Hillary fires Mark Penn over ties with Colombian government

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ABC News' Jake Tapper, George Stephanopoulos and Eloise Harper report: Mark Penn is giving up his role as chief strategist with Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in the wake of "the events of the past few days," campaign manager Maggie Williams said.

Penn realized that he needed to step down after it was discovered this past week that Penn, who also is chief executive of the lobbying and public relations firm Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, had been hired by the Colombian government to help secure a trade deal that Sen. Clinton has said she opposes, sources told ABC News.

Penn's resignation from his role as chief strategist came under pressure from an angry Sen. Clinton, who believed that Penn had recused himself from any clients who might pose a conflict for her campaign.

On Saturday, the Colombian government said it was firing Penn's firm after he said Friday through the campaign that his consultations with Colombian officials were "an error in judgment that will not be repeated, and I am sorry for it."

Clinton spoke about her opposition to the Colombia trade deal last week in her speech to the AFL-CIO in Philadelphia, and on Saturday seven labor unions that are part of the "Change to Win" coalition called for Clinton to fire Penn.

"The Penn situation -- and the lack of action by you -- raises serious questions about the veracity of your claims of what you would do should you become president," the unions said in a statement released Saturday.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/20...on-chief-s.html

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It turns out Mark Penn is losing his title, but not much else..... more smoke and mirrors from the Hillary campaign!!

After months of criticism and allegations of conflicts of interest swirling around Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's "chief strategist," the Clinton Campaign announced on Sunday that Penn is losing his title. A terse statement from campaign manager Maggie Williams says:

After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as Chief Strategist of the Clinton Campaign; Mark, and Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, Inc. will continue to provide polling and advice to the campaign. Geoff Garin and Howard Wolfson will coordinate the campaign's strategic message team going forward.

...

This announcement aims to reduce Penn's visibility, but obviously he will continue his high-paying job providing "polling and advice" to Sen. Clinton. Tweaking titles does nothing to address the serious questions about Penn's potential conflicts of interest, which The Nation's Ari Berman began reporting as far back as last May.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmat...&pid=307141

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Smoke and mirrors - just classic.

[Ban Hammer 13,355]

Smoke and mirrors - just classic.

did you expect anything different?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Smoke and mirrors - just classic.

did you expect anything different?

Nope. Gotta hand it to her, Hillary manages to meet or exceed my expectation of her each and every time.

[Ban Hammer 13,355]

Smoke and mirrors - just classic.

did you expect anything different?

Nope. Gotta hand it to her, Hillary manages to meet or exceed my expectation of her each and every time.

that's one thing you can add to her resume - consistency