A longtime ally of Hillary Clinton argued Thursday the former secretary of state earned “fair” fees for the dozens of speeches she made to private groups in 2013 and 2014.
Clinton has taken fire on the campaign trail for accepting six-figure sums for speeches delivered to corporations and special interest groups in the two years between her tenure as secretary of state and the launch of her presidential campaign.
“I think that she made that decision to give these speeches,” said David Brock, who runs the Clinton-aligned political action committee Correct the Record.
“I think there’s ample precedent for it. You know, it’s fair to raise the question, but there is ample precedent for it. You look at the money that, for example, Rudy Giuliani made in the year speaking tour before he ran for president.”
Under pressure from the left to release the transcripts of speeches she gave to Goldman Sachs, Clinton vowed to “look into it” before changing course and arguing she should not be held to a different standard than other politicians who earned large speaking fees.
“You know, she got fair market value for speeches. She made that decision,” Brock said during an appearance Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Clinton earned $225,000 each for three speeches to Goldman Sachs.
“As far as the transcripts though, that’s obviously up to Secretary Clinton and the campaign,” Brock said. “I think there’s nothing to hide, but I think that could be a slippery slope and we could end up asking for all sorts of transcripts.”
