A Few Things We'd Like to Know

As Clinton Prepares To Face Americans At A Town Hall In D.C., A Look At The Questions Still Facing Her Would-Be Campaign

Tonight, Hillary Clinton Will Participate In A Town Hall In Washington, D.C. “Amanpour will moderate the only network televised town hall with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, June 17th at 5 pm ET. The special broadcast before a live audience selected by CNN, will take place at the Newseum in Washington DC.  The Town Hall will air on CNN and simulcast worldwide on CNN International and CNN en Espanol.” (“CNN And Tumblr Team Up For Live Hillary Clinton Town Hall: Hard Choices,” CNN, 6/12/14)

• Clinton Will Answer Questions “With No Subjects Off Limits.” “Clinton will take questions from Amanpour and members of the public ‘with no subjects off limits,’ a press release states. ‘Leading up to the broadcast, Jake Tapper will anchor a special hour of The Lead live from the Newseum. Following the Town Hall, Wolf Blitzer will anchor The Situation Room from the Newseum, where he will speak to members of the audience.’” (Dylan Byers, “Hillary Clinton To Do CNN Town Hall,” Politico, 6/3/14)

KEYSTONE PIPELINE

You Have Avoided Answering On The Keystone Pipeline In Recent Appearances And In Your New Memoir. Can You Say Tonight Whether You Think Keystone Should Be Approved?

Yesterday, A Canadian Television Anchor Called Out Hillary Clinton For Her Keystone Dodge. ANCHOR: “Keystone. Yes or no?”  CLINTON: “Well, I can’t say that because I was there –” ANCHOR: “I don’t understand that. Why can’t you, you can talk about so many other things, why can you talk about –” (NewsNet-TV CTV, 6/16/14)

On Sunday, Clinton Avoided Answering Whether She Thinks The Keystone Pipeline Should Be Approved. QUESTION: “Most people believe that Washington’s partisan politics – not environmental concerns – have held up the decision on the Keystone pipeline. What do you say to Canadians who feel that our special relationship is being taken for granted?” CLINTON: “Our relationship is so much bigger and more important than any one decision – even one as important as this is. Canada is critical to who we are and what we hope to do together in the future. We have no better relationship. [But] this particular decision is a very difficult one because there are so many factors at play. I can’t really comment at great length because I had responsibility for it and it’s been passed on and it wouldn’t be appropriate, but I hope that Canadians appreciate that the United States government – the Obama administration – is trying to get it right. And getting it right doesn’t mean you will agree or disagree with the decision, but that it will be one based on the best available evidence and all of the complex local, state, federal, interlocking laws and concerns.” QUESTION: “So do you personally believe that the U.S. should go ahead with the pipeline?” CLINTON: “I can’t respond.” (Craig Offman, “Q&A With Hillary Clinton: ‘Stand For Your Values’ On The Hard Choices,” The Globe And Mail, 6/15/14)

• Clinton On Keystone: “I Can’t Respond.” QUESTION: “So do you personally believe that the U.S. should go ahead with the pipeline?” CLINTON: “I can’t respond.”(Craig Offman, “Q&A With Hillary Clinton: ‘Stand For Your Values’ On The Hard Choices,” The Globe And Mail, 6/15/14)

Those Waiting To Hear Clinton’s Position On Keystone “Will Have To Keep Biding Their Time As Her New Book, Despite Stretching To Some 600 Pages, Doesn’t Mention The Project.” “Fans and opponents waiting to hear Hillary Clinton’s position on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline will have to keep biding their time as her new book, despite stretching to some 600 pages, doesn’t mention the project.” (Alex Seitz-Wald, “Hillary Clinton Steers Clear Of Keystone Pipeline In New Book,” National Journal, 6/9/14)

• National Journal Headline: “Hillary Clinton Steers Clear Of Keystone Pipeline In New Book” (Alex Seitz-Wald, “Hillary Clinton Steers Clear Of Keystone Pipeline In New Book,” National Journal, 6/9/14)

In March, Clinton Answered “No Comment” When Asked About Keystone At An Appearance In Vancouver. “During a March speaking appearance in Vancouver, former Canadian Ambassador to the United States Frank McKenna tried to ask Clinton about the pipeline. ‘No comment,’ she replied, explaining that it would be improper for her to comment on a decision still pending before State.” (Alex Seitz-Wald, “Hillary Clinton Steers Clear Of Keystone Pipeline In New Book,” National Journal, 6/9/14)

DEATH TAX

You’ve Advocated For The Death Tax In Your Political Career, But Have Worked Hard To Personally Avoid Paying The Tax. Do You Think This Is Contradictory And How Can You Explain This To American Voters?

