WikiLeaks email correspondence revealed that the White House asked Bill Clinton’s former Chief of Staff, John Podesta, to inquire as to whether the former United States president would be willing to intervene following the Greek referendum in July 2015 with the aim of getting Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to agree on a new bailout agreement with Greece’s EU partners. The same email wondered if a similar request would be made of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Greek government denied contact had been made between Tsipras and Clinton in the days following the bailout referendum last year. Sources close to the prime minister however, admitted that a conversation had taken place before the referendum.
The alleged email reportedly asked whether the former president “had enough of a relationship with PM Tsipras to call him and to make a deal.” The initial response from the Clinton office was positive but additional information was required concerning the situation. The documents released so far did not reveal whether the issue was discussed between Clinton and Tsipras.
Podesta, a close aide of Clinton, currently heads Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. His message — spelling and all — read as follows.
“i’m on a train and hard to talk by phone. White House asked me whether WJC had enough of a relationship with PM Tsipras to call him and counsel him to make a deal. Can you ask him whether that’s in the realm of possibility. If yes, I can talk to him after I’m off the train and explain their thinking and what they are hoping to accomplish. Thanks.”
“He says yes, but he’d need a lot more info than he has now. His immediate question is – are we pushing Merkle too? What time will you be available to talk? They have Charlotte, so just need to be able to give a heads up”
NOTE: WJC – William Jefferson Clinton – and Merkle is a misspelling of Merkel.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
