November 26, 2015

Hard hitting investigative reporter of the day

Gawker - Gawker has received another batch of Hillary Clinton aide Philippe Reines’ emails with reporters while working for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Among Reines’ more frequent correspondents, it turns out, is [Politico's] Mike Allen. In an email dated January 10, 2013 and addressed to Reines, then serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Allen floated the idea of interviewing Clinton’s adult daughter, Chelsea, during an upcoming brunch hosted by Politico. Attempting to secure an interview with the daughter of a likely presidential candidate is, of course, far from unheard of. What makes Allen’s ask unusual is that he appears to assure Reines that he’ll produce totally positive coverage of Chelsea Clinton:

This would be a way to send a message during inaugural week: No one besides me would ask her a question, and you and I would agree on them precisely in advance. This would be a relaxed conversation, and our innovative format (like a speedy Playbook Breakfast) always gets heavy social-media pickup. The interview would be “no-surprises”: I would work with you on topics, and would start with anything she wants to cover or make news on. Quicker than a network hit, and reaching an audience you care about with no risk.
Allen apparently received the go-ahead from Reines, because in an another email sent an hour later, Allen told Reines (again, bolding ours):

Will def. write Matt if that’s what you recommend. I was just hoping for your confidential advice on what topics they’re most interested in — what might maximize chances. I think this is something she would like: a way to send a message on a big weekend, but in a no-risk way, since they know I would stick to topics we agree on.
(“Matt” appears to refer to Chelsea Clinton’s spokesman, Matt McKenna, who now works for Uber. Records of the live event Allen was organizing—the Inauguration 2013 New Leaders Brunch—indicate that Clinton ultimately declined Allen’s generous offer not to ask her any questions that she didn’t already know about.)

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