Hillary Clinton tapped into the vast network of donors cultivated by her family’s foundation to fund one of her first major initiatives as secretary of state: constructing the U.S. pavilion at the 2010 World’s Fair in Shanghai.
Emails included in the 7,000 pages of records published by the State Department Monday suggest Clinton’s close relationships with corporate executives helped bring in the $61 million needed to build the pavilion.
Kris Balderston, State’s special representative for global partnerships, led a frantic push to find the sponsors necessary for the expo before it opened in May 2010, relying on many of the same donors that support the Clinton Foundation to pay for the sprawling U.S. exhibit.
Thirty-nine of the 70 corporate donors to the pavilion were also donors to the Clinton Foundation — a significant portion given that some of the sponsors were Chinese companies.
A number of Clinton’s private emails shed light on how the State Department under Clinton targeted and courted specific corporations for participation in the project.
One email details conversations held between several Clinton aides and Mark Landler, a reporter for the New York Times, for a story Landler was writing about the Shanghai expo.
Landler “wanted to know if she used the WJC/HRC rolodex to raise money,” Balderston wrote to Clinton in December of 2009 of his interview with the reporter. “We said no and noted that all of the money is being raised in the business community and not by individuals.”
Balderston downplayed Clinton’s personal role in the fundraising process, although subsequent emails suggest she was indeed involved in soliciting donations.
“He asked if S made individual calls to CEO’s,” Balderston said of Landler. “We noted…the only general ‘asks’ were done on conference calls or in large groups.”
Federal law prohibited Clinton from making any personal pleas for money from corporate friends, given her position.
According to the story Landler wrote in January 2010, the government was uneasy about Clinton’s decision to spearhead the ambitious project.
“The prospect of the nation’s chief diplomat asking for money worried government lawyers, according to officials,” Landler wrote. “They imposed strict limits on the kinds of calls or other contacts she could make, allowing her to promote the pavilion but prohibiting any one-on-one appeals for cash.”
But emails suggest Clinton did press individuals for donations, raising questions about whether she flouted restrictions that should have insulated her from potential conflicts of interest.
For example, in April of 2010 — just as construction on the pavilion would have been drawing to a close — Clinton emailed Balderston about Corning, a corporate Clinton Foundation donor.
Her message to Balderston was completely redacted. However, the aide quickly thanked Clinton for “talking to Wendell,” likely referring to Corning CEO Wendell Weeks.
Balderston said he would encourage Weeks to attend the grand opening of the pavilion in Shanghai, hinting Weeks’ attendance could help secure a last-minute donation.
“Altho [sic] delayed could also have an impact,” Balderston wrote of Weeks’ visit.
Weeks has personally donated between $25,000 and $50,000 to the Clinton Foundation. He organized a campaign fundraiser for Clinton in Pennsylvania in July, and his company reportedly paid her $225,000 last year to speak to Corning executives at an event.
Corning ultimately became one of the top corporate sponsors of the pavilion.
In Jan. 2010, Balderston suggested Clinton “nudge” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, citing a $10 million shortfall in donations. Bloomberg LLP became a sponsor of the pavilion.
Clinton and Balderston discussed favors some corporate donors seemingly wanted from the State Department.
For example, Clinton said Steve Schwarzman, CEO of the Blackstone Group, had asked for help obtaining a visa in Sept. 2009. Blackstone later donated to the expo project.
Clinton also said David Cote, CEO of Honeywell, “wanted help” on a matter that was redacted from the email. However, unredacted text suggests Cote asked Clinton to ease export controls that “interfered with sales.”
Honeywell became a sponsor of the pavilion.
Balderston encouraged Clinton to target Google as a potential donor at a technology dinner in Jan. 2010 that was well attended by high-level executives.
“Google should be an obvious co-sponsor of the USA Pavilion and they have consistently pushed us off,” Balderston warned.
He suggested Clinton discuss the expo with Google executives at the dinner “if the opportunity arises.”
Clinton later lamented her failure to convince the tech giant to join the project. Her aide soothed her concerns by assuring her that “Google has been wierd [sic] about this whole deal.”
Balderston updated Clinton in March 2010 on a spate of new donations from corporations, ranging from $200,000 to $2 million.
“Good work,” Clinton said to Balderston. “Let me know if I need to do anything else.”
All five companies that had given to the expo — AT&T, McGraw Hill, Intel, Delos Living and Citi — sare also donors to the Clinton Foundation.
Balderston cited several more donations that he said were “on deck and likely to come in soon” from another group of foundation supporters, including Boeing, the Blackstone Group, Alcoa and AECOM.
Mark Penn, who served as Clinton’s pollster during her 2008 campaign, emailed Clinton in February 2010 offering to help her staff drum up donations for the U.S. pavilion.
Penn was also the CEO of Burson-Marsteller, a major public relations firm.
“Wondering why no one called me since I have probably 20 clients from Ford, Microsoft, Intel, HP, Dell all very interested in Shanghai Expo as well as 100 people in China,” Penn wrote to Clinton.
Clinton told her former pollster and aide that she would “appreciate anything you can to do assist” with the project.
Balderston informed Penn that while Microsoft, Intel and Dell — all foundation donors — had already donated to the pavilion, HP was not and Ford had rebuffed State’s requests “despite our best efforts.”
Balderston indicated Penn and several others were being “very helpful” in the agency’s efforts to lock down donations for the project.
He highlighted “Immelt” as one of the individuals “making calls” on behalf of the Clinton team. Balderston was likely referring to Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of General Electric.
GE donated to both the pavilion and the Clinton Foundation.
Balderston also said Huntsman was calling donors, likely referring to Jon Huntsman, then the U.S. ambassador to China.
The blurred lines between State Department officials like Huntsman and corporate friends like Immelt in sharing responsibility for the pavilion underscore the concerns that almost prevented the U.S. from undertaking the project in the first place.
