Hillary Donor Under Investigation in Counterintelligence Probe

A former high-ranking diplomat and Clinton ally at the center of an FBI counterintelligence probe was a registered foreign agent for the Pakistani government up until just days before she was appointed to run the U.S. State Department’s Pakistan aid team.

The Washington Post reported last week that the State Department’s aid coordinator for Pakistan, Robin Raphel, is the subject of a counterintelligence investigation and has had her security clearance revoked.

The FBI has not specified the nature of the probe, although the Post indicated that it could be espionage-related. She was reportedly placed on administrative leave last month, and the State Department said she is no longer employed by the agency.

Raphel previously served as an assistant secretary of state under President Bill Clinton and rejoined the State Department in August 2009 to focus on Pakistan and Afghanistan aid issues. She is also close to Hillary Clinton and contributed $2,000 to her presidential campaign in 2007.

From 2007 until 2009, Raphel worked for the lobbying firm Cassidy & Associates, where her clients included the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

Cassidy & Associates stated in lobbying disclosure records that Raphel stopped conducting work for Pakistan in November 2007.

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