Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and his chief of staff Sara Latham discussed calling Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards to speak with her and then arrange for a Clinton visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic, according to WikiLeaks’ release of emails.
Latham and Podesta discuss contacting Richards as the abortion business’ CEO was preparing to testify before the House Oversight Committee.
Latham writes to Podesta on Thursday, September 24, 2015:
> checking in to see if you’ve had time to connect w/Cecile ? She’s in DC today on the hill so may not answer – but her scheduler, Marisa Feehan should be around and answering Cecile’s desk line if she doesn’t pick up her cell.
Richards was to appear before the House Oversight Committee the following Tuesday, September 29, 2015, as a result of a series of undercover videos that alleged Planned Parenthood harvested the body parts of babies aborted in its clinics and sold them for profit.
During that hearing, Richards created a firestorm with her statement to members of Congress, “Abortion is healthcare.”
Latham then continues in the email, apparently suggesting to Podesta that Clinton would visit a Planned Parenthood clinic the day before Richards’ testimony:
> From Lauren Peterson (who used to work for PP) – heard the visit may be Monday – I’m on deck to help with talking points, I know from their side, it would go a long way if we first reached out to the national office and let them talk first with the CEO of that affiliate.
Latham suggests a visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic would be politically advantageous to Clinton:
> HRC would be the first 2016 candidate and maybe the first presidential candidate ever (?) to visit a PP health center. Plus, if it happens on Monday, the very next day is their digital day of action so we could roll right into that and get a nice bump on digital as well.
Richards is a strong Clinton supporter.
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