What do former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have in common?
All three were considered as possible vice presidential picks for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton before she chose Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate, according to a leaked email released Tuesday morning.
Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta floated a list of 39 possible vice presidential picks to be vetted in an email sent to in April, according to the leaked message. The email was one of thousands allegedly stolen from Podesta's email account and posted on WikiLeaks over the last week.
Podesta has said that he is in touch with federal investigators because of a hacking situation, although neither he nor FBI officials have confirmed the veracity of the messages posted to WikiLeaks.
The list of possible vice presidential candidates has multiple familiar names, including those of Apple CEO Tim Cook, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
"Ok, I can breathe again! Congrats on a fabulous night," Podesta wrote in the email, dated March 17. "I am feeling like it's possible to get back to the longer term again."
The email came after Clinton emerged victorious in multiple state primaries on March 16.
>> Related: WikiLeaks emails: FBI investigates, Podesta claims he was targeted by Russian hackers
Podesta and other Clinton advisers "did a first cut of people to consider for VP," the campaign chair wrote.
"I have organized names in rough food groups," he said.
He sent the following list of names, grouped as shown:
Javier Becerra
Julian Castro
Eric Garcetti
Tom Perez
Ken Salazar
Tammy Baldwin
Kirsten Gillibrand
Amy Klobuchar
Claire McKaskill
Jeanne Shaheen
Debbie Stabenow
Elizabeth Warren
Michael Bennet
Sherrod Brown
Martin Heinreich
Tim Kaine
Terry McAuliffe
Chris Murphy
Tom Vilsack
Steve Benjamin
Corey Booker
Andrew Gillum
Eric Holder
Deval Patrick
Kasim Reed
Anthony Foxx
John Allen
Bill McCraven
Mike Mullen
Mary Barra
Michael Bloomberg
Ursula Burns
Tim Cook
Bill Gates
Melinda Gates
Muhtar Kent
Judith Rodin
Howard Schultz
Bernie Sanders
Clinton announced in July that Kaine would serve as her running mate. However, emails released by WikiLeaks show that the Democratic presidential hopeful had set her sights on the Virginia senator as much as a year before that announcement was made.
>> Related: Tim Kaine: Here are 9 things you may not know about him
In an email sent that month to Podesta with the subject line "Bob Glennon," Democratic consultant Erick Mullen wrote that "HRC has personally told Tim Kaine he's the veep."
"A little unseemly," he wrote.
About the Author
