New York Times editorial joins
those urging Democratic presidential candidate to release transcripts of
controversial speeches
From the New York Times
editorial board to a Republican-friendly super PAC, it appears unease is
widespread over Hillary Clinton's continued refusal to release transcripts of
recent paid speeches she gave to some of Wall Street's most powerful
firms.
In a sharply-worded editorial
in Friday's print edition, the Times described Clinton's excuses for not
releasing the transcripts as those of a "mischievous child, not a
presidential candidate"—arguing that "public interest in these
speeches is legitimate" and that by "stonewalling" their release
"Mrs. Clinton plays into the hands of those who say she’s not trustworthy
and makes her own rules."
However, in an interview with MSNBC's
Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough that aired Friday morning, Clinton again
defended her relationship with Wall Street and said the voting public has no
need to worry about what she may have said in the speeches
that earned her millions of dollars.
"Can you assure the
American people that you didn't say anything in those speeches that would
undermine your promise to be tough on Wall Street?" asked Brzezinksi.
"Absolutely, absolutely.
Absolutely," responded Clinton. "And besides, I'm on the public
record. I told them what I'm going to do. I said I'm going to go after big
banks that pose a systemic risk. I want you to hold me accountable for that
because I will do that exactly."
Clinton's reasoning, however,
runs headlong into what her critics are charging. How can they be sure that
what she has said publicly as a candidate squares with what she told bankers in
a more private setting?
As the Times editorial notes,
even for those who might be eager to support her, Clinton "is damaging her
credibility among Democrats who are begging her to show them that she’d run an
accountable and transparent White House."
The editorial adds:
Voters have every right to
know what Mrs. Clinton told these groups. In July, her spokesman Nick
Merrill said that
though most speeches were private, the Clinton operation “always opened
speeches when asked to.” Transcripts of speeches that have been leaked have
been pretty innocuous. By refusing to release them all, especially
the bank speeches, Mrs. Clintonfuels
speculation about why she’s stonewalling.
Her conditioning her releases
on what the Republicans might or might not do is mystifying. Republicans make
no bones about their commitment to Wall Street deregulation and tax cuts for
the wealthiest Americans. Mrs. Clinton is laboring to convince struggling
Americans that she will rein in big banks, despite taking their money.
The other issue, as evidenced
by a new ad attacking Clinton over the speeches, is the way in which the
Republican Party and its surrogates will almost certainly exploit this weak
spot during the general election if, in fact, she secures the Democratic
nomination.
As CNN reported
on Thursday:
A conservative super PAC tied
to a number of top Republican donors will start airing an ad Saturday that
knocks Hillary Clinton for delivering paid speeches to Wall Street and
corporate groups and refusing to release the transcripts of those speeches.
The ad, which will air on CNN
and MSNBC through Super Tuesday and was made by the group Future45, is the most
recent attempt by Republicans to force Clinton to release transcripts of her
paid speeches.
"Hillary Clinton gave
speeches to the biggest banks on Wall Street after one of the worst financial
crises in American history," a narrator says over video of a Clinton
look-alike opening a check from Goldman Sachs. "But Hillary won't tell us
what she said to those banks. They paid her over 1 million dollars and are
contributing millions more to elect her."
Questioned about the
right-wing attack ad, Clinton's campaign told CNN they see it as just another
attempt by Republicans to boost her rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen.
Bernie Sanders.
"This is just another
instance of Republican Super PACs echoing Bernie Sanders' personal attacks
against Hillary Clinton," said Brian Fallon, Clinton's press secretary.
"The Wall Street hedge funds bankrolling these ads are propping up Senator
Sanders because it is Hillary Clinton they fear the most."
That may or may not be true.
However, as many
polls and much reporting have shown, Sanders continues to outperform
Clinton when it comes to hypothetical match-ups against the remaining
Republican candidates, including Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and frontrunner D
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