http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/04/clinton_aide_sorry_for_trade_m.phpClinton aide sorry for trade meeting
Clinton Strategist Calls Meeting With Colombian Officials on Trade Deal 'Error in Judgment'
NEDRA PICKLER
AP News
Apr 04, 2008 12:07 EST
Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief strategist apologized Friday for meeting with Colombian officials pushing a free trade agreement that the presidential candidate opposes.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the strategist, Mark Penn, met Monday with Colombia's ambassador to the United States. Clinton advisers said Penn's meetings were not connected to the campaign, but part of his job as chief executive of the lobbying and public relations firm Burson-Marsteller Worldwide.
But a Clinton adviser said the candidate was not happy to learn about the meeting, and Penn issued a statement expressing regrets.
"The meeting was an error in judgment that will not be repeated and I am sorry for it," Penn said in a written statement. "The senator's well-known opposition to this trade deal is clear and was not discussed."
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Penn's political consulting firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland, has been paid $10.8 million so far by Clinton's campaign.