“Bill And Hillary Clinton Have Long Supported An Estate Tax To Prevent The U.S. From Being Dominated By Inherited Wealth. That Doesn’t Mean They Want To Pay It.” (Richard Rubin, “Wealthy Clintons Use Trusts To Limit Estate Tax They Back,” Bloomberg, 6/17/14)

• The Clintons Use “Financial Planning Strategies Befitting The Top 1 Percent Of U.S. Households In Wealth” – A Strategy “Common Among Multimillionaires” – In Order To Limit The Tax. “To reduce the tax pinch, the Clintons are using financial planning strategies befitting the top 1 percent of U.S. households in wealth. These moves, common among multimillionaires, will help shield some of their estate from the tax that now tops out at 40 percent of assets upon death. The Clintons created residence trusts in 2010 and shifted ownership of their New York house into them in 2011, according to federal financial disclosures and local property records.” (Richard Rubin, “Wealthy Clintons Use Trusts To Limit Estate Tax They Back,” Bloomberg, 6/17/14)

Hillary Clinton In 2002: “Hard To Understand” Why We Are Trying To Repeal The Death Tax. CLINTON: “If we were going to be talking about repealing taxes, there are taxes that affect far more Americans and really have an impact on the kind of lives that Americans lead. …Instead, we are debating the wealth tax. It is hard to understand why we are having this debate, except, with all due respect, my colleagues believe it is absolutely the most important issue we can be discussing at this time.” (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Congressional Record, 6/12/02, p. S5420)

Hillary Clinton In 2002: Death Tax Repeal Efforts “Strike Me As Bizarre.” CLINTON: “The inheritance tax was created to finance the wars of the 19th century. The notion of repealing it, when we are under constant threat, when we have to spend billions of dollars to protect ourselves in ways we never had to think about before, strikes me as bizarre.” (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Congressional Record, 6/12/02, p. S5419)

In 2006, Hillary Clinton Criticized Repeal Of The Death Tax And The “Millionaires And Billionaires” Who Want To “Pay Nothing When They Transfer Their Huge Estates To Their Heirs.” “Repeal of the inheritance tax would have set aside $1 trillion so that the small fraction of millionaires and billionaires in this country would pay nothing when they transfer their huge estates to their heirs.” (Sen. Hillary Clinton, “Statement Of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton On Estate Tax Vote,” Press Release, 6/8/06)

Hillary Clinton In 2007: “I Will Strongly Support The Maintenance Of The Estate Tax.” CLINTON: “But, I will strongly support the maintenance of the estate tax.” (CNBC’s “Fast Money,” 12/11/07)

CLINTON’S ROCKY BOOK TOUR

The First Week Of Your “Carefully Scripted” Book Rollout Has Been Described As “Unpolished,” “Tone Deaf,” And “Not Quite Ready For Primetime.” Were You Not Ready To Be Back In The Spotlight And Are You Making The Same Mistakes That Haunted Your 2008 Campaign?

Hillary Clinton’s Book Rollout Was “Carefully Scripted” With “High-Profile Television Interviews And Planned Leaks To The News Media.” “Finally, after a carefully scripted rollout that included high-profile television interviews and planned leaks to the news media, Mrs. Clinton arrived just after 11 a.m. for her first book signing on a nationwide tour to promote her new memoir, ‘Hard Choices.’” (Amy Chozick, “”Fans Wait Hours To See Hillary Clinton At Book Signing,” The New York Times, 6/10/14)

“The Rollout Of Hillary Clinton’s New Memoir, ‘Hard Choices,’ Hasn’t Been Exactly Smooth.” (Jonathan Capehart, “Positive And Negative ‘Hard Choices’ For Hillary Clinton,” The Washington Post, 6/16/14)

• “This Is Not The Carefully-Orchestrated, Smooth-Sailing Book Tour And Foray Back Into The Public Sphere That Hillary Clinton Had Imagined.” (Aliyah Frumin, “Hillary Clinton’s Big Book Week Is A Rocky One,” MSNBC, 6/13/14)

Week One Of Clinton’s Book Tour “Proved A Tougher Slog” Than She Would Have Preferred. “Yet Week One of Mrs. Clinton’s book tour proved a tougher slog than the once-and-probably-future presidential candidate might have preferred.” (Peter Nicholas, “Clinton Finds Hurdles On Book Tour,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/15/14)

