"Emails offer glimpse into Clinton’s personal life", but not much concern for anyone else in the wake of the Benghazi attacks

A fascinating article was published yesterday by Agency France Presse (AFP) that legacy media outlets studiously avoided relaying. And I had to go to PM News Nigeria to find it.

Only hours before Hillary Clinton was to face her biggest challenge and tragedy as US secretary of state, she asked an aide to get her a French documentary about Libya.

"Can you get us a copy of Bernard Henri-Levi's (sic) film about Libya. I think Harvey made it and it showed at Cannes last spring," the then secretary of state wrote to her trusted friend and confidant Huma Abedin at 5:50 am on September 11, 2012 [hours before the attack on Benghazi]...

...The request to Abedin was among 296 emails released by the State Department on Friday out of 30,000 that Clinton has turned over after revealing that during her 2009-2013 tenure she had used a private server and email address... they offer a small, but unprecedented insight into Clinton's personal life, her daily work at the Department and how she handled the tragedy which caused a convulsion of grief in the close-knit diplomatic community.

A "convulsion of grief in the close-knit diplomatic community"? Yes, in fact Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was so grief-stricken that she slept through the presidential intel briefing convened just four days after the attack.

Many emails contain condolences from her staff for the deaths of ambassador Chris Stevens and the three other Americans, as well as from Netanyahu, and former defense secretary Bob Gates ... Others are more fawning, thanking the boss for her leadership, and in particular the remarks she made at a ceremony when the bodies were brought back to the US.

In one missive, Clinton admits that on the Saturday after the attack she overslept and missed a presidential briefing. "I just woke up," she wrote.

Oh, and seeing as how this is a Clinton we're talking about, concerns for the family of the dead weren't exactly top of mind.

The emails also show concern for how Clinton's image was holding up in ensuing political storm, with her foreign policy advisor Jake Sullivan assuring her she never referred to "spontaneous" demonstrations.

That was the description offered by national security advisor Susan Rice on the Sunday talkshows which Republicans seized on as proof that the administration was covering up the true circumstances of the attack.

In October 2012, Abedin emailed to ask Clinton to call one of the diplomatic security officers injured in the Benghazi attack... But she adds that someone has been putting together a collection of clothes "3 nice gowns, a lot of blouses and jackets" for Clinton to try on during a visit to New York.

Yes, clearly concerned about the failings in Benghazi, Hillary's pals cheered her up by visiting sites like Shop Bazaar -- or more pantsuit-friendly venues.

Towards the end of 2012, Clinton asks how the Benghazi hearings are going and apologizes to deputy secretary of state Tom Nides that she won't be able to accompany him after suffering a bad fall.

"So I'll be nursing my cracked head and cheering you on as you 'remain calm and carry on,'" she wrote... "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger (as I have rationalized for years) so just survive and you'll have triumphed."

A "bad fall" and a "cracked head" were the reasons she used to delay testifying about her involvement with the events in Benghazi before the House Oversight Committee. For a mere six months. Until she could "remember" what happened.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.