President Obama with John Podesta on Air Force One. (Photo: © Wikimedia Commons)
The Obama administration collected lists of Muslim candidates for jobs in the Obama administration, according to previously unseen emails sent to the chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign John Podesta and released by Wikileaks. Podesta was also a former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton.
Dating from 2008, the email refers to a list of Muslim leaders vetted for top jobs within the administration (it does not provide the list). The author, Preeta Bansal, adds three points by way of explanation, the first of which is as follows:
“In the candidates for top jobs, I excluded those with some Arab American background but who are not Muslim (e.g., George Mitchell). Many Lebanese Americans, for example, are Christian. In the last list (of outside boards/commissions), most who are listed appear to be Muslim American, except that a handful (where noted) may be Arab American but of uncertain religion (esp. Christian).”
You can read the full email here.
This paragraph has drawn the ire of commentators who see this as evidence that Obama’s White House was deliberately excluding Christians from senior positions.
More HERE