WikiLeaks releases transcripts of Clinton Goldman Sachs speeches

Story highlights

• The remarks were hacked as part of an extensive breach of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's email account
• Clinton's paid speeches were a rallying cry for Bernie Sanders supporters during the Democratic primary

White Plains, New York (CNN)WikiLeaks released Saturday what appear to be transcripts of Hillary Clinton's three paid speeches to financial heavyweight Goldman Sachs.

The remarks, which were hacked as part of an extensive breach of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's email account, show Clinton commenting on Wall Street's role in financial regulations, relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the damage done to US foreign policy by past WikiLeaks releases.

The Clinton campaign declined to confirm the authenticity of any of the transcripts and CNN cannot independently confirm their authenticity. But the campaign has not challenged any emails in other WikiLeaks releases and this is the second time transcripts from Clinton's paid speeches have been made public by the group.

Clinton's campaign compared the WikiLeaks hack to Watergate, the scandal that lead to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

"There is no getting around it: Donald Trump is cheering on a Russian attempt to influence our election through a crime reminiscent of Watergate but on a more massive scale," Glen Caplin, a Clinton campaign spokesman, said Saturday. "We're witnessing another effort to steal private campaign documents in order to influence an election."

The US government has said WikiLeaks is working with Russian operatives.

'For political reasons'

Clinton made three paid appearances for Goldman Sachs between the time she left the State Department in 2013 and when she announced her presidential campaign in early 2015.

Clinton's paid speeches to Goldman Sachs and other financial firms were a rallying cry for Bernie Sanders supporters during the Democratic primary.

Trump has looked to seize on the WikiLeaks releases, regularly touting them at his events to the point that Democrats have argued he is condoning hacking by Russian operatives. Trump said Saturday that he almost delayed a rally in Maine because of the emails' release.

Clinton's campaign was obviously worried about the speeches, too, the hacked emails show. Staffers asked Tony Carrk, the campaign's head of research, to look into the content and present top campaign aides with comments that could prove politically troubling.

In total, Carrk highlighted five comments from the paid speeches. The comments mostly pertained to regulating the financial industry.

In an October 2013 speech to the financial firm, Clinton implied that action was necessary to curb Wall Street street abuses "for political reasons."

"There was also a need to do something because for political reasons, if you were an elected member of Congress and people in your constituency were losing jobs and shutting businesses and everybody in the press is saying it's all the fault of Wall Street, you can't sit idly by and do nothing," Clinton said.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed in 2010 in response to the great recession and looked to impose tighter regulations on financial institutions. While business leaders, especially those leading the financial firms, were generally against the measure, the decision was politically popular with Democrats who blamed Wall Street for the recession.

In the same speech, Clinton said that "more thought has to be given to the process and transactions and regulations so that we don't kill or maim what works, but we concentrate on the most effective way of moving forward with the brainpower and the financial power that exists here."

Clinton on foreign policy

In a June 2013 speech, just months after she left the State Department, Clinton said she wished the United States could intervene in Syria "covertly as is possible for Americans to intervene."

"We used to be much better at this than we are now. Now, you know, everybody can't help themselves," she said. "They have to go out and tell their friendly reporters and somebody else: Look what we're doing and I want credit for it, and all the rest of it."

In a bit of irony, the WikiLeaks release also brought to light Clinton's reaction to a past release from the group that exposed Democratic cables that cast foreign leaders in a negative light.

Clinton joked that she embarked on the "Clinton Apology Tour."

"It was painful," Clinton said. "Leaders who shall remain nameless, who were characterized as vain, egotistical, power hungry, corrupt. And we knew they were. This was not fiction. And I had to go and say, you know, our ambassadors, they get carried away, they want to all be literary people. They go off on tangents. What can I say. I had grown men cry. I mean, literally."

On Russian relations, Clinton said she wishes she could "continue to build a more positive relationship with Russia."

Clinton added that Putin has rejected some of their attempts to work together "out of hand."

Comments largely in line with public positions

Clinton collected at least $1.8 million for at least eight speeches to big banks, according to figures released by Clinton's campaign and tax documents she released earlier this year.

And while the transcripts show a more blunt, less reserved Clinton, much of what the former secretary of state said to Goldman Sachs and other groups appear generally in line with some of what she has said publicly.

In another 2013 speech, Clinton dismissed the idea that President Barack Obama would have been able to accomplish more if he had schmoozed with Republicans in Congress more often.

"I know that he spent a lot of time early on in the first term with the Republicans in trying, as you recall ... it turned out that the Republicans' side, particularly in the House, couldn't deliver," she said.