• The Wall Street Journal Headline: “Clinton Finds Hurdles On Book Tour” (Peter Nicholas, “Clinton Finds Hurdles On Book Tour,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/15/14)

Throughout Her Appearances, Clinton Has Appeared “Unpolished,” “Out Of Practice,” And “Tone Deaf.” “Mrs. Clinton looked unpolished in some of her appearances, critics said, fueling perceptions that she’s out of practice after a six-year sabbatical from the rough-and-tumble of national politics. She sounded tone deaf when she talked about her family emerging from the White House in 2001 “dead broke,” gliding over the reality that her husband possessed earning potential that no ordinary American could match.” (Peter Nicholas, “Clinton Finds Hurdles On Book Tour,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/15/14)

• Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin On Clinton’s Week: “She Was Rusty.” “Said Halperin, ‘She was rusty. To handle the wealth question the way she did did not show a lot of deftness, a lot of finesse.’” (Dylan Byers, “Halperin, Heilemann Slam ‘Rusty’ Clinton,” Politico, 6/12/14)

• Politico’s Maggie Haberman: Clinton “Sounds Not Quite Ready For Primetime.” HABERMAN: “Today there was the audio that you just played and I think when you combine them together, she sounds not quite ready for primetime in these moments where she has to get hard questions.” (CNN’s “The Lead,” 6/12/14)

BENGHAZI

In Your New Memoir, You Say That The YouTube Video Was “Indeed A Factor” In The Benghazi Attacks, But Top Officials – Including The Democrat Chair Of The Senate Intelligence Committee – Say Otherwise. Why Do You Continue To Defend Susan Rice’s Sunday Show Account And Insist That The Attacks Were Based On A Video?

In Her Memoir, Clinton Again Blames An Anti-Islamic Video For Playing A Role In Benghazi, Arguing It Was “Indeed A Factor” And Calling It A “Common Sense” Assumption. “I myself went back and forth on what likely happened, who did it, and what mix of factors— like the video— played a part. But it was unquestionably inciting the region and triggering protests all over, so it would have been strange not to consider, as days of protests unfolded, that it might have had the same effect here, too. That’s just common sense. Later investigation and reporting confirmed that the video was indeed a factor. All we knew at that time with complete certainty was that Americans had been killed and others were still in danger.” (Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hard Choices, 2014)

• Clinton: “Susan Stated What The Intelligence Community Believed, Rightly Or Wrongly, At The Time. That Was The Best She Or Anyone Could Do.” (Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hard Choices, 2014)

Former Deputy Chief Of Mission Greg Hicks: “I Think Everybody In The Mission Thought It Was A Terrorist Attack From The Beginning.” “‘I think everybody in the mission thought it was a terrorist attack from the beginning,’ Greg Hicks, a 22-year foreign service diplomat who was the highest-ranking U.S. official in Libya after the strike, told investigators under authority of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Hicks, the former U.S. Embassy Tripoli deputy chief of mission, was not in Benghazi at the time of the attack, which killed Chris Stevens – then the U.S. ambassador to Libya – and three other Americans.” (Lindsey Boerman, “Official: We Knew Benghazi Was Sa Terrorist Attack ‘From The Get-Go,’” CBS News, 5/5/13)

Senate Intelligence Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), On The Idea Benghazi Evolved From A Protest Against The Video: “It Doesn’t Jibe With Me.” “She also disputed the notion that the Sept. 11, 2012, assault evolved from a protest against the video, which was widely disseminated by Islamic clerics shortly before the attack. ‘It doesn’t jibe with me,’ she said.” (Julian Pecquet, “Feinstein Rejects NYT On Benghazi,” The Hill, 1/14/14)

Retired Africom General: I Dismissed The Idea That Benghazi Resulted From A YouTube Video. REP. ISSA: “And in the hours that ensued after the attack on our consulate compound in Benghazi, did you hear YouTube video?” GEN. LOVELL: “Briefly discussed, but not from any serious standpoint.” REP. ISSA: “What time did you first hear that there was a video, roughly?” GEN. LOVELL: “It would — it was early on in the evening of September 11th.” REP. ISSA: “Before 3:15 in the morning.” GEN. LOVELL: “Yeah, absolutely. We were — absolutely; I would have to say probably dismissed that notion by then, by working with other sources.” REP. ISSA: “OK. I just want to follow up with this one last thing. You heard about this early on, and you — as the deputy and the highest-ranking person that moment, working these issues, you dismissed the idea that this attack was, in fact, a demonstration that went awry and was based on a YouTube video out of Los Angeles.” GEN. LOVELL: “Yes, sir; short answer.” (House Oversight And Government Reform Committee Hearing, Benghazi, Instability, And A New Government: Successes And Failures Of U.S. Intervention In Libya, 5/1/14)

