Tweet
Meet Maggie Williams, Hillary Clinton's new campaign manager
by Thomas M. DeFrank
daily news washington bureau
Monday, February 11th 2008, 4:00 AM
Cook/AP New Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams
WASHINGTON - Among Billaryland's inner circle, Maggie Williams is renowned as the ultimate Hillary loyalist, fierce and unwavering in her devotion for nearly 25 years.
As the First Lady's chief of staff, her office was in the West Wing, right next to Hillary's.
Her title gave away the extent of her clout: assistant to the President as well as Hillary's gatekeeper and chief enforcer.
Even detractors agree with her admirers that Williams would go to the mat for Hillary.
A Kansas City native, Williams, 53, was a central player in the Clinton damage-control machine during the White House years.
In 1995, a uniformed Secret Service officer swore under oath he saw her leave White House lawyer and Hillary confidant Vince Foster's office carrying documents after Foster committed suicide. Williams denied it.
She ran up more than $100,000 in legal bills defending Hillary in various investigations.
A former aide to Reps. Morris Udall of Arizona and Robert Torricelli (later senator) of New Jersey, Williams' ties to Hillary date to when they both were at the Children's Defense Fund in the 1980s.
After the Clintons left the White House, Williams was named president of Fenton Communications, a leading public relations and consulting firm.
When Bill and Hillary Clinton made remarks before the South Carolina primary that offended African-Americans, the campaign put her on the airwaves to try to quell the uproar.
"She's never run a political campaign, but she has run a staff and isn't afraid to crack heads," a Democratic booster said.
by Thomas M. DeFrank
daily news washington bureau
Monday, February 11th 2008, 4:00 AM
Cook/AP New Clinton campaign manager Maggie WilliamsWASHINGTON - Among Billaryland's inner circle, Maggie Williams is renowned as the ultimate Hillary loyalist, fierce and unwavering in her devotion for nearly 25 years.
As the First Lady's chief of staff, her office was in the West Wing, right next to Hillary's.
Her title gave away the extent of her clout: assistant to the President as well as Hillary's gatekeeper and chief enforcer.
Even detractors agree with her admirers that Williams would go to the mat for Hillary.
A Kansas City native, Williams, 53, was a central player in the Clinton damage-control machine during the White House years.
In 1995, a uniformed Secret Service officer swore under oath he saw her leave White House lawyer and Hillary confidant Vince Foster's office carrying documents after Foster committed suicide. Williams denied it.
She ran up more than $100,000 in legal bills defending Hillary in various investigations.
A former aide to Reps. Morris Udall of Arizona and Robert Torricelli (later senator) of New Jersey, Williams' ties to Hillary date to when they both were at the Children's Defense Fund in the 1980s.
After the Clintons left the White House, Williams was named president of Fenton Communications, a leading public relations and consulting firm.
When Bill and Hillary Clinton made remarks before the South Carolina primary that offended African-Americans, the campaign put her on the airwaves to try to quell the uproar.
"She's never run a political campaign, but she has run a staff and isn't afraid to crack heads," a Democratic booster said.
Comment