Clinton's campaign has so far declined to comment on specifics in the releases, in part, because they don't want to validate any of the hacks. Instead, Clinton's top aides have dismissed the releases as partisan efforts by the Russian government to elect Trump president.

But the releases, which have come daily for the last week, are impacting Clinton's campaign by forcing her aides to constantly comment on emails written long before Clinton ran for president.

And, for possibly this reason, Clinton told Lloyd Blankfein, the head of Goldman Sachs, at an event in October that she wished the presidential election was shorter.

"Look, I am of the mind that we cannot have endless campaigns," said. "It is bad for the candidates. It's bad for the country. I mean, part of the reason why it's difficult to govern is because an election ends and then the next day people start jockeying."

Michelle Obama takes on Trump's 'obscene' behavior

Listening to the audio tape last week of Donald Trump telling a chortling interviewer he employed his fame as an excuse to assault women, First Lady Michelle Obama grew incensed.

The man whose political career was born in the racially-tinged conspiracy about her husband's birth was describing in vile terms a penchant for sexual aggression. This was beyond the standard campaign trail rancor, the first lady would say later. It was something more.

With a campaign speech scheduled for the following week in New Hampshire, Democratic sources said the first lady set to work refining and updating a message she'd been seeking to deliver for a long time about Donald Trump's cruel language toward women.

"This is a speech that the first lady has wanted to personally deliver for a long time," said an aide. "It came directly from the first lady."

That address, delivered at a campaign inflection point as woman after woman emerged to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct, evolved into what could be one of the most effective political speeches of the year.

"I have to tell you that I can't stop thinking about this," the first lady said, who before this summer had rarely offered her insights into the emotional turbulence that comes with being a political spouse.

"It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn't have predicted," Obama said. "So while I'd love nothing more than to pretend like this isn't happening and to come out here and do my normal campaign speech, it would be dishonest and disingenuous to me to just move on to the next thing like this was all just a bad dream."

The first lady has carefully honed her public image since she entered the national spotlight more than eight years ago, in part through her direct style of speaking. And while she's advocated passionately for her chosen causes, like combating childhood obesity and supporting military families, she's largely kept her innermost thoughts on the country's political life private.

"In any position, you mature over time," said Desiree Rogers, the Obamas' first White House social secretary, who worked closely with the first lady at the beginning of her tenure in the East Wing. "You start to get your sea legs, you make decisions about what's going to be important to you."

"She's been graceful throughout this whole process and you get better and better at it, and I think that's what we see," Rogers added. "We see a very mature woman -- a woman who knows what she wants, knows what's important her. And most importantly, not afraid to speak about it."

Unlike the rhetorical gymnastics her husband has employed, Michelle Obama aims to get her message across by forging an emotional connection to her audience. Responsibility for much of what the first lady says in public rests in her speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz, who's described in interviews an ability to channel the first lady's voice as she's drafting her remarks.

"As I write for her now, I'm sort of editing the speech with her voice in my head because she's given me so much feedback over the years and been so clear about what she wants," Hurwitz told The Washington Post in June.

Through the first lady's office, Hurwitz declined to detail the preparation that went into Thursday's remarks. But those familiar with the speech's development described an address that sprung directly from the speaker herself.

Clinton's campaign hopes Trump's lewd remarks will disqualify the candidate in the eyes of women voters, and has jumped on every opportunity to deploy Trump's words against him. Michelle Obama, however, didn't need convincing, approaching the campaign already determined to voice her scathing rebuke.

"Of course the campaign was supportive," the aide said.

Unlike the President, Michelle Obama isn't prone to revising her speeches until the last minute, according to people who have worked for her in the past. A lawyer and executive before she became first lady, she is more comfortable with carefully executed drafts and at least one practice session.

For a speech with the deeply personal bent of Thursday's address, her former aides say there's little doubt the first lady spent many hours over the past days writing and perfecting her address. And while aides describe a healthy competition between husband and wife over political influence, there's little question the first lady consulted the President on her message.

Occupied with work on Air Force One when the speech aired live Thursday, President Barack Obama later watched a video of his wife's remarks on a long limo ride in Pittsburgh.

"I could not be prouder of her," the President said Friday.

New Trump accuser: GOP nominee grabbed, kissed me

Story highlights

• Heller, now 63, said she met Trump at Mar-a-Lago nearly 20 years ago
• CNN has not been able to independently confirm Heller's claims

Washington (CNN)Another woman stepped forward Saturday to accuse Donald Trump of sexual assault, saying he kissed her without her consent at his estate in Florida.

Cathy Heller joins a rapidly growing list of women who are accusing the GOP nominee of sexual assault in the week since a 2005 tape surfaced in which Trump bragged about being able to grope women and get away with it.

