A man who reportedly donated a substantial amount of money to the Clinton Foundation was somehow able to receive a position on a State Department intelligence board, although he had zero experience in the field. Rajiv K. Fernando is said to have given nearly $250,000 to the organization, according to federal government emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the political group Citizens United.
Fernando was appointed a spot on the International Security Advisory Board (ISAB), a group which oversees U.S. nuclear and security policies in which all members obtain top secret clearances. New York Mag reported that in 2011, Fernando was a high-frequency trader with no experience in the realm of national-security policy who had donated a lot of money to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and to the William J. Clinton Foundation. His experience with “sophisticated risk management tools” was well appreciated by Hillary, which was apparently how he eventually ended up on the ISAB.
According to ABC News , Fernando’s placement on a sensitive government intelligence advisory board baffled the department’s professional staff because he was obviously not qualified to be placed in such a position. Newly declassified emails shed some insight on how Fernando obtained the job — and, as the report states — how the Clinton staff sought to protect her name.
After more than two years of trying to receive copies of the numerous internal emails regarding the matter, they were finally provided to ABC News . The emails revealed that a State Department official who worked with the advisory board had a difficult time trying to explain the reason why Fernando served on the panel. The report notes that many of the emails make repeated references to “S,” which is reportedly a common way to refer to the Secretary of State.
“The true answer is simply that S staff (Cheryl Mills) added him,” wrote Wade Boese, who was Chief of Staff for the Office of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, in an email to Mannina, the press aide. “Raj was not on the list sent to S; he was added at their insistence.”
Due to his position on the board, Fernando was granted a high level of top secret clearance, despite many board members having “no idea who he was.” His appointment was confusing to several staffers, and — as revealed by the emails — one press aide wrote that “it appears there is much more to this story that we’re unaware of,” and “it’s natural to ask how he got onto the board when compared to the rest of the esteemed list of members.”
Clinton Had Donor As Nuclear Security Adviser https://t.co/7jAnVQvFkq #FeelTheBern #ClintonCorruption #DropOutHillary
— Danny Reagan Fan (@VirginiaInCal) June 11, 2016
Shortly after Fernando started receiving heavy scrutiny, he resigned from the board and cited the reason being that he “needed time to devote to his business.”
An attempt from news outlets to get information from Fernando himself was unsuccessful, and he often ignored their questions about his qualifications and appointment to the board. An ABC reporter tracked him down at the 2012 Democratic National Convention and he was questioned as to how he was appointed to the board position. Fernando asked how the reporter knew his name, and security threatened to have him arrested, Lawnewz wrote.
It appears that Fernando’s relationship with the Clintons was unaffected by the scandal, and he has been a regular contributor to Clinton’s current presidential campaign and the Clinton Foundation. According to the Clinton Foundation website, he has given the organization between $1 million and $5 million. He will also be a superdelegate at the Democratic National Convention.
[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]
