A passage from Hillary Clinton’s State Department memoir that detailed her involvement in crafting the United States’ controversial 12-nation trade deal .
The International Business Times reported that a section of Clinton’s book Hard Choices referencing the former secretary of state’s efforts to persuade nations to join negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership was omitted from the paperback version of the book.
A statement printed on the copyright page noted that roughly 96 pages were cut from the memoir "to accommodate a shorter length for this edition," according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, which first noted the omission in May. It made no reference to the nature of the purged content.
The original version of the book included a two-page segment describing a 2009 conference in El Salvador where Clinton pushed nations in the region to join U.S.-led TPP negotiations.
"[We encouraged] all open-market democracies driving toward a more prosperous future to join negotiations with Asian nations on TPP, the trans-Pacific trade agreement," part of the since deleted section read.
Clinton discussed the TPP earlier in the book, calling it "important for American workers, who would benefit from competing on a more level playing field." She also said the trade agreement would bolster U.S. influence in Asia.
The International Business Times reported that this section has not been omitted from the book’s paperback version.
Clinton’s wavering positions on TPP have come under fire from her Democratic challenger Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.).
While serving as secretary of state in 2012, Clinton touted the TPP as the "gold standard" of trade agreements. Just three years later, she came out against the deal and later claimed she never supported it.
Clinton has also denied involvement in the pact’s creation despite leaked State Department emails showing that the agency under Clinton’s guidance was involved in diplomatic talks regarding the agreement.
In response to an open records request from the International Business Times, the State Department said Monday that it would delay the release of emails between Clinton and government officials regarding TPP until after the general election in November.
The State Department initially said it would released Clinton’s TPP correspondence by April.