Heller, now 63, said she met Trump at Mar-a-Lago nearly 20 years ago while she and her family were having brunch, she told The Guardian newspaper.

Heller said she had been introduced to the GOP nominee by her mother-in-law. She told the paper the real estate magnate "took my hand, and grabbed me, and went for the lips," without her consent.

She said Trump held her in place and kissed her. CNN has not been able to independently confirm Heller's claims.

A spokesman for Trump's campaign said there was "no way" Heller's account is true.

"The media has gone too far in making this false accusation," Jason Miller said in a statement. "There is no way that something like this would have happened in a public place on Mother's Day at Mr. Trump's resort. It would have been the talk of Palm Beach for the past two decades. The reality is this: for the media to wheel out a politically motivated Democratic activist with a legal dispute against this same resort owned by Mr. Trump does a disservice to the public, and anyone covering this story should be embarrassed for elevating this bogus claim."

Heller has donated to Democratic campaigns on multiple occasions, including a $2,700 donation she made to Clinton's presidential campaign this year. She also told The Guardian "her husband's family is involved in a years-long effort to recover initiation fees that her late in-laws paid to join Mar-A-Lago."

But The Guardian said it corroborated Heller's claims with a relative who was seated at the dining table as well as a friend whom Heller told a year and half ago.

Heller is one of nearly 10 other women who have publicly accused Trump of sexual assault, including accounts of kissing and groping. Trump has vehemently denied all the allegations, suggesting they are surfacing now because of a "smear" campaign to derail his candidacy.

"Remember this, it's a rigged election because you have phony people coming up with phony allegations with no witnesses whatsoever," Trump said at a campaign rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. "The election is being rigged by corrupt media pushing completely false allegations and outright lies in an effort to elect her (Clinton) president."

South African rally driver Gugu Zulu dies

Gugu Zulu and his wife Letshego pictured at the start of their trek up Mount Kilimanjaro.

Story highlights

• Rally car driver Gugu Zulu has died
• Reports state he was hospitalized after attempting to climb Mount Kilimanjaro

Johannesburg (CNN)Celebrated South African rally driver Gugu Zulu has died following an attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro during a charity event honoring Nelson Mandela.

A spokesman for the Nelson Mandela Foundation confirmed Zulu was attempting to reach the summit with his wife Letshego when he encountered breathing problems. "Details are sketchy. What we do know is that Gugu experienced problems breathing. The medical team supporting the trek put him on a drip and they descended the mountain with him. We are informed that the medical teams tried everything possible to save his life," they said in a statement.

The Foundation's CEO Sello Hatang said in the statement: "I am devastated. I recruited him to climb Kilimanjaro. The last thing he said to me at the airport before he left last week was that he wanted to speak about doing other Mandela Day projects. I feel a huge sense of loss."

Zulu and his wife were among 46 South Africans who took part in the #Trek4Mandela initiative that aims to raise funds to ensure that impoverished girls do not miss a day of school due to menstrual problems.

Among those who expressed their grief was South Africa's Minister of Sport and Recreation Fikile Mbalula, who said Zulu's death, was "tragic news." SuperSport Presenter Xola Ntshanga tweeted "Take solace from the fact that he was with someone he loved, doing something amazing."

Twitter user @lebolukewarm wrote "RIP Gugu Zulu who passed away on Mnt. Kilimanjaro, you were an inspiration to many and @AlutaMaqoko wrote: "RIP fastest brother in Africa."Zulu, who was sometimes referred to as "the fastest man in Africa," was a three-time winner of the South African National Rally Class Championships in 2007, 2009 and 2010.

In a media statement, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma extended his deepest condolences. "We are deeply saddened by this tragic and painful incident which has taken place on a day on which we should be rejoicing and celebrating Madiba's legacy," he said. "South Africa has lost an inspirational young man who was not only an adventure enthusiast, but was also passionate about community initiatives aimed at improving the lives of others."

July 18 is Mandela Day, a United Nations day to commemorate the former South African president.

The French’s Love of Brooklyn Translates to the Luxury Sales Market

With its top-notch schools and restaurants as draws, ‘Little Paris’ is springing up in the borough

Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens—three adjacent neighborhoods in Brooklyn—used to be known just by their actual names. Then real estate developers began referring to the area as BoCoCa as a marketing tool for selling new condos to Manhattanites in search of more space for less money. But now, the area southwest of downtown Brooklyn has a new moniker—“Little France,” or “Little Paris,” depending on whom you’re speaking to.

