This is what happened when two speaking series booked Bill Clinton in 2002


Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have come under heavy criticism for their unusually high speaking fees, and perhaps no example quite exemplifies the absurd maneuvering required to arrange such engagements as two separate speaker series the former president committed to in California in 2002. In addition to a $1,400 bill for a day's worth of phone calls from San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel, Clinton also ran up a $700 dinner bill for two. What's more, his contract insisted a private plane transport him from San Francisco to his speaking event at the University of California at Davis — a distance of only 70 miles.
"That is the one and only time" such a demand had been made, said Jeremy Ganter, the director of programming at the Mondavi Center, which hosted the event at UC Davis.
The contracts and internal emails exchanged while securing Clinton as a speaker were made public thanks to an open-records request filed by the Republican National Committee, which has added its own scrutiny to the fees as Hillary Clinton runs for president; the records revealed that the former president's aides vetted questions before they were asked of him. "We wish we never had to give in to that. He is the only person I can think of that required it. It has never happened before or since," said Richard Henning, the speaking series manager for Foothill-De Anza Community College District, which hosted the other of Clinton's Bay Area speeches in 2002.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But that's not all the emails revealed: There was also a racist remark made by one of the speaking series organizers during negotiations with Team Clinton, in addition to the organizer's comments that the male aides who traveled with Clinton were "mistresses." Still, "the Harry Walker Agency, which [represents] Bill and Hillary Clinton, did not let any of [the organizer's questionable behavior] interfere with closing a deal," The Los Angeles Times noted. Read about the entire ordeal, here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia James
Speed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
-
Judge blocks Trump’s Guard deployment in Chicago
Speed Read The president is temporarily blocked from federalizing the Illinois National Guard or deploying any Guard units in the state
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leaders
Speed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats