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Hillary Clinton: We Need to Talk Sensibly about Spying

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Photo Credit: Lefteris Pitarakis/APHillary Clinton has called for a “sensible adult conversation”, to be held in a transparent way, about the boundaries of state surveillance highlighted by the leaking of secret NSA files by the whistleblower Edward Snowden.

In a boost to Nick Clegg, the British deputy prime minister, who is planning to start conversations within government about the oversight of Britain’s intelligence agencies, the former US secretary of state said it would be wrong to shut down a debate.

Clinton, who is seen as a frontrunner for the 2016 US presidential election, said at Chatham House in London: “This is a very important question. On the intelligence issue, we are democracies thank goodness, both the US and the UK.

“We need to have a sensible adult conversation about what is necessary to be done, and how to do it, in a way that is as transparent as it can be, with as much oversight and citizens’ understanding as there can be.”

Her words were echoed by the British shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, who repeated her call in a speech in July for reform of the oversight of the intelligence agencies. Cooper, a former member of the parliamentary intelligence and security committee that oversees the agencies,said: “I have long argued that checks and balances need to be stronger – this would benefit and maintain confidence in the vital work of our security and intelligence agencies as well as being in the interests of democracy.”

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Issa: Benghazi Attack Result of Hillary Clinton’s Reckless, Ill-Advised ‘War on Terror’ Policies (+video)

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Photo Credit: Chris MaddaloniResponsibility for the September 11 Benghazi assault and the deaths of four U.S. citizens — including Libyan ambassador Chris Stevens — lies personally at the feet of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa.

“The investigation really is now not about what we know, but about how we can prevent abuse of security before the fact, how we respond during the fact, and how we hold people accountable after the fact for deliberate misinformation — if you want to be kind — [and] outright lies, if not,” said Issa, who serves as head of the Oversight and Government reform committee.

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Jenna Bush: Hillary Clinton and I are ‘Related’ Through ‘Uncle’ Bill – George W Bush’s ‘Brother from Another Mother’

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Photo Credit: Neil Rasmus

Photo Credit: Neil Rasmus

Here’s some family ties you may just be learning about: apparently Jenna Bush-Hager is related to Hillary Clinton.

At least, that’s what the former first-daughter said at a benefit for the Save the Children organization in New York earlier this week.

Jenna was the emcee of the gala and spoke about the family ties she had with one of the evening’s honorees – former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

‘I’m not sure if you know this, but Secretary Clinton and I are actually related,’ Jenna announced.

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Bill Clinton: ‘We’re Not Nearly as Political’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Former president Bill Clinton says he and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aren’t “nearly as political as everyone thinks we are.”

“We’re not nearly as political as everyone thinks we are,” he told PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff on Monday. “We don’t sit around all the time talking about this. We swim in the late afternoon every day. And if either one of us even mentions a political topic we will stop the other one and just talk about the weather or whatever.”

“But it happens,” Woodruff, who interviewed Clinton just before the start to the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York, jumped in.

Clinton then acknowledged that he and his wife, the former secretary of state, do talk politics, “but not often,” he said.

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Two Decades after Her Affair with Bill Clinton, Gennifer Flowers Reveals They’d Be Together If Not for Chelsea; Says Bill Told Her Hillary is Bisexual

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Photo Credit: Michael lp

Photo Credit: Michael lp

Their 12-year affair made Gennifer Flowers one of the most high profile mistresses in America. Now, two decades after they split amid scandal, the former news reporter from Little Rock, Arkansas wants to ‘sit down and talk’ with Bill Clinton.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Gennifer has spoken of her deep regret at turning down Clinton’s pleas to talk some eight years ago and revealed her belief that they would still be together today, were it not the birth of Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea.

She said: ‘We have some unresolved issues that it would be nice to sit down and talk about now. He was the love of my life and I was the love of his life and you don’t get over those things.’

By then all lines of communication with Clinton had been severed and she had no contact with him for 13 years when he called out of the blue. She said: ‘He called me back in 2005 in New Orleans. He wanted to put on the hoodie and jog on over like he used to.

Read more from this story HERE. (CAUTION: Racy Images)

Biden has Tongues Wagging Over 2016 Race with Visit to Iowa

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Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

With most Democrats keeping an eye on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for hints about her 2016 plans, Vice President Joe Biden’s appearance at Iowa’s 36th annual “Tom Harkin Steak Fry,” may one day be viewed as a telling sign of his presidential intentions.

The Democratic fund-raiser named for the veteran senator from Iowa is closely watched in this Midwestern state, which helps winnow out the crop of presidential contenders every four years leading up to the Iowa caucuses, the first voting event of each presidential cycle.

