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Clinton Chief Strategist Pushed Out
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ShareApril 06, 2008 6:38 PM
ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, Jake Tapper and Eloise Harper Report: Mark Penn has been pushed out as chief strategist of Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign after his work on a Colombian free-trade agreement that Clinton opposes, sources tell ABC News.
Sources said that the Clintons were angry to learn about Penn's work, especially because they had been told that Penn had recused himself from controversial clients and would restrict his private work.
Though Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams said, "After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as chief strategist of the Clinton campaign," sources told ABC News Penn was pushed.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Friday that Penn, who also is chief executive of the lobbying and public relations firm Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, had been hired by the Colombian government to help secure a trade deal.
On Saturday, the Colombian government said it was firing Penn's firm after he said through the Clinton campaign that his consultations with Colombian officials were "an error in judgment that will not be repeated, and I am sorry for it."
Clinton spoke about her opposition to the Colombia trade deal last week in her speech to the AFL-CIO in Philadelphia, and on Saturday seven labor unions that are part of the "Change to Win" coalition called for Clinton to fire Penn.
"The Penn situation -- and the lack of action by you -- raises serious questions about the veracity of your claims of what you would do should you become president," the unions said in a statement released Saturday.
Penn's firm -- Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, Inc. -- will remain on board providing polling and advice to the campaign, though he will no longer serve as the chief strategist, Williams said. Instead, Geoff Garin and Howard Wolfson will head up the message for the campaign.
The Colombia trade controversy was not the first case in which a client of Penn's irritated the Clinton campaign.
The work a Burson Marsteller subsidiary did for controversial war contractor Blackwater, and Penn's work for the union-busting corporation Cintas were other instances in which the Clinton campaign didn't appreciate having its name associated with Penn clients.
But it was a bridge too far for Penn when Sen. Hillary Clinton heard the news that Penn had met with the Colombians on the trade deal.
Penn also was regarded by many in the campaign as too self-serving, particularly after a Los Angeles Times profile of the campaign written after her horrible month of February, when Penn was quoted saying that he had "no direct authority in the campaign," describing himself as merely "an outside message advisor with no campaign staff reporting to me."
"I have had no say or involvement in four key areas -- the financial budget and resource allocation, political or organizational sides," he reportedly said. "Those were the responsibility of Patti Solis Doyle, Harold Ickes and Mike Henry, and they met separately on all matters relating to those areas."
That eyebrow-raising display of running from failure was contradicted by senior staffers such as Wolfson, who told the newspaper that Penn had top responsibility for strategy and message.
Then there was this infamous exchange with Clinton consigliere Ickes from a recent Washington Post profile of the campaign:
Ickes to Penn: "[Expletive] you!"
Penn to Ickes: "[Expletive] you!"
Ickes to Penn: "[Expletive] you!"
April 6, 2008 in Bush, George W. | Permalink | User Comments (466)
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And it won't make a bit of difference. This is just a smoke screen to have the press focus on this, instead of questionable tax records that were released on Friday. Smart move but it won't make a bit of difference. People have been waiting for those records forever, and some fat *** pig stepping aside won't make them focus on him instead of questionable business dealings and practices.
Posted by: HRC(Harold Rowland C.) | Apr 6, 2008 6:46:25 PM
The Clinton campaign continues to implode.
Posted by: Kristen | Apr 6, 2008 6:46:26 PM
The tax records are a NO ISSUE. They gave an enormous amount to charity compared to OBAMA who gave less of a percentage than my grandmom living on social security except for last year where he wanted "to look good."
HILLARY 2008. NO OBAMA
Posted by: mark | Apr 6, 2008 6:49:14 PM
That is terrible news for Hillary!
Now she will have to pay him!
Posted by: maxsdadeo | Apr 6, 2008 6:49:44 PM
Does she still have to pay him the 2.5 million she owes him? You can't tell me that the campaign didn't know he was working for the Columbian government on the trade deal. They knew.
Posted by: Carolyn Grace | Apr 6, 2008 6:49:50 PM
Wow. Hillary's campaign is a total mess.
The Clintons are hustlers and it's been catching up with them.
Posted by: Ryan | Apr 6, 2008 6:49:55 PM
Campaigns have their ups and downs. This is not an implosion. The media could find very little wrong with the Clintons' tax records and they gave them years and years. The Clintons gave $10 million dollars to charity. Why isn't that publicized?
Posted by: raf | Apr 6, 2008 6:50:03 PM
HRC needs to "kiss the ring (Obama's ring)" like McCain did in 2000 (Mac kissed W's ring). I bet the Clinton's made money on that "Colombian" trade deal. BLoggers dig deep on this.
Posted by: jgm | Apr 6, 2008 6:51:37 PM
The real question that needs to be asked is weather or not Clinton opposed the trade deal Before or After her run for the white house.
Posted by: Susan | Apr 6, 2008 6:52:58 PM
I wonder how they will spin this critical mass implosion
Posted by: Tony | Apr 6, 2008 6:53:14 PM
I highly doubt this was news to Hillary. Everything is business with her, she stands for nothing.
Posted by: John Grever | Apr 6, 2008 6:53:15 PM
The only charities they contributed to were there own. Sounds like typical self serving style!!
Posted by: John | Apr 6, 2008 6:53:36 PM
Is this karl rove's fault?
Posted by: mike | Apr 6, 2008 6:53:48 PM
Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick
Clinton's Campaign is about to explode. When your Chief strategist is stepping down because of unetchical practices, you really have to wonder about the strategies that he has set forward throughout the whole campaign.
Posted by: Ron | Apr 6, 2008 6:54:02 PM
To some of you, it wouldn't matter if she was caught molesting children, you would support her anyway. Talk about blind faith.
Posted by: SB | Apr 6, 2008 6:54:17 PM
Just goes to show you that without Obama in the race, none of this would ever be reported at all by the liberal press....they have chosen their lot and they need to destroy Clinton, Inc. to allow the slightly more socialist senator to rise to prominence.
Posted by: William R. Smith | Apr 6, 2008 6:54:18 PM
Before you gush all over the Clintons for their donations to CHARITY (?) take a closer look! More than haLf of the donation is to their own organization. They are such hypocrites.
Posted by: Tom Edwards | Apr 6, 2008 6:54:29 PM
Mark Penn is finally exposed as the cynical huckster that he is. It was no accident that he courted Columbia's business. He already figured out that H. Clinton was a lost cause.
How does it feel Hillary to have your chief strategist dump you? You made a mistake in choosing him.
Blumenthal is gone too.
Next, maybe she will dump Sandy Berger.
Posted by: brian | Apr 6, 2008 6:54:46 PM
The Clinton's did give 10 million to charity. Most of it to....... the Clinton Foundation of which only half has been used. The other half just sits there waiting for their charity Needs. These people are a joke. Love that they released then at 4pm on Friday no less. They aren't afraid of anything and if this were so crystal clean why did it take months to get the data. Oh yeah thats right it was in a file drawer somewhere and they couldn't find them. They are too much! Can't wait to see them fade into the sunset forever!! Loving it!
Posted by: No Way | Apr 6, 2008 6:55:07 PM
Hey raf - most of that $10 million went to Clinton's own foundation.
PS: how are things down at HRC HQ? The fattest rat just jumped ship. Wolfson and his ugly sweaters must be next.
Posted by: Mark D. | Apr 6, 2008 6:55:09 PM
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