Former Deputy CIA Director Mike Morell: “When [Rice] Talked About The Video, My Reaction Was, That’s Not Something That The Analysts Have Attributed This Attack To.” MORELL: “I did not see her on the Sunday shows. As I said, I was in a deputies’ meeting, and I–” MILLER: “You’ve never seen it since?” MORELL: “–it was probably days later that I read what she said on the shows.” MILLER: “And what was your reaction when you finally did?” MORELL: “My reaction was twofold. One was that what she said about the attacks evolving spontaneously from a protest was exactly what the talking points said, and it was exactly what the intelligence community analysts believed. When she talked about the video, my reaction was, that’s not something that the analysts have attributed this attack to.” (House Permanent Select Committee On Intelligence, Hearing, 4/2/14)

OBAMACARE

You Supported An Individual Mandate During Your 2008 Campaign And As Part Of ObamaCare. But Recently Released Documents Show That You Were Specifically Warned In The White House Of Many Of The Consequences Being Felt Today Due To ObamaCare’s Mandate. Were You Wrong On Health Care?

In A Memo To Bill And Hillary Clinton, Ira Magaziner Argued The Individual Mandate Was A “Radical Departure From Today’s System” And Could Leave Families As The “Ones Hardest Hit.” “Individual Mandate: The latest proposal being floated by Senator Bradley is a trigger to an individual mandate. We have consistently stated that we have concerns about an individual mandate. It is a radical departure from today’s system, and workers are not likely to believe that their employers will continue providing coverage, particularly during a time when employers are dropping coverage and reducing benefits. If employers dropped their coverage, families would be the ones hardest hit. (Ira Magaziner, Memo To Bill And Hillary Clinton, 6/22/94)

• “The Cost Of Coverage For Low-Wage Worker Families Could Become Unaffordable And Middle-Income Workers Who Don’t Qualify For Subsidies Would Be Vulnerable.” (Ira Magaziner, Memo To Bill And Hillary Clinton, 6/22/94)

In The 2008 Campaign, “The Centerpiece Of Clinton’s Plan Is The So-Called ‘Individual Mandate,’ Requiring Everyone To Have Health Insurance—Just As Most States Require Drivers To Purchase Auto Insurance.” (Beth Fouhy, “Clinton To Offer Health Care Plan,” Associated Press, 9/17/07)

As Someone Who Pushed For Health Care Reform While First Lady, Hillary Clinton Also Pushed For ObamaCare. “President Obama receives a congratulatory hug from Hillary Clinton the day after the House passed the Affordable Care Act. Clinton, who had pushed for health care reform when her husband was president, supported Obama’s insistence that the law be passed and spoke up on the president’s behalf during a cabinet meeting.” (Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, HRC: State Secrets And The Rebirth Of Hillary Clinton. 2014)

• “She Defended The President’s Health Plan Against Doubting Cabinet Colleagues, A Moment The Authors Describe As ‘Pivotal, If Underappreciated.’” (Liza Mundy, “Book World: ‘HRC,’ Inside Clinton’s State Dept. And The Political Machine,” The Washington Post, 2/6/14)

CLINTON IS STILL OUT OF TOUCH

Last Week, You Said That At The End Of Your Husband’s Administration, You Were “Dead Broke.” But – Following Multi-Million Book Deals And Over $100 Million In Earnings Between The Two Of You – How Can You Say That You Struggled Financially?

In An Interview Last Week, Clinton Said That At The End Of Her Husband’s Administration, They Were “Dead Broke,” In Debt And Struggled To “Piece Together Resources” For “Houses.” “‘We came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt,’ Clinton told Sawyer, referring to the hefty legal fees incurred during their White House years. ‘We had no money when we got there, and we struggled to, you know, piece together the resources for mortgages, for houses, for Chelsea’s education. You know, it was not easy.’” (Liz Kreutz, “Hillary Clinton Defends High-Dollar Speaking Fees,” ABC News, 6/9/14)

