News
Clinton emails: ‘We should emphasize LGBT human rights’
Former secretary of state responds to Iraq, creation of LGBT liaison
Hillary Clinton called for emphasis of LGBT rights in her State Department emails. Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Clinton, who’s now pursing the Democratic nomination for president in 2016, expressed the view in response to a 2009 Voice of America report forwarded to her by adviser Cheryl Mills on the alleged murder and torture of gay Iraqi men, many of whom reportedly said they were more secure under the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Clinton responded 11 minutes after Mills sent her the article.
“So sad and terrible,” Clinton writes. “We should ask Chris Hill to raise this w govt. If we ever get Posner confirmed we should emphasize LGBT human rights.”
The Chris Hill to which Clinton is referring is likely the U.S. ambassador to Iraq during the first two years of the Obama administration. Posner is likely Michael Posner, who came to serve in the State Department after his confirmation as assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor.
Clinton’s call for pushing LGBT rights within the State Department is consistent with her stated philosophy that “gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights” and her 2011 speech in Geneva in which she highlighted international LGBT rights concerns.
Other emails in the batch unveiled on Tuesday, which span from March to December 2009, demonstrate the hang-wringing on the perceived lack of progress on LGBT issues in the first years of the Obama administration and the potential creation of a State Department official dedicated to LGBT human rights.
The emails reveal that among the individuals forwarding articles to the Clinton State Department on LGBT rights was Richard Socarides, a gay New York-based advocate who advised former President Bill Clinton on gay rights issues.
Socarides told the Washington Blade that as a former White House official he sometimes passed along information and reports he thought would be of interest to the State Department. Sometimes, Socarides said, Clinton’s staff reached out to him with a specific question.
“From what I can tell, these emails are all part of that back-and-forth,” Socarides.
In one email to Mills, Socarides forwards a Gay City News article on anti-LGBT brutality in Iraq and writes, “You guys will have to deal with this at some point if not already.”
In response to the exchange, Socarides expressed satisfaction with how issues related to the rights of LGBT Iraqis were handled, saying it was part of ongoing concern about the country and “raised by our government at many levels and on repeated occasions.”
In another email dated May, 22, 2009, Mills forwards to Clinton an article in the Advocate on a draft letter signaling the State Department’s intention to extend partner benefits to gay Foreign Service officers.
Clinton’s response isn’t revealed, but Mills commentary on the article is simply “Oh my.”
In another December 2009 email in which he forwards a Voice of America article on evangelical leaders spreading anti-gay sentiment in Africa, Socarides recommends the creation of an international LGBT point person.
“There is a lot of appreciation for everything the Dept has done around this so far and I think you could really build on it by putting someone there in charge of international LGBT human right issues,” Socarides said.
Socarides’ email was in turn forwarded to Clinton by Mills, who endorsed the idea, saying, “I think this is a good idea — what do you think?”
Clinton’s initial response was “Mira patel in sp told me she is already starting to do this. Do you want someone in drl.” The rest of Clinton’s response is redacted by the State Department. Mira Patel served at the State Department as an advisor for Clinton after having served on her Senate staff.
The response from Clinton apparently wasn’t adequate for Mills, who responded she “would want someone higher profile” and Patel is likely preparing a “response to incoming rather as an affirmative agenda.”
“Not sure how I got to be the person pushing all things in this area — think from the earlier reports on family benefits but as a general matter — we have a reaction mechanism right how (to others, to me sending emails re Uganda (and now Uganda is doing same kind of anti-gay law)) etc.,” Mills writes. “This would be someone who’s profile would be an affirmative agenda.”
Clinton has a short response to Mills eight minutes later, “Let’s discuss.” The Clinton emails don’t reveal the resolution of this discussion, which may have been taken offline.
In response to the email exchange, Socardies pointed to the appointment of Daniel Baer as deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor. Part of the portfolio for Baer, who now serves as U.S. ambassador to Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe, was international LGBT rights issues.
No specific LGBT international affairs official was appointed during Clinton’s tenure, but the State Department named Randy Berry as special envoy for the human rights of LGBTI persons under current Secretary of State John Kerry.
The emails unveiled by the State Department aren’t the last missives expected to be made public. As a result of a Freedom of Information Act request and the direction from Clinton herself, the emails are slated to keep coming on a rolling basis and all 55,000 pages should be public by Jan. 29. Clinton deleted an estimated 32,000 emails on recommendation from her legal team.
Over the course of her tenure at the State Department period, Clinton opposed same-sex marriage. The Blade could find no emails discussing the issue or any potential evolution on her views. Clinton endorsed same-sex marriage after she left the State Department in 2013.
