Among the thousand cuts Donald Trump delivered to Hillary Clinton en route to her political death was the accusation that she was cozy with the repressive Sultan of Brunei. A 2012 email released Thursday by the U.S. State Department seems to back him up.

In the message, Clinton aide Huma Abedin told the then-presidential candidate that Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, worth a reported $20 billion, wanted to see her and husband Bill for an intimate 'family style dinner.'

Brunei government officials 'say [the] sultan sees wjc [William Jefferson Clinton] as part of his family and this is treating you in this "informal" way,' she wrote.

The sultan's embrace of brutal Muslim Sharia law to guide his nation's criminal justice system made him the center of controversy two years later when Hollywood celebrities discovered that it criminalized homosexuality – and imposed a potential death penalty for 'sodomy.'

The Sultan of Brunei (left) invited Hillary Clinton (right) to an intimate dinner in 2012, according to an email released Thursday, saying he considered Bill Clinton a part of his family

When the sultan introduced harsh Sharia law as the new legal standard for his tiny country, Hollywood revolted by boycotting hotels he owned (Jay Leno is shown picketing the Beverly Hills Hotel)

In an email, a Clinton aide told Hillary that the sultan considered her husband Bill like a member of his family

The criminal code there also requires stoning to death for adultery, the amputation of limbs for theft, and flogging for abortion and alcohol consumption.

Former 'Tonight' show host Jay Leno led a group of picketers outside the Beverly Hills Hotel, which the sultan owns, saying that 'evil flourishes when good people do nothing, and that is pretty much what this is. This is not complicated. These are not crazy left-wing wacko people.'

Daytime TV host Ellen DeGeneres boycotted the hotel, and other sultan-owned properties. So did businessman Richard Branson and Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

Trump raised the issue in a June 2015 speech, saying that Clinton 'accepted $58,000 in jewelry from the government of Brunei when she was Secretary of State – plus millions more for her foundation.'

'The Sultan of Brunei has pushed oppressive Sharia law, including the punishment of death by stoning for being gay. The government of Brunei also stands to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Hillary’s Trans-Pacific Partnership, which she would absolutely approve if given the chance.'

The September 2012 email from Huma Abedin laid out the plan for Clinton to visit with the ultra-rich sultan in a more intimate setting than he would allow with most other world leaders

Abedin was Clinton's top aide during her presidential campaign and a deputy chief of staff during her years as U.S. secretary of state

Clinton, it emerged later, followed the ethics rules requiring her to turn the jewelry over to the federal government for its archives. But Clinton Foundation records show gifts totaling between $1 million and $5 million from the sultan.

Trump also blasted the foundation for taking 'up to $25 million from Saudi Arabia, where being gay is also punishable by death. Hillary took millions from Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and many other countries that horribly abuse women and LGBT citizens.'

It was a conscious effort to put Clinton on defense, seizing the moral high ground on gay rights that liberal Democrats typically claim exclusively as their own.

Huma Abedin's email to Clinton noted a previous 'visit' with the sultan by Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton – and Hillary's mother Dorothy Howell Rodham, who had died in 2011.

Donald Trump blasted Clinton in a June 2016 speech for associating with the Brunei dictator

Celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and business leaders like Richard Branson leaped into the 2014 controversy by boycotting hotels owned by the sultan

The message reached Clinton on her private plane when she touched down in Brunei six hours later. It was on that visit that she received the jewelry.

The U.S. State Department's official recap of the trip records that 'His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei and Her Majesty the Queen warmly welcomed Secretary Clinton to their home, the Royal Palace Istana Nurul Iman, for dinner with the Royal Family.'