The document, written by Clinton aide Doug Band, was crafted as an answer to criticism of his work for the former president and other Clinton Foundation board members. The memo outlined the strategy Band used to line up consulting contracts and paid speaking engagements for Bill Clinton that brought in tens of millions of dollars to the family's fortune.
Here's what other media outlets are saying about it, and here's where you can read the memo.
A circle of enrichment
"When top Bill Clinton aide Douglas Band wrote the memo, he was a central player at the Clinton Foundation and president of his own corporate consulting firm. Over the course of 13 pages, he made a case that his multiple roles had served the interests of the Clinton family and its charity.
In doing so, Band also detailed a circle of enrichment in which he raised money for the Clinton Foundation from top-tier corporations such as Dow Chemical and Coca-Cola that were clients of his firm, Teneo, while pressing many of those same donors to provide personal income to the former president."
Aide secured millions for Clintons
Time
"A 2011 memo made public Wednesday by WikiLeaks revealed new details of how former President Bill Clinton made tens of millions of dollars for himself and his wife, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, through an opaque, ethically messy amalgam of philanthropic, business and personal activities.
The memo was written by Bill Clinton's longtime aide, Doug Band. … The Band memo came in response to an investigation undertaken by a law firm, Simpson Thatcher, into the activities of the Clinton Foundation at the behest of its board."
Aide pushed clients to donate millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation
"A close aide to Bill Clinton said he arranged for $50 million in payments for the former president, part of a complicated mingling of lucrative business deals and charity work of the Clinton Foundation mapped out in a memo released by WikiLeaks on Wednesday.
The report was written by Doug Band, who has transitioned from his job as a Clinton aide to a partner in Teneo Consulting, a firm whose client roster now includes some of the biggest companies in the world. Along the way, Band wrote, he also pushed his clients and contacts to donate millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation, and to help win business deals for Bill Clinton.”
12-page memo highlights aide’s role in procuring money
“One of Bill Clinton’s closest confidants outlined in a lengthy 2011 memo how he and another aide helped secure at least $50 million in speaking fees and other ventures for the former president – in addition to raising “the bulk” of funds for the controversial Clinton Foundation.
The 12-page memo from Doug Band, released Wednesday by WikiLeaks, was designed to highlight the crucial role he – and his global strategy company Teneo – played in procuring money for the ex-president and Clinton's namesake foundation.
“Throughout the past almost 11 years since President Clinton left office, I have sought to leverage my activities, including my partner role at Teneo, to support and to raise funds for the Foundation,” Band wrote. “This memorandum strives to set forth how I have endeavored to support the Clinton Foundation and President Clinton personally.” ”
Bill Clinton Inc.
“As a longtime Bill Clinton adviser came under fire several years ago for alleged conflicts of interest involving a private consulting firm and the Clinton Foundation, he mounted an audacious defense: Bill Clinton’s doing it, too.
The unusual and brash rejoinder from veteran Clinton aide and Teneo Consulting co-founder Doug Band is scattered across the thousands of hacked emails published by WikiLeaks, but a memo released Wednesday provides the most detailed look to date at the intertwined worlds of nonprofit, for-profit, official and political activities involving Clinton and many of his top aides."
Lucrative deals with big companies
“A memo written by one of Bill Clinton's closest aides highlights the lucrative speaking deals the former president had with some of the biggest companies in the world.
The 2011 memo, marked "Attorney-Client Privilege" was sent by Doug Band to two attorneys who were doing a review of the way the Foundation was being run; it was included in the cache of stolen emails released by WikiLeaks this week.”
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