Prominent Democrats on Wednesday declined to comment on whether they had in fact discussed what they perceived to be Hillary Clinton’s poor health in conversations exposed by this week’s massive document leak from renegade hacker Guccifer 2.0.
Neither Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse nor Jeffrey Leeds, a prominent Democratic financier in New York City, responded to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment.
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Leeds, a business partner to former secretary of state Colin Powell, revealed in a March 14, 2015 exchange with Powell that Whitehouse, Rhode Island’s junior senator, had made a comment about Clinton’s ailing health. “Sheldon Whitehouse, who is a huge Clinton supporter said they were both giving speeches at the same event a few months back and she could barely climb the podium steps,” Leeds wrote.
Powell made a similar observation in an email to Leeds minutes earlier. “On HD tv she doesn’t look good,” Powell said. “She is working herself to death … She will turn 70 her first year in office.”
The messages were made public late Tuesday evening by DCLeaks as part of a stash of emails purportedly taken from Colin Powell’s personal Gmail account. They follow an initial leak in July of nearly 20,000 documents taken from the Democratic National Committee, and a subsequent release of files from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Democrats sought earlier in the year to undermine confidence in the authenticity of the documents, though that effort has largely fallen by the wayside as subjects named in the files have refused to comment. Powell repeatedly declined requests for comment on the leak as Wednesday wore on, pleading ignorance or hanging up on media outlets submitting inquiries.
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Whitehouse was one of Clinton’s strongest supporters in the 2016 election cycle, endorsing her candidacy in January 2014. Leeds leans to the left but has contributed to presidential candidates in both parties, including President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Clinton on Wednesday remained at home recovering from a bout of what her doctor described as “mild pneumonia,” following her collapse Sunday during a 9/11 memorial ceremony.
Clinton’s doctor, Lisa Bardack, sought to assure voters that she was in good condition. “The remainder of her complete physical exam was normal and she is in excellent mental condition,” Bardack wrote in a letter Wednesday afternoon. “She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States.”
