Possible Conflict of Interest by Secretary of State Clinton"
Additionally, a possible conflict of interest has emerged due to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's former ties to TransCanada's Pipeline Lobbyist, Paul Elliott. Elliott was hired by TransCanada some 2 years ago as the key contact person to broker the special "safety waivers' from the State Department. The question of waivers goes through the State Department since this is an international deal. State, in effect has the power to authorize the waivers also known as "Presidential Waivers.'
Paul Elliott"qualified to defend this project?
Elliott is an inept choice for this type of project as he has no experience or education in sciences such as geology or engineering. He graduated from Fordham University with a bachelor's degree in English Literature, and previously worked in public relations. He has no qualifications for this type of work--except for the fact that he served as public affairs advisor to Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin during the Clinton administration, and--subsequently served as the national deputy director and chief of staff for delegate selection during the 2008 presidential run by now Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. (Source : http://solveclimatenews.com/news/20110117/clinton-ties-pipeline-lobbyist-obscured-quest...)
FOIA Request Denied"
This potential conflict of interest would never have seen the light of day, except for a FOIA request (Freedom of Information Act) filed mid December, 2010 by three advocacy groups; Friends of the Earth, The Center for International Environmental Law and Corporate Ethics International. The request specifically named Paul Elliott as a subject of the search. On January 5th, 2011 the State Department rejected the request. The reasons given by State for the rejection are the following:
"You have not reasonably described the records you seek in a way that someone familiar with Department records and programs could locate them." The second reason reads : "You have not agreed to pay the fees associated with the processing of your request."
Ironically before news of Elliott's involvement and clear conflict of interest--seven
green groups had urged Clinton to recuse herself from this decision due to earlier statements of support last fall. To quote Carroll Muffett, president of the Center for International Environmental Law""It warrants our learning more and the public learning more. The fundamental purpose of FOIA is to find out how the government is making decisions. Keystone XL is a massive project with tremendous environmental implications." (Source : http://solveclimatenews.com/news/20110117/clinton-ties-pipeline-lobbyist-obscured-quest...)
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