• When They Left The White House, Hillary Clinton Had Signed An $8 Million Book Deal And The Couple Had Purchased Two Homes For Nearly $5 Million. “It is technically true that Clinton was broke when she came out of the White House. The Clintons had no cushion from a previous lucrative life in the private sector, and they had mountains of legal bills from their court fights. But the Clintons were not unlike the couple with the winning Powerball ticket: broke at the moment but with the promise of significant riches ahead. Clinton had signed an $8 million book deal (for her previous book). Before leaving the White House they bought a $3 million Washington home and a nearly $2 million home in Chappaqua, New York.”  (John Dickerson, “Does Hillary Clinton Feel Your Pain?” Slate, 6/10/14)

• In The Years Between The Clinton Administration And The 2008 Campaign, The Clintons Amassed $109 Million Between Them. “Former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton earned a combined $109 million between 2000 and 2007 and paid $33.8 million in federal taxes, according to tax information released Friday by Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign.” (Jayson K. Jones and Ana C. Rosado, “Clintons Say They Earned $109 Million Since 2000,” The New York Times, 4/4/08)

CLINTON’S LEGACY AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT

You Have Struggled Naming Your Proudest Accomplishment As Secretary And Your State Department Legacy Has Been Widely Panned. Tonight, Can You Name A Signature Doctrine Or Achievement From Your Time As Secretary Of State?

At An Appearance Last Week At The Council On Foreign Relations, Hillary Clinton Couldn’t Say Whether She Had A “Clinton Doctrine.” RICHARD HAASS: “Is there a Clinton doctrine?” HILLARY CLINTON: “Well, there are certainly principles that I try to follow. …Whether it adds up to a fancy doctrine or whether it’s a sort of practical, principled approach, it’s what guided me for four years.” (Hillary Clinton Remarks, At The Council On Foreign Relations New York, NY,  6/12/14)

In A Recent Interview, Clinton Was Unable To Name A Signature Achievement For Her Tenure At The State Department. DIANE SAWYER: “When people say where is the marquee achievement? No sweeping agreements, no signature doctrine.” HILLARY CLINTON: “We haven’t had a doctrine since containment worked with the Soviet Union, but we’ve had presidents who have made some tough calls, some of which have worked and some of which have not.” (ABC News, 6/9/14)

At An April Appearance, Clinton Became “Flustered” And Had Difficulty Answering What Was Her Proudest Achievement As Secretary. “It was a simple question to someone accustomed to much tougher ones: What was her proudest achievement as secretary of state? But for a moment, Hillary Rodham Clinton, appearing recently before a friendly audience at a women’s forum in Manhattan, seemed flustered.” (Mark Landler and Amy Chozick, “Hillary Clinton Struggles To Define A Legacy In Progress,” The New York Times, 4/16/14)

• MSNBC’S Jonathan Capehart: Hillary Clinton’s Inability To Answer What Her State Department Legacy Was “Troubling.” JONATHAN CAPEHART: “She did not answer the question, she did not answer what her legacy would be. …The fact that Secretary Clinton couldn’t answer the question, especially when she should know that folks are going to ask her this question, should strike people as a bit troubling.” (MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” 4/17/14)

Politico Magazine’s Susan Glasser: “[T]he Truth Is That Hillary Clinton Never Did Find A Way To Turn Foggy Bottom Into Her Ticket To History.” “Timing, fate and the White House may have all conspired in it, but the truth is that Hillary Clinton never did find a way to turn Foggy Bottom into her ticket to history.” (Susan B. Glasser, “Was Hillary Clinton A Good Secretary Of State?” Politico Magazine, 12/8/13)

• Analysts Can’t Identify An “Enduring Diplomatic Approach” That Would Add Clinton To The List Of The Greatest Secretaries Of State. “Despite the star power and political savvy, however, analysts say four years later that they can’t identify an enduring diplomatic approach that would add her to the list of the all-time greatest secretaries of state.” (Hannah Allam, “Analysts: Hillary Clinton’s Record As Top U.S. Diplomat Falls Far Short Of Greatness,” McClatchy, 1/31/13)

The Most Important And Toughest Foreign Policy Issues Weren’t Resolved Under Her Tenure—Some Grew More Intractable. “At the same time, the most important and toughest foreign policy issues of the day — Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan-Pakistan, the Arab-Israeli standoff — weren’t resolved during the four years. Some grew more intractable. Though none of that may be Clinton’s fault, the lack of diplomatic breakthroughs on her watch limits her legacy.” (Paul Richter, “Hillary Clinton’s Legacy At State: Splendid But Not Spectacular,” The Los Angeles Times, 1/28/13)

• MSNBC’S Chuck Todd: “Frankly, Many Of The Issues From Her Time At The Department Have Either Stayed Bad Or Gotten Worse.”  (MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown With Chuck Todd, 5/12/14)