Top Hillary Clinton campaign aide Huma Abedin said last year that an upgrade in US Secret Service protection for Clinton would be “a huge help for us optics-wise.”
The exchange was published Saturday as part of WikiLeaks’ release of hacked emails belonging to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
In the November email chain, Podesta sent a note saying Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid had given him a heads up that then-GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson was going to receive protection following a threat. Podesta said Reid noted he’d like to upgrade the former first lady’s protection at the same time.
Congressional leadership works with the Secret Service to authorize protection for political candidates.
Clinton responded saying, “No problem from my perspective if it’s merited.” Abedin then noted the better “optics” and that Secret Service contacts had notified the campaign that Donald Trump was set to receive protection as well.
A spokesman for Clinton reiterated the campaign’s prior statements about the WikiLeak hack, saying it would not confirm the authenticity of the emails and blamed Russia for the hack. Moscow and WikiLeaks have denied any Russian involvement.
A message left with the Secret Service was not immediately returned Saturday.
Abedin’s role in the campaign is facing fresh scrutiny after the FBI revealed Friday it was reviewing emails she sent or received that are potentially related to Clinton’s use of a private server. The emails surfaced as part of a probe into sexting by Abedin’s estranged husband, Anthony Weiner.