Did Hillary Clinton Give A High-Level Nuclear Advisory Board Seat To A Securities Trader In Exchange For Contributions?

Hillary Clinton was receiving contributions for the Clinton Foundation while she served as Secretary of State. It is now suggested, based on her emails, other witnesses, and records, that she was possibly trading favors and appointments in exchange for those contributions, according to ABC News.

Rajiv K. Fernando, a Chicago securities trader specializing in electronic investment, is a major contributor to the Clinton Foundation. Mr. Fernando also contributed the maximum amount to her campaign and to HillPAC in 2007 and 2008. He allegedly contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hillary Clinton’s campaign and to the Clinton Foundation. Is this how Fernando found himself seated alongside an array of nuclear scientists, former cabinet secretaries, and congressional leaders on the International Security Advisory Board?

Hillary Clinton’s appointment of a securities trader to advise her on the use of tactical nuclear weapons seemed very strange to the board members who, at first, had no idea who Fernando was or why he was there. Other board members began to question his credentials, discovering he lacked any known background in nuclear security. ABC News also began to question him. Press aide Jamie Mannina replied to their inquiry, as ABC News has been pursuing this story from the beginning in 2011 and pushing hard for answers.

“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. 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.”

Sadly, the attachment referenced was not included in the recent document release.

Hillary Clinton and her closest staff members are indicated clearly in the emails as the source of Rajiv’s strange appointment to the ISAB. Wade Boese, Chief of Staff for the office of the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, eventually replied to Jamie Mannina’s questions. His reply indicated that the Secretary of State’s staff added the securities trader. Hillary appointed Rajiv, but her reasons have never been explained.

“The true answer is simply that S [a code for Secretary of State] staff (Cheryl Mills) added him. Raj was not on the list sent to S; he was added at their insistence.”

Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, played a key role in appointing the Chicago securities trader, according to the Washington Times, which cited newly released emails as their source. Mrs. Mills also told staff to “stall” ABC News for 24 hours regarding their line of questioning about Mr. Fernando’s appointment back in 2011.

Citizens United was able to obtain the newly released emails through a Freedom of Information Act request, according to Time Magazine. The conservative political group then submitted the contents to ABC News to resolve questions still outstanding about the appointment of Mr. Fernando by Secretary of State Clinton.

Hillary Clinton’s International Security Advisory Board, including Mr. Fernando, had access to the highest levels of top secret information. It is a position that is normally given to highly qualified and trusted scientists as well as people with military knowledge and especially an understanding of nuclear capabilities.

While Raj Fernando is at the top of his field as an online securities trader, he had none of the education, experience, or expertise that would qualify him to advise Secretary of State Clinton on nuclear arms issues. Princeton professor Bruce Blair explained the situation.

“It is certainly a serious, knowledgeable and experienced group of experts. Much of the focus has been on questions of nuclear stability and the risks of nuclear weapons use by Russia and Pakistan.”

After Hillary Clinton appointed Rajiv K. Fernando to his position on the board, he resigning his seat following numerous attempts by ABC News to gain more information. Repeated stalls on behalf of various government officials who did not readily know how to explain Fernando’s presence on a board full of statesmen and scientists are well documented in the newly released emails.

An excerpt from Mr. Fernando’s letter of resignation states that he would not have time to work on the advisory board due to an increase in workload involving international markets.

“[I] intended to devote a substantial amount of time to the work of ISAB in furtherance of its objectives. However, the unique, unexpected, and excessive volatility in the international markets these last few weeks and months require [me] to focus energy on the operations of [my] company.”

Hillary Clinton continues to receive donations from Rajiv K. Fernando during her current presidential campaign.

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]