Wikileaks: Huma Abedin Asks to Shorten Benghazi Statement Because Hillary Won’t Have Podium to Lean on

Huma Abedin, top aide to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, asked a speechwriter to shorten a potential statement to reporters because Clinton would not deliver it at a podium, according to the latest Wikileaks release of messages from John Podesta’s email accounts.

Dan Schwerin, Direct of Speechwriting for Clinton’s campaign, sent a draft of a “post-game statement [Hillary] could make to press” after she testified before the House Benghazi Committee in October 2015. The statement, at 253 words, would take the average speaker less than two minutes to deliver.

“I would make it shorter only because it’s a bank of Mics and no podium,” Abedin replied.

Based on contemporaneous news reports, Clinton’s team appears to have scrapped a “post-game” statement altogether — since Clinton ultimately sat and talked for 11 hours over the course of the hearing. During that time, Clinton suffered a coughing fit for several minutes while answering questions from Rep. Elijah Cummings.

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