THE HILL: WikiLeaks hack reveals cozy relationship between Clinton campaign, super PAC.
A top attorney for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign sent a memo to campaign aides teaching them how to legally communicate with a pro-Clinton super-PAC, emails released Monday by WikiLeaks show.
While Clinton has claimed her campaign has nothing to do with the super PAC Priorities USA, a leaked email from the personal account of Clinton’s campaign chair John Podesta suggests differently.
In the email, Clinton attorney Marc Elias outlined what amounts to a strategy for steering large campaign donors to the super PAC without breaking the law.
Elias told Clinton campaign officials it would be OK to tell staff at the super PAC: “Donor A works in financial services and has been a long-time contributor. I think she’d be willing to do six figures for Priorities.”
But not recommended, writes Elias, would be for the Clinton campaign official to say to a super PAC official: “I want you to call Donor A and ask for $250,000.”
Super PACs are independent groups that can spend as much as they wish boosting a candidate so long as staffers at the outside group don’t coordinate strategy or messaging with the campaign.
Priorities USA supports Clinton’s presidential bid and raised more than $150 million from donors like the hedge fund billionaire George Soros.
During a PBS debate against Bernie Sanders in February, Clinton claimed she had nothing to do with the group.
Lies.