Latest Clinton Email Dump Exposes ‘Off-the-Record’ Backchannel with Israel

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A newly uncovered batch of Hillary Clinton's classified emails has exposed a secret "100% off-the-record" backchannel she had with Israel, along with her plot with a former aide to thwart "Jewish leadership" in the United States.

On Thursday, political watchdog Judicial Watch released what it describes as the "final batch" of emails recovered by the FBI from the 33,000 emails Hillary tried to "delete or destroy" from her unsecured private email server.

The heavily redacted, classified files from Clinton's personal email server revealed that the former secretary of state discussed establishing a "private, 100% off-the-record" back channel to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Email threads also reveal conversations in which one of her top aides warned the Clinton that she was in "danger" of being "savaged by Jewish organizations, in the Jewish press and among the phalanx of neoconservative media" as a result of political machinations by "Bibi [Netanyahu] and the Jewish leadership."

The 756-page group of new documents, revealed Thursday as part of a transparency lawsuit by Judicial Watch, seemingly contradicted Clinton's insistence under oath in 2015 that she had turned over all of her sensitive work-related emails to the State Department.

The files included a slew of classified communications on everything from foreign policy to State Department personnel matters.

The emails came from a trove of 72,000 documents recovered by the FBI and turned over to the State Department in 2017.

The documents, representing a small proportion of the tens of thousands of emails still unaccounted for from Clinton's server, also underscored the apparently significant political threat that the Obama administration felt it faced at the hands of Israel.

Tom Fitton's organization, Judicial Watch, has also drawn attention to a few notable email exchanges, including one lengthy conversation between Sid Blumenthal and Clinton in which the former aide warns about an effort "coordinated by Jewish institutional leaders" designed to undermine an Obama appointment and laying out a plan to thwart that alleged effort.

The pair proceed to devise a "good cop, bad cop" plot to undermine Jewish leaders in the US.

"The bad cop must be a political appointee, Jewish, considered the true friend of Israel," Blumenthal suggested to Clinton.

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According to the Daily Wire, in the memo, titled "Good Cop, Bad Cop" and sent on January 29, 2009, Blumenthal proposed a plan to Clinton designed to counter an alleged "attack" by U.S. "Jewish leadership" on President Obama's appointment of former Sen. George Mitchell as Special Envoy to the Middle East.

"The same sources that informed me during the campaign that Sarah Palin had been invited to the Israel rally that you were scheduled to address without telling you are now saying that the attack last week by Abe Foxman of ADL on the appointment of George Mitchell as Special Envoy to the Middle East was coordinated by Jewish institutional leaders and carefully scripted," Blumenthal wrote.

Blumenthal suggested that Mitchell's Arab descent made him "vulnerable" to the alleged "coordinated" attack:

"Malcolm Hoenlein, vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, is the chief organizer," wrote Blumenthal.

"Foxman was chosen as point man to shoot the first round, but he was hardly acting alone.

"Foxman's remark that Mitchell is neutral and therefore suspect simply lays down a marker.

"Mitchell is distrusted for his previous work and statements on the issue.

"That he is of Arab descent, which has deliberately gone unmentioned for now but may be used later, makes him politically vulnerable, whatever his qualifications, skill or stature."

Blumenthal then warned that his sources say Netanyahu is informing the Jewish leadership about everything Clinton told him.

"The same sources tell me that every one of your conversations and communications with Bibi Netanyah u [sic] flows directly and instantly back to top Jewish leadership," he wrote.

"You should, of course, assume that nothing involving him is private." 

He later said of Netanyahu:

"Bibi and the Jewish leadership should be expected to use political means, including outsourcing personal attacks, to counter moves the administration seeks in any peace process or initiating any negotiations.

"As you know, Bibi is deeply connected to political networks in the US-media, Jewish groups, Republican leaders, and right-wing Christian right organizations."

Blumenthal also accused Jewish organizations of having "savaged" Secretary of State James Baker for his pro-Palestinian negotiations actions.

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He concluded by presenting his "bad cop" proposal:

"In order to protect yourself and your emissaries in the diplomatic effort from the inevitably intense fire of which the Foxman incident is only a portent, you need a political heat shield.

"That barrier must be a person. That person should not be a diplomat (though Mitchell is already targeted and will receive incoming).

"That person should be organically tied to the President, invested with his authority and have an explicitly political brief.

"That person should be the bad cop.

