Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a couple paid speeches in Canada yesterday. She was reportedly accompanied by 65 agents of the United States Secret Service to at least one of the events.
The agents were presumably on hand to help keep the former first lady safe.
The news of Clinton’s large Secret Service contigent was reported by CJME News Talk 980, a co-sponsor of the event.
“One of the most influential women in U.S. politics will be speaking in Saskatoon Wednesday night,” the outlet reported in advance of one of Clinton’s address. “Hillary Rodham Clinton will be speaking at TCU Place … Her speech will be part of the Global Perspectives series, which is sponsored by CIBC.”
“To source out the site, inspect all kinds of potential hazards from bomb threats to smoke bombs that could be put in intakes into our building to make the event go south,” Gilley explained.
“The day of the show, the rest of the Secret Service fly in from other points of the United States of America. A full deployment is approximately 65 agents that will be in the house for the event.”
For the general public, RCMP VIP Services and the Secret Service agents will be taking a visual of everyone attending the event. There will be a coat check available and over bags are not admitted into the theatre.
“Saskatoon has always been a very first class event crowd for these events, I don’t anticipate any problems,” Gilley said, referencing events by former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
It’s unclear what part, if any, of the security tab was picked up by Clinton — and what part was paid for by U.S. taxpayers.
It’s also unclear how much Clinton was paid for the speeches, though the Associated Press confirms she did in fact she was compensated for her gig:
UPDATE: CNN contradicts the co-sponsor of Clinton’s speech and says, “Hillary Clinton did not have 65 Secret Service agents protecting her in Canada on Wednesday, a Secret Service source told CNN, despite a report from a Canadian radio station to the contrary.”
