A State Department spokeswoman said that the Clinton Foundation didn't impact any of the department's actions while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. | Getty State Department: Clinton Foundation didn't influence us

The State Department does not believe that any of its acts under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were impacted by the Clinton Foundation, a State spokeswoman said Thursday.

"The department’s actions under Secretary Clinton were taken to advance administration policy as set by the president and in the interests of American foreign policy," State spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters. "The State Department is not aware of any actions that were influenced by the Clinton Foundation."


Trudeau faced questions on the issue for a second day after the release of emails showing a Clinton Foundation official, Doug Band, reaching out to Secretary Clinton's aides to promote a job applicant and to put a wealthy foundation donor and businessman in touch with a senior State Department diplomat.

Trudeau said Thursday that there was nothing untoward about Band urging Clinton's deputies to find a job for someone whose name was deleted from the Freedom of Information Act release on privacy grounds, but whom campaign aides have said was a young advance person who worked on Clinton's 2008 presidential bid.

"At the beginning of an administration, we receive recommendations for aspiring employees from a great many places and sources. The department does not believe it was inappropriate for Mr. Band or any other individual to recommend someone be considered for employment at the State Department," Trudeau said during State's regular press briefing. "We also do not believe it’s inappropriate for someone recommended in this matter to be potentially hired insofar as they meet the necessary qualifications for the job."

Trudeau called it "not at all surprising" that some State Department staffers are political appointees hired under what the federal government calls "Schedule C" authority.

"Former Secretary Clinton’s staff have stated that this individual was not a Clinton Foundation donor or employee, but even such a history would not have precluded an individual from employment with the department," she said.

Some ethics experts have argued that Band's efforts to put Lebanese-Nigerian businessman Gilbert Chagoury in contact with a top State official handling Lebanon ran afoul of the spirit of Clinton's pledge not to act on matters affecting the Clinton Foundation. Clinton aides have said that in making the request Band was acting as an aide to President Bill Clinton and not as a Clinton Foundation official.

However, Trudeau noted Wednesday that the agreement limited Secretary Clinton's actions, not those of other State officials.

"Department officials are in touch with a wide range of individuals. I’d note that former Secretary Clinton’s ethics agreement did not preclude other State Department officials from having contact with Clinton Foundation staff," Trudeau said.

