WikiLeaks gives insight into Clinton charity tension

WASHINGTON — Newly leaked emails show consternation among those closest to Hillary Clinton about how Bill Clinton’s business dealings might damage his reputation.

The emails, posted Monday by WikiLeaks, also give insight into tension within the Clinton Foundation while Clinton was serving as secretary of state.

WikiLeaks began releasing on Friday what it says are years of messages from the accounts of Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta. Podesta has acknowledged his emails were hacked but warned the messages may have been altered or edited to do political damage to Clinton.

The emails that circulated among Podesta, Chelsea Clinton and former Bill Clinton aide Doug Band detail internal tension that simmered inside the Clin- ton Foundation and appears to have played a role in Band’s departure from the family charity.

Internal concerns among Clinton family intimates about Band and the private corporate advisory firm he co-founded, Teneo Holdings, have been detailed by the media. But the new emails provide raw glimpses of an apparent power struggle between the Clintons’ daughter and Band.

In an email exchange from December 2011, Chelsea Clinton tells Podesta and others — including Clinton adviser and current Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe — that she’s increasingly concerned about Teneo.

The email includes a forwarded news article that alleges Bill Clinton had collected $50,000 a month through Teneo from MF Global, a commodities brokerage, while MF Global was preparing to file for bankruptcy.

Band wrote in an email t hat Chelsea Clinton seemed more concerned about critical news coverage of MF Global and Teneo than published reports about Bill Clinton’s infidelity.

“She is acting like a spoiled brat kid,” Band vented in an exchange sent to Podesta.

The emails reflect the ascendance of Chelsea Clinton — as early as 2011 — inside the family charity. The younger Clinton was recently anointed as the Clinton Foundation’s future leader if her mother wins the presidency next month.

Calls seeking comment from the Clinton Foundation and from Teneo received no response Monday.

Also in December 2011, Clinton Foundation Chief Operating Officer Laura Graham contacted Band to complain that stress she blamed on the former president and Chelsea Clinton was causing her to consider suicide.