Clinton Faces Growing Political Backlash By Refusing To Release Wall Street Speech Transcripts
Hillary Clinton is under ever-increasing pressure to release her Wall Street speech transcripts, with even a powerful member of her own party now joining her Democratic primary opponent Bernie Sanders in calling for her to reveal what she told the powerful groups.
Tax records show that Clinton accepted hefty sums to make private speeches to some of the giants of the financial sector, including $675,000 for three speeches to Goldman Sachs. But the content of those speeches remain a mystery, as Clinton has repeatedly refused to shed light on what she may have told the high-ranking executives at those institutions.
Sanders made the Wall Street transcripts a major line of attack during Thursday's debate in Brooklyn, and even the CNN moderators put Clinton on the spot.
"If there's nothing in those speeches that will change voters' minds, why not just release the transcripts and put these speeches to bed?" debate moderator Dana Bash said to cheers from the audience.
As Business Insider noted, Hillary Clinton responded with the reasoning she has used since the Sanders camp first made the Wall Street speech transcripts an issue early in the campaign: she will do it when everyone else does.
"If everybody agrees to do it -- there are other speeches from money on the other side, I understand that," Clinton said, drawing boos.
Bernie Sanders hit Clinton hard on the Wall Street transcripts, saying she is in no position to take on the excesses and corruption of the financial sector when she had been so cozy with them in the past.
"Hillary Clinton called them out. They must've been really crushed by this. Was that before or after you received huge sums of money after by giving speaking engagements behind closed doors? They've must've been very upset," he said.
Even other members of the Democratic Party are now turning on Hillary Clinton after her refusal to release her Wall Street speech transcripts. Former presidential candidate Martin O'Malley called out Clinton during Thursday's debate, saying that she needs to share the transcripts and comparing her refusal to Mitt Romney's decision to keep his tax records secret in 2012.
Former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod also noted the inconsistency of Clinton's stance on the transcripts.
But, for his part, Axelrod was equally critical of Bernie Sanders, saying the Vermont Senator could offer no specifics on how taking Wall Street money may have unfairly influenced Hillary Clinton's decision-making.
There is already some idea of what may be in Hillary Clinton's Wall Street speeches. In February, Politico tracked down some Goldman Sachs executives who were at her 2013 speech in Arizona and said that Clinton spoke "glowingly" of the work the bank had done to create jobs and raise capital.
The attendees said Clinton also spoke about the bank's diverse workforce, with many women in high-ranking positions. Clinton, who has been critical of the role banks played in the 2008 financial collapse, did not raise those criticisms in her speech, they said.
"It was pretty glowing about us," one of the attendees said. "It's so far from what she sounds like as a candidate now. It was like a rah-rah speech. She sounded more like a Goldman Sachs managing director."
"It was mostly basic stuff, small talk, chit-chat," another added. "But in this environment, it could be made to look really bad."
As the backlash grows for her decision not to release the Wall Street speech transcripts, Hillary Clinton may have also lost one of her main pieces of leverage in keeping them under wraps. Her camp has called on Bernie Sanders to release his own tax records, and on Thursday he responded, saying he will release the 2014 filing on Friday with others to follow.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Hillary Clinton is under ever-increasing pressure to release her Wall Street speech transcripts, with even a powerful member of her own party now joining her Democratic primary opponent Bernie Sanders in calling for her to reveal what she told the powerful groups.
Tax records show that Clinton accepted hefty sums to make private speeches to some of the giants of the financial sector, including $675,000 for three speeches to Goldman Sachs. But the content of those speeches remain a mystery, as Clinton has repeatedly refused to shed light on what she may have told the high-ranking executives at those institutions.
Sanders made the Wall Street transcripts a major line of attack during Thursday's debate in Brooklyn, and even the CNN moderators put Clinton on the spot.
"If there's nothing in those speeches that will change voters' minds, why not just release the transcripts and put these speeches to bed?" debate moderator Dana Bash said to cheers from the audience.
As Business Insider noted, Hillary Clinton responded with the reasoning she has used since the Sanders camp first made the Wall Street speech transcripts an issue early in the campaign: she will do it when everyone else does.
"If everybody agrees to do it -- there are other speeches from money on the other side, I understand that," Clinton said, drawing boos.
Bernie Sanders hit Clinton hard on the Wall Street transcripts, saying she is in no position to take on the excesses and corruption of the financial sector when she had been so cozy with them in the past.
"Hillary Clinton called them out. They must've been really crushed by this. Was that before or after you received huge sums of money after by giving speaking engagements behind closed doors? They've must've been very upset," he said.
