On Colombian Payroll Now Strategizing On Free Trade Deal

Ten months ago, I posed a very simple question right on this site: Can the Clinton machine deliver another NAFTA? I noted at the time that an army of former Clinton administration officials had been put on the Colombian government payroll to push a NAFTA-style free trade deal. These people -- many waiting to get back into government should Hillary Clinton win -- are making up to $100,000 a month from a murderous right-wing regime that is one of the worst human rights violators in the Western Hemisphere. Now, today, we see how high up the Clinton machine this corruption really goes.

Here's the Wall Street Journal's report today:

"Hillary Clinton's chief campaign strategist met with Colombia's ambassador to the U.S. on Monday to discuss a bilateral free-trade agreement, a pact the presidential candidate opposes. Attendance by the adviser, Mark Penn, was confirmed by two Colombian officials. He wasn't there in his campaign role, but in his separate job as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, an international communications and lobbying firm. The firm has a contract with the South American nation to promote congressional approval of the trade deal, among other things, according to filings with the Justice Department...A spokesman for Colombia's President Álvaro Uribe said the ambassador met with Mr. Penn to discuss the bilateral agenda. ..The spokesman said he didn't know if Mr. Penn was representing Sen. Clinton or Burson-Marsteller, which signed a $300,000, one-year contract with the Colombian Embassy in March 2007 to work on behalf of the trade deal and anti-drug-trafficking initiatives, according to the Justice Department filings." (emphasis added)

So there you have it -- the person running a major American presidential campaign is simultaneously on the payroll of a foreign government pushing a bill that the next president would have to confront. And what's truly telling about this is the part about the Colombian government not knowing whether Penn was representing the Clinton campaign or his business clients. Put another way, the two interests are apparently so similar, there's almost no discernible difference -- even to the foreign government lining Penn's pocket. Clinton for President is the same thing as Burson-Marsteller for President, with Mark Penn as the Secretary of State-in-waiting.

There was a whole media storm over Barack Obama's economic adviser meeting with the Canadian government. That storm erupted even though the story was leaked by a right-wing, pro-NAFTA government, and even though we have no idea what was said in that meeting. We will see if a bigger media storm erupts over the Clinton-Colombia connection, considering money is changing hands, and also considering Colombia is a far cry from Canada when it comes to human rights. It's one thing to meet with Canadian officials, it's another thing to be on the payroll of a government that is one of the murderous in the entire hemisphere.

The fact that this disgusting Clinton-Colombia pay-to-play relationship is happening, and nobody -- not the media, not rival campaigns, nobody -- has said a thing about it for almost a year shows just how rampant the culture of corruption is in Washington.

For more on Colombia's record, see this post I did yesterday refuting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (which, of course, is trying to ram the Colombia agreement through Congress).

UPDATE: I forgot about this self-righteous nugget from Clinton during the Obama-Canada flap as reported by the Tribune:

Peering at the 50 or so reporters packed into a small hotel conference room here, [Clinton] added: "I would ask you to look at this story and substitute my name for Sen. Obama's name and see what you would do with this story... Just ask yourself [what you would do] if some of my advisers had been having private meetings with foreign governments."

I guess we will see what the media will do...

Comments

[BobOnThis]

Wish the clinton's would just shut-up and go away...

Politics has been reduced to who do you think is the least greasy man/woman standing!

Does anyone doubt these liarticians have been committing high crimes & misdemeanors as required to obtain money, power, and influence?

It's Manifest Destiny Baby... Orwellian Pigs Do Fly... may the worst scoundrel lose?

[aznurse]

Hey!! NY Times just reported that Marc Penn stepped down!

[PJay]

Breaking news -- it was just announced that Penn stepped down from the campaign.

[jsinclair]

Thank you. The connection between the Clinton campaign, Penn, and the Colombian government and trade deal couldn't be clearer.

"....the trade pact that Clinton SAYS she opposes...." Just like NAFTA. She's giving one message in public, while she gives another in private. It's interesting that various ex-Clinton administration advisors are getting $100,000 working for the Colombian government--and that lobbyist Penn, with his current access, is also on a foreign payroll.

I don't believe for a minute that Clinton's top advisor, a man so knowledgable about the issues and her campaign strategy--contacted the Colombian government without her knowledge. Nor is it coincidental that they began criticizing Obama shortly after Penn's meeting last week.

Dishonesty? Clinton? It's getting to be such a familiar refrain.

[aznurse]

hey ! NY times just reported Marc Penn stepped down!

[JFB]

We are told that the Columbian representatives have said that it was not clear if Penn was at the meeting as a representative of Hillary Clinton or of his lobbying company Burson-Marsteller Worldwide. I would hope that the media in this country would pursue this story further so that we can learn exactly what was said to the Columbian ambassador regarding Hillary Clinton’s support, or otherwise, of this new trade deal. What with his very high level position in the Clinton campaign, the Columbian’s must have asked Mark Penn about the degree of support, or otherwise, they might expect from Hillary Clinton.

Hey MSM, wee need to know this now!!!

[josephjsalas]

Notice how the Clintons never strategize for "FAIR TRADE"!

[ArchAngel]

Here's a new line of thought! (Too late for Billary to address this - any denial is mere pandering at this point on this.)

The Founding Fathers never ever wanted or expected an Ex-President to operate out of the White House turning it into a Whore House for huge money deals.