"The bad cop must be a political appointee, Jewish, considered the true friend of Israel, and be understood as representing the president's will.

"The bad cop should already have sternly rebuked Foxman to send the message back not to play with fire."

Clinton replied to the memo by writing: "Thanks for these. And I will call you in the next few days."

Below is the full, unedited text from the memo:

For: Hillary

From: Sid

Re: Good Cop, Bad Cop

1. The same sources that informed me during the campaign that Sarah Palin had been invited to the Israel rally that you were scheduled to address without telling you are now saying that the attack last week by Abe Foxman of ADL on the appointment of George Mitchell as Special Envoy to the Middle East was coordinated by Jewish institutional leaders and carefully scripted. Malcolm Hoenlein, vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, is the chief organizer. Foxman was chosen as point man to shoot the first round, but he was hardly acting alone. Foxman's remark that Mitchell is neutral and therefore suspect simply lays down a marker. Mitchell is distrusted for his previous work and statements on the issue. That he is of Arab descent, which has deliberately gone unmentioned for now but may be used later, makes him politically vulnerable, whatever his qualifications, skill or stature. (Foxman: "Sen. Mitchell is fair. He's been meticulously even-handed. But the fact is, American policy in the Middle East hasn't been 'even handed' - it has been supportive of Israel when it felt Israel needed critical U.S. support. So I'm concerned. I'm not sure the situation requires that kind of approach in the Middle East.")

2. The same sources tell me that every one of your conversations and communications with Bibi Netanyah u flows directly and instantly back to top Jewish leadership. You should, of course, assume that nothing involving him is private. Though Livni and Barak signed on to the Gaza adventure and thought they would receive political credit, only Bibi is gaining in the aftermath. The guiding assumption must be that he will likely become the next Israeli prime minister. (See report in today's NYT: "Gaza War Gives Bigger Lift to Israel's Right Than to Those in Power, By Isabel Kirschner, Jerusalem- With two weeks to go before the Israeli elections, the politicians who seem to have benefited the most from the military offensive against Hamas in Gaza are those who were not involved in planning or carrying out the war. That is not because Israelis have regrets or have become faint-hearted about the casualties and destruction in Gaza. To the contrary, there appears to have been a shift further to the right, reflecting a feeling among many voters that an even tougher approach may now be required. Recent polls indicate that Likud, Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing opposition party, has retained and even increased its lead. The other party that appears to have gained the most ground is the nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman.")

3. In June 1990, after Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir proposed stringent conditions for peace talks with the Palestinians intended to sabotage negotiations, Secretary of State James Baker, testifying before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, recited the White House general telephone number and said, "call us when you are serious about peace." Baker's tough stance stunned the Israelis and eventually helped pressure Shamir into the process. Baker presented himself as an honest broker and neutral party (like Mitchell), but he never recovered his full ability to operate, though his actions led to the Madrid talks that began the modern peace process. He was savaged by Jewish organizations, in the Jewish press and among the phalanx of neoconservative media. (That President George H.W. Bush's chief of staff John Sununu was of Arab descent provided a leitmotif.) To this day, despite his extraordinary effectiveness, Baker is limited in how he might ever be used in the Middle East.

4. You are always in danger of being maneuvered into Baker's position. Mitchell is even more immediately in danger. Gen. Jones, widely distrusted by Jewish leadership, is wisely keeping a very low profile, but to the extent he emerges will be in danger and targeted as Baker redux ( and Scowcroft's stalking horse).

5. Bibi and the Jewish leadership should be expected to use political means, including outsourcing personal attacks, to counter moves the administration seeks in any peace process or initiating any negotiations. As you know, Bibi is deeply connected to political networks in the US-media, Jewish groups, Republican leaders, and right-wing Christian right organizations. (In 1998, Bibi tried to undermine President Clinton's peace process by meeting in the US with and mobilizing nearly every influential conservative columnist, the leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, Jerry Falwell, Fox News, etc.)

6. In order to protect yourself and your emissaries in the diplomatic effort from the inevitably intense fire of which the Foxman incident is only a portent, you need a political heat shield. That barrier must be a person. That person should not be a diplomat (though Mitchell is already targeted and will receive incoming). That person should be organically tied to the President, invested with his authority and have an explicitly political brief. That person should be the bad cop. The bad cop must be a political appointee, Jewish, considered the true friend of Israel, and be understood as representing the president's will. The bad cop should already have sternly rebuked Foxman to send the message back not to play with fire. The bad cop