Even other members of the Democratic Party are now turning on Hillary Clinton after her refusal to release her Wall Street speech transcripts. Former presidential candidate Martin O'Malley called out Clinton during Thursday's debate, saying that she needs to share the transcripts and comparing her refusal to Mitt Romney's decision to keep his tax records secret in 2012.
Former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod also noted the inconsistency of Clinton's stance on the transcripts.
But, for his part, Axelrod was equally critical of Bernie Sanders, saying the Vermont Senator could offer no specifics on how taking Wall Street money may have unfairly influenced Hillary Clinton's decision-making.
There is already some idea of what may be in Hillary Clinton's Wall Street speeches. In February, Politico tracked down some Goldman Sachs executives who were at her 2013 speech in Arizona and said that Clinton spoke "glowingly" of the work the bank had done to create jobs and raise capital.
The attendees said Clinton also spoke about the bank's diverse workforce, with many women in high-ranking positions. Clinton, who has been critical of the role banks played in the 2008 financial collapse, did not raise those criticisms in her speech, they said.
"It was pretty glowing about us," one of the attendees said. "It's so far from what she sounds like as a candidate now. It was like a rah-rah speech. She sounded more like a Goldman Sachs managing director."
"It was mostly basic stuff, small talk, chit-chat," another added. "But in this environment, it could be made to look really bad."
As the backlash grows for her decision not to release the Wall Street speech transcripts, Hillary Clinton may have also lost one of her main pieces of leverage in keeping them under wraps. Her camp has called on Bernie Sanders to release his own tax records, and on Thursday he responded, saying he will release the 2014 filing on Friday with others to follow.
Hillary Clinton is under ever-increasing pressure to release her Wall Street speech transcripts, with even a powerful member of her own party now joining her Democratic primary opponent Bernie Sanders in calling for her to reveal what she told the powerful groups.
Tax records show that Clinton accepted hefty sums to make private speeches to some of the giants of the financial sector, including $675,000 for three speeches to Goldman Sachs. But the content of those speeches remain a mystery, as Clinton has repeatedly refused to shed light on what she may have told the high-ranking executives at those institutions.
Sanders made the Wall Street transcripts a major line of attack during Thursday's debate in Brooklyn, and even the CNN moderators put Clinton on the spot.
"If there's nothing in those speeches that will change voters' minds, why not just release the transcripts and put these speeches to bed?" debate moderator Dana Bash said to cheers from the audience.
As Business Insider noted, Hillary Clinton responded with the reasoning she has used since the Sanders camp first made the Wall Street speech transcripts an issue early in the campaign: she will do it when everyone else does.
"If everybody agrees to do it -- there are other speeches from money on the other side, I understand that," Clinton said, drawing boos.
Bernie Sanders hit Clinton hard on the Wall Street transcripts, saying she is in no position to take on the excesses and corruption of the financial sector when she had been so cozy with them in the past.
"Hillary Clinton called them out. They must've been really crushed by this. Was that before or after you received huge sums of money after by giving speaking engagements behind closed doors? They've must've been very upset," he said.
Even other members of the Democratic Party are now turning on Hillary Clinton after her refusal to release her Wall Street speech transcripts. Former presidential candidate Martin O'Malley called out Clinton during Thursday's debate, saying that she needs to share the transcripts and comparing her refusal to Mitt Romney's decision to keep his tax records secret in 2012.
Former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod also noted the inconsistency of Clinton's stance on the transcripts.
But, for his part, Axelrod was equally critical of Bernie Sanders, saying the Vermont Senator could offer no specifics on how taking Wall Street money may have unfairly influenced Hillary Clinton's decision-making.
There is already some idea of what may be in Hillary Clinton's Wall Street speeches. In February, Politico tracked down some Goldman Sachs executives who were at her 2013 speech in Arizona and said that Clinton spoke "glowingly" of the work the bank had done to create jobs and raise capital.
The attendees said Clinton also spoke about the bank's diverse workforce, with many women in high-ranking positions. Clinton, who has been critical of the role banks played in the 2008 financial collapse, did not raise those criticisms in her speech, they said.
"It was pretty glowing about us," one of the attendees said. "It's so far from what she sounds like as a candidate now. It was like a rah-rah speech. She sounded more like a Goldman Sachs managing director."
"It was mostly basic stuff, small talk, chit-chat," another added. "But in this environment, it could be made to look really bad."
As the backlash grows for her decision not to release the Wall Street speech transcripts, Hillary Clinton may have also lost one of her main pieces of leverage in keeping them under wraps. Her camp has called on Bernie Sanders to release his own tax records, and on Thursday he responded, saying he will release the 2014 filing on Friday with others to follow.