Ex-Clinton staffer named stock trader to intelligence board

Hillary Clinton’s former chief of staff at the State Department appointed a stock trader and prolific Democratic donor to an intelligence advisory board, according to ABC News.

{mosads}Rajiv Fernando’s appointment to the International Security Advisory Board, a panel made up mostly of nuclear scientists and security experts, prompted questions from ABC in 2012 over his apparent lack of qualifications. 

A press aide for Clinton expressed concern about the appointment in one email to two other State Department officials after ABC News raised questions about Fernando.

“I have spoken to [State Department official and ISAB Executive Director Richard Hartman] privately, and it appears there is much more to this story that we’re unaware of,” wrote Clinton press aide Jamie Mannina in one of the newly released internal emails. “We must protect the Secretary’s and Under Secretary’s name, as well as the integrity of the Board. I think it’s important to get down to the bottom of this before there’s any response.

“As you can see from the attached, it’s natural to ask how he got onto the board when compared to the rest of the esteemed list of members,” Mannina continued.

“The true answer is simply that S staff (Cheryl Mills) added him,” another State Department official responded. “Raj was not on the list sent to (Clinton); he was added at their insistence.”

Fernando announced that he was stepping down from the panel days after ABC asked the State Department for his resume, which they never provided. 

Fernando, who at the time was the head of the high frequency trading firm Chopper Trading, was a prolific donor to both Clinton and President Obama. He bundled over $100,000 for Clinton’s 2008 primary campaign before fundraising for Obama in the general election. He’s also given between $100,000 and $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation.

The new emails were provided to ABC by the conservative group Citizens United, which obtained the missives through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The Clinton campaign through a spokesman told ABC that the ISAB’s charter calls for the panel to be made up of “a balance of backgrounds and points of view. Furthermore, it is not unusual for the State Department Chief of Staff to be involved in personnel matters.”