Emails from former U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power display a sense of anxiety in the final weeks of the Obama administration after the 2016 election.
The emails, some of which display frustration and dismay with incoming President Trump, were obtained by Jay Sekulow and his conservative watchdog group, the American Center for Law and Justice, as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
They were sent during the same period in which Power is believed to have requested to “unmask” more than 260 Americans whose identities were caught up in the surveillance of non-U.S. citizens.
In one of the email exchanges, days after the Nov. 8 election, Power expressed alarm with Trump’s intent to pull the U.S. from the Paris climate deal meant to combat climate change. “Lord help us all. How are you holding up?” Power asked Jon Finer, the director of policy planning and the chief of staff to then-Secretary of State John Kerry.
The emails also conveyed Power’s efforts to wrap up policy goals before Trump took office.
“We’re still reeling here, as you might imagine. My mission to the UN is a cabinet agency under President Obama, but will be demoted to something very different in January. Notwithstanding this, Tuesday’s results have given us an even greater sense of urgency to get our work done in our last few months. 70 good long days left!” Power said in a November 2016 email to Bill Owens, the executive editor of “60 Minutes,” regarding a potential pitch about refugees.
In his reply, Owens said, “I can only imagine the conversations you are having with some of our allies now and I would love a chance to brainstorm.”
Also revealed was some correspondence between Power and Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes in December 2016. In it, Power reacted to an article Rhodes sent her about how Trump’s push to stymie a United Nations draft resolution calling for an end to Israeli settlement construction. “This reflects the lack of understanding of history,” she said.