The emergence of several dual-language public schools in the area, followed by French shops and restaurants such as Provence en Boite and Bien Cuit, have over the past few years attracted quite the community of French nationals who have taken up residence in the neighborhood. The number of French vacationers visiting Brooklyn is also on the rise.

While it is true that French-speaking expats in New York City—thought to total around 180,000, when including patois and cajun—live all over, Brooklyn has a particularly large enclave, with around 3,000 French families estimated to be living in Carroll Gardens alone, according to the French Embassy.

MORE: In Honor of Bastille Day, 5 Paris Homes With Views of the Eiffel Tower

As a result, one of the biggest Bastille Day celebrations outside France was held on restaurant-filled Smith Street in Carroll Gardens, traditionally an Italian neighborhood. The organizer even took the extra step of covering the street with sand so revelers could enjoy playing pétanque, a classic French game.

Bastille Day celebrations in Carroll Gardens.
Bar Tabac

Eric Heras, a broker at Corcoran who specializes in selling Brooklyn brownstones and whose wife is a teacher at Public School 58, believes the area’s popularity is firmly rooted in its schools.

“Everybody used to want to transfer to P.S. 29, and then this dual language program started and just keeps getting more popular,” he said.

French buyers discover life outside Manhattan

Now, it seems that wealthier French families are beginning to jump on the bandwagon— agents report that even French finance industry employees, who have long favored Manhattan, are starting to slowly trickle through to these neighborhoods.

MORE: Brexit Could Have French Heading Home

“We’re seeing the most demand from French buyers in Carroll Gardens because you have the most amazing French program at the International School of Brooklyn, as well as all the great French restaurants such as Chez Moi on Atlantic Avenue,” said Greg McHale, a real estate agent at Compass. “You can’t go to the park without hearing at least three or four conversations in French.”

Many of his French clients want brownstones in the $3 million to $4 million range, but developers of new condominium buildings with good amenities in neighboring Boerum Hill have also seen an increase in inquiries from French buyers.

A French family just purchased a property at The Nevins, a 21-story building being developed in Boerum Hill by the Naveh Shuster Group that will have 73 residences, and where a two-bedroom property will set you back $1.15 million. Amenities will include a 24-hour attended lobby, rooftop terrace, fitness room and children’s playroom.

Tamir Shemesh, a Corcoran broker who is handling sales for the building, said: “We have definitely seen interest from French buyers, and one family in particular … is moving from Manhattan because they love the neighborhood.”

Blake Dinour, a sales agent at The Hendrik, a new upmarket development in Boerum Hill, said she believes the area has become more family-friendly in recent years. The condo’s 33 units range from $1.75 million for a two-bedroom to $2.9 million for a four-bedroom—and more than half will have private outdoor spaces of as much as 1,140 square feet. Ms. Dinour said she believes the large apartments are attracting families who would normally go for a townhouse, but want amenities. A number of the prospective buyers have been French.

But it’s not just BoCoCa

Williamsburg in Brooklyn, is also an attractive option, especially for Parisians, according to Jacques Cohen, an agent at Compass, who just closed on a sale with a French couple. They live in Paris and recently sold their pied-a-terre in Long Island City, Queens, to buy the Williamsburg home, which they plan to use as their primary residence when they move to the U.S. in the near future.

“Instead of taking profits from the most recent sale and putting it into Manhattan, they bought it in Williamsburg. It really attracts the French,” Mr. Cohen said. “The St. Germain neighborhood in Paris is known for its hipster culture, which is similar to Williamsburg.”

French buyers are snapping up properties in other parts of Brooklyn as well. Mr. McHale told Mansion Global that he recently oversaw the sale of a property in Clinton Hill to a French family so they could be closer to their son’s school, which has a great French-language program. Another French couple he worked with just bought a pied-a-terre in downtown Brooklyn.

MORE FROM MANSION GLOBAL:

---

Is Baton Rouge protest photo really iconic?

Attack dogs unleashed in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963; the Tiananmen Square tank standoff in 1989; an Egyptian protester in a blue bra being beaten in Cairo in 2011 — all iconic images now associated with historical moments in time.

But what makes an image iconic?

The true iconic image is rare and unlike any other. It is the sum total of many elements, vetted against cultural, professional and historic standards.

Kenny Irby

It carries the weight of an entire story, even movement, in one photograph. It transports. Audiences instantly share it and reporters tell stories using it as a critical visual backdrop.

Right now, across social media and embedded in mainstream media coverage, people are discussing a powerful, decisive moment documented by Jonathan Bachman of Reuters.

On a humid Sunday afternoon in July, Bachman captured Ieshia Evans, 35, in a flowing gray spotted summer dress (what members of the African-American community might call her "Sunday's best"), defiantly standing her ground during a Baton Rouge protest against police officers in riot gear.

