NY Daily News wrongly reported Sen. Clinton's criticism of ports deal "faded away"

Summary: The New York Daily News reported that after it was revealed that former President Bill Clinton advised United Arab Emirates officials on how to handle the controversial deal that would have granted Dubai Ports World (DPW) operational control of six major U.S. ports, his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), "faded away as a leading voice of criticism for the ports deal." In fact, after Mr. Clinton's role was first reported, Sen. Clinton continued to publicly criticize the deal.

New York Daily News Washington reporter Kenneth R. Bazinet, in a March 21 article, reported that after it was revealed that former President Bill Clinton had advised United Arab Emirates (UAE) officials on how to handle the controversial deal that would have granted Dubai Ports World (DPW) -- a company owned by the government of Dubai, a member state of the UAE -- operational control of operations at six major U.S. ports, his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), "faded away as a leading voice of criticism for the ports deal." In fact, after Mr. Clinton's role was first reported on March 2, Sen. Clinton continued to engage in public criticism of the deal.

From Bazinet's March 21 Daily News article:

Still, the senator's advisers are trying to put a muzzle on her husband's more controversial comments and actions that have hindered her effort to paint herself as a national security hawk -- a crucial part of her political makeover.

The Dubai port controversy was the latest episode that allowed her critics to charge she was being politically duplicitous. Because of their contrasting actions, the Clintons were lampooned by conservatives, and Hillary Clinton faded away as a leading voice of criticism for the ports deal.

Newsday reported on March 3: "Bill Clinton coached United Arab Emirates officials on how to handle the Dubai ports controversy two weeks ago -- but didn't tell his wife about that conversation, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton disclosed yesterday." Citing conservative columnist Robert D. Novak's March 2 column, Newsday reported that the former president "urged the Dubai official to hire former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart to handle damage control on the ports, despite the fact that Lockhart's consulting firm, the Glover Park Group, is a central part of Sen. Clinton's political operation."

Sen. Clinton, however, did not "fade away," as Bazinet reported. A March 4 Baltimore Sun article reported that Sen. Clinton was among the five Democratic senators and five Republican senators who "sent a letter to their party leaders" on March 3 "asking for cooperation in giving Congress a role in the Bush administration's latest review of Dubai Ports World's planned takeover of some operations at the port of Baltimore and five other major U.S. seaports." A statement announcing the letter is posted on Sen. Clinton's website.

Sen. Clinton also participated in a March 9 press conference on the ports deal, in which she said:

CLINTON: I think there are legitimate concerns. I'm not going to deny that. Based on what we know from Senator Warner's description of this deal, it came about because of a decision made by the royal family in Dubai, in the UAE. Obviously, they have made this decision because our government didn't exercise the appropriate oversight and the 45-day investigation, which put everyone in a very difficult position. And so, the owners of DP World have said, you know, we're going to divest. And obviously, the details of that divestment is what we're all waiting to see.

Sen. Clinton also appeared on the March 9 edition of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 to discuss the ports deal and DPW's decision that day to transfer operations at the six U.S. ports to an American entity. Prefacing his first question to Sen. Clinton, Cooper noted: "You have been very outspoken about the Dubai ports deal."

—S.S.M.