Cables Show Hillary Clinton's State Department Deeply Involved in Trans-Pacific Partnership

[HomerRamone]

http://www.ibtimes.com/cables-show-hillary-clintons-state-department-deeply-involved-trans-pacific-2032948

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday attempted to distance herself from the controversial 12-nation trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. During her tenure as U.S. secretary of state, Clinton publicly promoted the pact 45 separate times -- but with her Democratic presidential rivals making opposition to the deal a centerpiece of their campaigns, Clinton now asserts she was never involved in the initiative.

"I did not work on TPP," she said after a meeting with leaders of labor unions who oppose the pact. "I advocated for a multinational trade agreement that would 'be the gold standard.' But that was the responsibility of the United States Trade Representative."

But at a congressional hearing in 2011, Clinton told lawmakers that "with respect to the TPP, although the State Department does not have the lead on this -- it is the United States Trade Representative -- we work closely with the USTR." Additionally, State Department cables reviewed by International Business Times show that her agency -- including her top aides -- were deeply involved in the diplomatic deliberations over the trade deal. The cables from 2009 and 2010, which were among a trove of documents disclosed by the website WikiLeaks, also show that the Clinton-run State Department advised the U.S. Trade Representative’s office on how to negotiate the deal with foreign government officials.

In recent months, labor, environmental, public health and consumer advocacy groups have campaigned against the TPP, saying the pact is a stealth attempt by corporations to tilt the rules of international commerce in their favor. They have specifically criticized provisions in the deal -- which are secret but have periodically leaked -- that they say would empower corporations to use international tribunals to attempt to overturn public interest laws. The groups represent many core Democratic Party constituencies that Clinton has been courting in her White House bid, which explains why in the lead-up to the party's primary she has suddenly depicted herself as a critic of the deal. But the cables show that the Clinton-run State Department was indeed a major player in pushing the initiative.

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. How shocking that the Secretary of Stat'es deparment should be invovled in negotiation treaties with

foreign nations.

I mean, what the fuck is the job of the secretary of state, anyway.

[HomerRamone]

3. Then why is she denying it? nt

[SunSeeker]

29. She's not denying it. nt

[rateyes]

6. Why did she tell the AFL-CIO she wasn't involved?

Never mind. I am pretty sure I know the answer.

[Agnosticsherbet]

12. Her agency said "top aids" and "her agency" were involved.

At no point does it say that she negotiated anything with theml.

I suspect that is her POV.

[rateyes]

13. So, her aides did it, and she wasn't even

Consulted by those in her employ?

[Agnosticsherbet]

16. That is what the articles says. I think it is a form of plausible deniability.

which doesn't mean she wasn't involved.

[rateyes]

15. I see, the old plausible deniability thing!

[Agnosticsherbet]

17. Exactly.

[rateyes]

19. Gotcha.

[appal_jack]

37. Of course. What Americans need in a leader for 2016 is plausible deniability.

Yesiree, bob. What do Americans, faced with a jobless recovery, declining wages, ecosystem collapse, staggering corruption in the corporate and defense sectors, racial tension, urban decay, financial sector malfeasance going unpunished even as it continues to bankrupt Main St. USA, and raft of other serious societal problems really need and demand? How about a continuously duplicitous, insincere-sounding 'leader' with a passable quantity of plausible deniability to provide a veil over her ongoing work on behalf of the 1%?

I can hear the roars of approval from here.

-app

[rateyes]

38. +1

[beam me up scottie]

39. ^^^Kicking and reccing this post^^^

Bravo, app.

[appalachiablue]

42. K & R. Nice rant!

[azmom]

45. +1000000

[Cheese Sandwich]

46. +1

Very well said!

[awoke_in_2003]

41. So she was not responsible for the people

working for her? Oh, definitely presidential.

[Agnosticsherbet]

11. Techincally, Michael Froman is the negotiator in charge. Befor him, Ron Kirk

and they Report directly to the President.

They do not work for the Department of State. I suspect that any negotiation with foreign nations has at least some involvement by State.

[sulphurdunn]

33. Yes, one of her jobs

was to 'promote beneficial economic intercourse between the United States and other countries.' They key word being 'beneficial.' Now, the TPP is certainly beneficial. The important question is who it benefits?

[JaneyVee]

2. Of course a State Dept would be involved in a President's plan...

They serve the President.

[arcane1]

8. "I did not work on TPP" sounds like the opposite of that n/t

[JaneyVee]

10. Doesn't the cables say "aides"?

[rateyes]

14. Whose aides?

And to whom do those aides report?

