Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton signed off on documents that changed Huma Abedin’s status to "special government employee," documents obtained by Judicial Watch as a result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit indicate.
The title change allowed Abedin, then Clinton’s deputy chief off staff, to work for the Clinton Foundation and a firm with ties to the Clintons, Teneo, during her last six months at the State Department.
Politico reported that Clinton approved Abedin’s title change from deputy chief of staff to special government employee on March 23, 2012, according to the document, a change that went into effect in June of the same year.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has been investigating Abedin’s special status. Last month, a letter penned by the committee’s chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) indicated that the inspector general of the State Department found "reasonable suspicion" that Abedin’s additional job as a private consultant may have violated conflict-of-interest laws.
Lawyers for Abedin have maintained that she did not break rules.
Abedin, a longtime Clinton aide, currently serves as the vice chair of the former secretary of state’s presidential campaign. Clinton has claimed that she was not "directly involved" with Abedin’s special employment status.
In response to reports, the Clinton campaign said Thursday that the document indicates that Clinton approved the title change but not the actual transition to a special government employee.
According to the document, the "new" position was a special government employee job. "The incumbent serves as a Senior Adviser, Expert-Special Government Employee," it reads.
It indicates that Clinton gave "supervisory certification" of the statement, "I certify that this is an accurate statement of the major duties and responsibilities of this person … and the position is necessary to carry out government functions for which I am responsible."
The revelation comes just weeks after it was revealed that the State Department inspector general investigated Abedin for embezzlement and found she accepted more than $10,000 in overpayments from the government.