Clinton insider, Blumenthal associate faced IG probe for informal diplomacy

Published December 20, 2015

A longtime Clinton ally once under investigation for possibly violating a federal law on diplomatic negotiations may have helped Sidney Blumenthal prepare intelligence memos for Hillary Clinton while she served as secretary of state, according to The Washington Examiner.

Cody Shearer was the subject of a State Department inspector general “Logan Act” probe in 1998 after he allegedly conducted rogue negotiations that "caused temporary diplomatic damage in Bosnia," according to documents obtained by Citizens United through the Freedom of Information Act.

The inspector general found that Shearer, whose ties to the Clintons stretch back to the 1992 election, "may have represented himself as speaking on behalf of the U.S. Department of State" in private conversations about the proposed partitioning of Bosnia -- a policy the U.S. publicly opposed.

More than a decade later, Shearer is entangled in another instance of back-channel information peddling at the State Department.

Shearer assisted Blumenthal and Tyler Drumheller, a former CIA operative, in preparing a series of informal intelligence memos for Clinton as she waded deeper into the Libyan conflict, according to Pro Publica.

Blumenthal, a long-time, unofficial Clinton adviser, offered her as secretary of state intelligence reports on Libya, according to recent released emails.

The edited tranche of emails published by the State Department in May and June suggest she relied almost exclusively on their guidance to inform her decision-making in the country.

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