Addressing the crowd at the Warren County Fairgrounds, Biden mentioned 2016 in a sideways fashion, making light of the national media presence that showed up for the event.

“It’s amazing when you come to speak at the Steak Fry a whole bunch of people seem to take notice. I don’t know why the hell that is,” Biden said.

The 70-year-old Biden has left open the possibility of a run for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination in order to get a chance to succeed President Barack Obama.

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Congress: Hillary’s Benghazi Investigation Let Top Officials Escape Blame

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Photo Credit: Getty

Photo Credit: Getty

The State Department’s investigation into the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi was not independent and failed to hold senior State Department officials accountable for the failures that led to the death of four Americans, according to a new investigative report compiled by the House Oversight Committee.

The Administrative Review Board, chosen by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, unfairly placed the blame for the terrorist attack on four mid-level officials while ignoring the role of very senior officials in Clinton’s State Department for decisions about security in Benghazi, according to the new report led by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA). Also, the structure of the ARB and the culture in Clinton’s State Department raised questions about the independence and integrity of the review, according to Issa’s committee.

“The ARB blamed systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies within two bureaus, but downplayed the importance of decisions made at senior levels of the Department. Witnesses questioned how much these decisions influenced the weaknesses that led to the inadequate security posture in Benghazi,” the report stated. “The ARB’s decision to cite certain officials as accountable for what happened in Benghazi appears to have been based on factors that had little or no connection to the security posture at U.S. diplomatic facilities in Libya.”

The Daily Beast first reported in May that the four officials removed from their jobs and placed on administrative leave as a result of the State Department’s ARB report on Benghazi had never been told what they were accused of, never been given any opportunity to appeal their punishments, and never were officially fired. One of the officials, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ray Maxwell, had little to no role in Libya security policy and was not even alleged to have been connected to the security failures leading up to the Benghazi attack.

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Hillary Clinton Heckled on Benghazi During Award Ceremony

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Photo Credit: Matt Rourke

Photo Credit: Matt Rourke

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fielded hecklers who hounded her on Benghazi at the tail end of an award acceptance speech she delivered at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening.

Mrs. Clinton was accepting the 2013 Liberty Medal, an honor to recognize her career in public service and advocacy for women’s rights, CBS reported. She told the crowd of hundreds of the U.S. need to balance national security with human rights issues in Syria, and called for American politicians to cross party aisles and strike a chord of unity.

“When we fail to make progress on the challenges facing our people at home, our standing in the world suffers,” she said, Breitbart.com reported.

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Hillary Clinton To Receive Liberty Medal One Day Before Benghazi Anniversary

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will present the National Constitution Center’s (NCC) 2013 Liberty Medal to Hillary Clinton during a Sept. 10 ceremony in Philadelphia, one day before the first-year anniversary of the terror attacks in Benghazi, Libya while Clinton was secretary of state.

“The Liberty Medal recognizes individuals who have furthered the ideals of freedom, democracy, and equality, often against great odds,” NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen said. “Hillary Clinton has devoted her life to expanding opportunities for ‘We the People’ not just in this country but around the globe.”

“Former Secretary Clinton has dedicated her life to serving and engaging people across the world in democracy,” Bush, the NCC’s chairman, said in a statement announcing the award. “These efforts as a citizen, an activist, and a leader have earned Secretary Clinton this year’s Liberty Medal.”

Last year’s winner was former boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Previous Liberty Medal recipients include former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Several veterans groups have been urging House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to set up a Watergate-style committee to investigate the Benghazi attacks that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. The groups plan to hold a day-long commemoration on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol the day after Clinton receives the award.

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Clinton Faces Rumblings From Her Left Ahead of 2016

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Photo Credit: AP/REUTERS

Photo Credit: AP/REUTERS

It’s good to be Hillary Clinton. She and her husband Bill are spending a few days with family this week at a six-bedroom beach-house in the Hamptons. Though staying coy about the possibility of a 2016 presidential run, she’s leading every poll of possible Democratic candidates.

Meanwhile, since leaving the secretary of State post, Clinton has been making public appearances, and headlines, on a regular basis.

But behind all the buzz, several liberal Democrats have begun dipping their toes in the 2016 Democratic primary pool — likely positioning for the chance to take on the Democratic powerhouse and tease at any weaknesses team Clinton might have.

The emergence of possible Clinton challengers began earlier this year when an investigation was revealed into whether government strings had been pulled inappropriately on behalf of a company owned by Clinton’s brother Tony Rodham — which was seeking visas for wealthy foreign investors.

It wasn’t long before Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a liberal Democrat who had been openly hinting about running, announced he would begin making speeches outlining his national vision and agenda.

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