She had joined dozens of protesters along Baton Rouge's Airline Highway to denounce the death four days earlier of Alton Sterling, shot by police outside a local convenience store. Many protesters carried signs. A few shouted into bullhorns. And some were reported to have armed themselves with guns.

Later arrested, Evans joined a long list of American citizens apprehended for exercising her right to participate in civil disobedience, to stand for justice denied.

Like so many photographs quickly tagged by the media as "iconic," this image has inspired a flurry of articles, commentary and online discourse.

Is it iconic?

Evans can certainly be seen to represent a certain peace amid a storm of protest against injustice, a storm that is rippling as a wave across our not so United States of America.

Iconic images that changed the world 02:25

In the era of #BlackLivesMatter, she is a maiden of grace, reminiscent of a Statue of Liberty-like figure, unflappably standing her ground before an animated flurry of armed-to-the-teeth police officers, protesters and bystanders.

In a fraction of a second she embodied a special quality of guts and courage: "grace under pressure," is how Ernest Hemingway defined it.

Some see in this photographic image a reminder of other photographs indelibly etched in their photographic memories. The contrast recalls images of the stand-off between a man and a tank in Tiananmen Square in 1989, or the determination of Rosa Parks in refusing to give up her seat on a segregated city bus in 1955.

Black skin: A uniform we can't take off (Opinion)

For me, Bachman's image bears an eerie resemblance to one made by Oded Balilty of the Associated Press. Itwon the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography, and showed a lone Jewish woman defying heavily armed Israeli security forces as they attempted to demolish the homes of illegal settlers in the West Bank.

Bachman told Buzzfeed that his photo "was the first image I transferred [to Reuters] because I knew it was going to be an important photo ... you can take images of plenty of people getting arrested, but I think this one speaks more to the movement and what the demonstrators are trying to accomplish here in Baton Rouge."

Truth be told, it's too early to label Bachman's photograph iconic. It has yet to be measured against a broader body of photographic works, juried in the photojournalism world of contests, or evaluated by historians and pundits in academic halls.

But without question, this image of grace under pressure is memorably arresting.

America's Cup: The building of the 'beasts' in Oracle Team USA

They are among the world's toughest athletes -- men for whom some of the most grueling training imaginable is all part of the routine.

For the "beasts" of the Oracle Team USA America's Cup crew and those who work with them, the pursuit of peak condition is as relentless as the races in which they push themselves to the limits.

Punishing gym regimes -- they push weights around as well as merely lifting them -- swimming and boxing are key to making these extreme sailors as ready to defend their America's Cup title next year in Bermuda as they can be.

And for the man overseeing it all, physical performance manager Craig McFarlane, there is the pride of helping his charges to be "absolutely the best at what they are doing."

They are among the world's toughest athletes -- men for whom some of the most grueling training imaginable is all part of the routine.

For the "beasts" of the Oracle Team USA America's Cup crew and those who work with them, the pursuit of peak condition is as relentless as the races in which they push themselves to the limits.

Punishing gym regimes -- they push weights around as well as merely lifting them -- swimming and boxing are key to making these extreme sailors as ready to defend their America's Cup title next year in Bermuda as they can be.

And for the man overseeing it all, physical performance manager Craig McFarlane, there is the pride of helping his charges to be "absolutely the best at what they are doing."

"They are very competitive -- there's no shortage of that. We do a lot of competitive stuff and break down some barriers. We embarrass them now and again.

"Once you humiliate yourself a couple of times, make fun of yourself, you've broken down a few barriers."

The nature of McFarlane's training is governed by the nature of the boats raced in the America's Cup -- "the new boats are very physical, so we are improving physically until the Americas Cup comes in 2017" -- and he says it brings huge rewards.

"They are all professional athletes, they are motivated to train -- and so as long as they are hitting their numbers and improving, then I'm probably doing my job," McFarlane explains.

"When you see them out on the boat, it is even more impressive. It is just phenomenal seeing them in their environment. They are absolutely the best at what they are doing.

"You do your job in here, but you don't know how it's going to translate out on the water. But you like to think the physical side is prevalent."

Read: Sailing's money men

Boxing, overseen by coach Brent Humphreys, is a big part of that physical side.

But why does it help you become a better sailor?

Skipper Jimmy Spithill -- who led Team USA to an astonishing 2013 America's Cup comeback when it roared back from 8-1 down to defeat New Zealand 9-8 -- says fight training helps the crew think more sharply when exhausted and under pressure.

The Australian, who swaps the water for the air as a pilot in his spare time and had the idea of introducing boxing to the training regime, is more than happy to ride with the punches.