HRC uses nomination to raise cash

Hillary Rodham Clinton won’t be able to raise money if she’s confirmed as secretary of state, so she’s scrambling to pull in as much cash as she can before then — with the unorthodox tactic of leveraging her own nomination as a fundraising draw.

In an e-mail sent Tuesday afternoon to her campaign’s list, Bill Clinton thanks his wife’s supporters for helping to make her nomination possible and asks them to go to her website and “take a moment to celebrate this wonderful news by sending Hillary a message of congratulations.”

But, at the bottom of the e-mail, just under Bill Clinton’s signature, a big red “Contribute” button beckons, linking to a page on Hillary Clinton’s campaign website soliciting contributions to help her pay off the unpaid bills lingering from her presidential campaign.

The e-mail amounts to something of a double-dip on Clinton’s nomination. The Clinton e-mail followed one by Obama’s team earlier Tuesday seeking transition contributions by touting his national security team — including the former first lady.

Clinton’s debt to vendors, which stood at $7.5 million at the end of October, presents a sticky situation for the Obama administration.

If Clinton is confirmed as President-elect Barack Obama’s top diplomat, she would be barred by ethics rules and tradition from partisan political activity, including raising cash to pay off the debt.

That leaves her only a few options:

She can allow others to try to raise money on her behalf while she’s serving in Obama’s Cabinet; she can let the unpaid bills linger until she steps down from the post; or she can petition her vendors and the Federal Election Commission to forgive the debt through a settlement process not unlike filing for bankruptcy. Whichever route she chooses, Bill Clinton’s e-mail indicates his wife’s campaign is going to continue raising money as she awaits Senate confirmation hearings.

“This nomination would not have been possible without the hard work of everyone like you who has supported Hillary throughout the years,” Bill Clinton writes in the e-mail. “I know I speak for her when I say thank you for everything you have done for her.”