[Halsey]

David,

I've said it before...I'll say it again..I HOPE Obama picks you as his press secretary...you are honest and so smart for a young guy!...

Mark Penn will always bring me to Black water first..then colombia...and who knows what else.. He makes Rove look like a piker... friggin idiots...a­ctually..n­ot idiots..very smart..very rich guys...who are themselves tephlon coasted... what has happened to this country?

My faith is now in the hands of the younger generation..the "obama girls"..if you will..we baby boomers friggin blew it big time..and I am sorry we've given you this world to clean up... but...I will help as much as I can..as penance...

[ChandraSF]

Don't we just love Mark Penn? He was quick to declare that there is no conflict of interest between his role for the Clintons and that for the Colombian government. When someone, without being prompted, declares there is no conflict of interest, you can bet the farm it has conflict of interest written all over it. Good thing his fat ass got exposed.

In another story Clinton shows her total contempt for facts by attempting to milk an unverified and untrue story about a woman who was denied medical attention because she couldn't come up with $100.

Now, when that much promised 3am call comes in, is Hillary going to mis-speak, be mis-guided by one of her disloyal appointees, or is she just going to fabricate on the spot? That is certainly not a person I want answering phone calls on my behalf. This whole Clinton circus gets more farcical by the day.

[tea in the harbor]

This post is now outdated Penn has been fired by a banana republic because they found his ethics lacking!!! HILLARY, ON THE OTHER HAND...I'm laughing too hard to finish, you get the point!

[babar77]

I sure hope there are mailers with this going out in PA with this. I would love to see another childish "shame on you Obama!" moment from Clinton.

Clinton didn't lie last time she said "shame on you" to Obama - she just forgot to continue the thought - "Shame on you Obama! ... For telling the truth and ruining my campaign!"

[GManPhx]

This illustrates the point I've made all along: there is no difference between the Bushes and the Clintons; they both are wired into the same monied interests.

Mark Penn is also a lobbyist for Blackwater, yet Hillary was suprised to learn there were foreign contractors in Iraq.

Mark Penn's firm also is also a key advisor to John McCain. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why Hillary prefers John McCain to Obama.

The difference is stark: Obama is funded by the people, and is beholden to the people. Clinton is funded by the Washington fat cats who are determined to destroy the democratic party if she does not get the nomination. They now WANT THEIR TURN at the public trough...f­ortunately for Blackwater, they have all their bases covered,by one person: Mark Penn, so it doesn't matter to them if Clinton or McCain wins.

[madprogressive]

Tell me again why Hillary supporters are "fighting" for her. Another example of the stupidity of the American electorate. Ignore the lies of Clinton, the latest being on healthcare. Now, they are literally talking out of both sides of their mouths, Clinton opposes the Colombia trade deal and Mark Penn, her cheif strategist, is negotiating with the Colombian government on the trade deal she supposedly opposes. Now let's see her supporters explain this one. If they think she is really going to the White House to invalidate Bills presidency by revoking NAFTA, restoration of the Glass-Steagall Act, and re-regulating the banking and media industries, you are seriously retarded. This is not American Idol. America is in real trouble. The race nor gender of a politician matters. What matters are the policies they plan to implement. Don't get me wrong, Obama is no saviour, but he at least pretends like he'll make the necessary changes, and who knows if elected with that mandate, might actually come thru. Clinton is treating her supporters like Republicans treat theirs, absolute morons. I will vote Democratic in November for one reason, the Supreme Court. An Obama advisor is saying troops will be in Iraq until at least 2010. He didn't even have the decency and courage to attend the MLK memorials in Memphis yesterday for fear it would hurt him with rednecks in Pennsylvania. None of these candidates have any courage at all nor wil tell America the truth.

[Barbarossa03]

Well don't forget that if Obama is elected he'll probably receive opposition to his mandate from Senator Clinton.

[NABNYC]

When Southeast Asia was the center of the drug and heroin trade, the U.S. sent in troops, eventually launching a full-scale war, murdered over 2 million Vietnamese, and sprayed defoliant across much of the area to kill all the plants. Why? Why also are there well-documented and extensive reports of CIA planes bringing heroin into the U.S. during that time? Is the Rev. Wright quite so bizarre, as some say?

And the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, poppy central: is it to fight terrorists, to blow up the rubble, or is it to gain control of that part of the international drug business? It seems the U.S. military is being used mostly to provide protection to those drug growing and drug dealing countries that agree to pay a percentage to the U.S. elite. What is the U.S. military doing all over South America except propping up some of the drug cartels and providing goon and muscle service to wipe out their competition.

There's no war on terrorists, no war on drugs. The U.S. government engages in more terrorist activity every day than any of these other groups. Who do we think controls the international drug trade? The U.S. multinational resource-stealing teams like Halliburton and Blackwater, with their pr spokespeople like Cheney and Bush? Or some dude named Jose hiding out in a slum in Tijuana? More trade with Columbia? We own the only resource they want to export.

[ljsfolly]

I once again see the MSM failing to do anyting to explore the story and what it really means to our government and what it says about the dealings with such a horible government as Columbia is while all the time Bush trying to invade Iran. The Clintons should be exposed for the truth is what is needed and like with the Bush family all is being whitewashed as we go along here. MSM I am ashamed of you for failing us ance again. Isn't there anyone in MSM willing to write/speak the truth or are the good ones dead?