[Luminous Animal]

18. Top aides.

While Clinton herself would not have been personally engaged in the nitty-gritty of hammering out the TPP, the State Department is represented at the table when trade deals are negotiated. Her downplaying of her role appears to contradict the view of at least one of her peers. Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, last month told Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin that Clinton “participated in everything we did in the first term in a meaningful way,” and “was instrumental in formulating and implementing the re-balance to Asia, of which the Trans-Pacific partnership is a part.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-30/courting-unions-clinton-says-she-didn-t-work-on-trans-pacific-partnership

[rateyes]

4. I haven't heard her criticize the deal.

[Faux pas]

5. What are

her untrustworthy ratings? This might be why.

[99th_Monkey]

20. +100 nt

[Faux pas]

21. ...

[msongs]

7. obama appointee involved in implementing obama goals and objectives. OMG! nt

[arcane1]

9. Read the post.

"Clinton now asserts she was never involved in the initiative"

Which is it?

[99th_Monkey]

22. Obama made her do it! Good one.

But it still doesn't answer why she's denying any involvement in TPP,
hiding behind "top aides" doesn't wash.

[Armstead]

23. One more reason that she makes me nervous

[fbc]

24. So she lied. pure and simple. "I did not work on TPP" is a lie.

I guess it depends on what your definition of "worked" is...

boy, that sounds familiar for some reason.

[askew]

25. That's impossible. She denied ever working on TPP to Dan Merica at CNN yesterday.

And she never lies, so these cables must be false.

[jalan48]

26. Oh my, isn't she the dodgy lady.

[Geronimoe]

27. It depends on what is, is

She has a good excuse, she was to busy insalling the Gov email server in her & Bill's home.

[Jackilope]

28. I do not trust her, whether it be TPP or Keystone XL. Too cozy with corporatists. EOM

[ChiciB1]

30. I AM NOT Surprised... This Is SOP That I've Seen Happening

for far too many years. Not even going to bother relying to defend my position as to why I don't trust her, fact is... I DON'T TRUST HER! More could be said, by WHY??

[silvershadow]

31. nt

[RufusTFirefly]

32. Don't fret, Hillary fans!

Right now only political junkies are paying attention. By the time that John and Jane Q. Public tune in, you can easily distract them with a barrage of expensively produced, content-free political ads. Relax. It's going to be OK.

[magical thyme]

34. "I did not work on TPP," she said after a meeting with leaders of labor unions who oppose the pact.

color me surprised.

[magical thyme]

35. I wonder how many words her scathing reply about these fraudulent cables will be.

Actually, never mind. I don't wonder because I don't care. She lost any support from me back in '08. Nothing she's done since then has won it back and at this point, nothing will.

[turbinetree]

36. And now the rest of the story.............................

will be what----------------trust me--------------------why?

http://www.ibtimes.com/hillary-clinton-trans-pacific-partnership-obama-aide-calls-her-out-tpp-past-1975980

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/27/hillary-clintons-top-state-department-aides-pass-revolving-door-lobby-passage-tpp/

[Scuba]

40. Anyone who trusts her is either incredibly naive or complicit with the oligarchs plans.

[moobu2]

43. This is like blaming Hillary Clinton for bills Bill Clinton signed

Or like saying Hillary Clinton sent out classified emails even though the emails were classified well after she left office. It's just mixing up a bunch of facts with some innuendo thrown in that amounts to nothing in the end.

[azmom]

44. Disastrous trade bills like the TPP have a direct impact

on immigration. Immigration activists are against the TPP as it displaces communities and it increases economic pressure on people to migrate.


It is obvious what side Hillary is on, and it is not with the immigrant community.


http://www.presente.org/campaign/latino-legislators-mia-on-tpp/original_email/

[Cheese Sandwich]

52. We haven't heard much about trade deals as a driver of immigration

but it certainly seems to be the case.

They say NAFTA had bad affects that ended up driving a lot of Mexican farm workers off the farms.

[ericson00]

47. IB Times is a Murdoch owned rag

which publishes stuff like this, the false Trump-Perot comparisons, so I'm not surprised about them trying to pit liberals against Hillary with this kind of thing.

Also, has anyone noticed that in case the Dept of State was for the TPP, how Obama is pushing it himself? As bad as it sounds; we need free trade because no major political party is viable without some corporate support. There's a reason both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are free-trade presidents.

[TheKentuckian]

48. Say anything/open mouth whopper flies out/panderrific strikes again.

[antigop]

49. Hillary's Business Legacy at State Dept (leading part in drafting TPP)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101667554

[Cheese Sandwich]

50. Seems she worked on it before she didn't work on it.

Some day she may work on it again and then not have worked on it.

[cantbeserious]

51. Surprise - Surprise - Better To Never Trust A Corpratist

eom