Virginia
DOJ seeks to join lawsuit against Loudoun County over trans student in locker room
Three male high school students suspended after complaining about classmate
The Justice Department has asked to join a federal lawsuit against Loudoun County Public Schools over the way it handled the case of three male high school students who complained about a transgender student in a boys’ locker room.
The Washington Blade earlier this year reported Loudoun County public schools suspended the three boys and launched a Title IX investigation into whether they sexually harassed the student after they said they felt uncomfortable with their classmate in the locker room at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn.
The parents of two of the boys filed a lawsuit against Loudoun County public schools in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria. The Richmond-based Founding Freedoms Law Center and America First Legal, which White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller co-founded, represent them.
The Justice Department in a Dec. 8 press release announced that “it filed legal action against the Loudoun County (Va.) School Board (Loudoun County) for its denial of equal protection based on religion.”
“The suit alleges that Loudoun County applied Policy 8040, which requires students and faculty to accept and promote gender ideology, to two Christian, male students in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” reads the press release.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in the press release said “students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate.”
“Loudoun County’s decision to advance and promote gender ideology tramples on the rights of religious students who cannot embrace ideas that deny biological reality,” said Dhillon.
Outgoing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and outgoing Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares in May announced an investigation into the case.
The Virginia Department of Education in 2023 announced the new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students for which Youngkin asked. Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups claim they, among other things, forcibly out trans and nonbinary students.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights in February launched an investigation into whether Loudoun County and four other Northern Virginia school districts’ policies in support of trans and nonbinary students violate Title IX and President Donald Trump’s executive order that prohibits federally funded educational institutions from promoting “gender ideology.”
The White House
As house Democrats release Epstein photos, Garcia continues to demand DOJ transparency
Blade this week sat down with gay House Oversight Committee ranking member
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released new photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s email and computer records, including images highlighting the relationship between President Donald Trump and the convicted sex offender.
Epstein, a wealthy financier, was found guilty of procuring a child for prostitution and sex trafficking, serving a 13-month prison sentence in 2008. At the time of his death in prison under mysterious circumstances, he was facing charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors.
Among those pictured in Epstein’s digital files are Trump, former President Bill Clinton, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, actor and director Woody Allen, economist Larry Summers, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, entrepreneurs Richard Branson and Bill Gates, and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
One photo shows Trump alongside Epstein and a woman at a Victoria’s Secret party in New York in 1997. American media outlets have published the image, while Getty Images identified the woman as model Ingrid Seynhaeve.
Oversight Committee Democrats are reviewing the full set of photos and plan to release additional images to the public in the coming days and weeks, emphasizing their commitment to protecting survivors’ identities.
With just a week left for the Justice Department to publish all files related to Epstein following the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the Justice Department to release most records connected to Epstein investigations, the Washington Blade sat down with U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the Oversight Committee to discuss the current push the release of more documents.
Garcia highlighted the committee’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
“We’ve said anything that we get we’re going to put out. We don’t care who is in the files … if you’ve harmed women and girls, then we’ve got to hold you accountable.”
He noted ongoing questions surrounding Trump’s relationship with Epstein, given their long history and the apparent break in friendship once Trump assumed public office.
“There’s been a lot of questions about … Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. They were best friends for 10 years … met women there and girls.”
Prior to Trump’s presidency, it was widely reported that the two were friends who visited each other’s properties regularly. Additional reporting shows they socialized frequently throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, attending parties at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and Epstein’s residences. Flight logs from an associate’s trial indicate Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet multiple times, and Epstein claimed Trump first had sex with his future wife, Melania Knauss, aboard the jet.
“We’ve provided evidence … [that leads to] questions about what the relationship was like between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.”
Garcia stressed the need for answers regarding the White House’s role in withholding information, questioning the sudden change in attitude toward releasing the files given Trump’s campaign promises.
“Why is the White House trying to cover this up? So if he’s not covering for himself … he’s covering up for his rich friends,” Garcia said. “Why the cover up? Who are you hiding for? I think that’s the question.”
He confirmed that Trump is definitively in the Epstein files, though the extent remains unknown, but will be uncovered soon.
“We know that Trump’s in them. Yeah, he’s been told. We know that Trump’s in them in some way. As far as the extent of it … we don’t know.”
Garcia emphasized accountability for all powerful figures implicated, regardless of financial status, political party, or personal connections.
“All these powerful men that are walking around right now … after abusing, in some cases, 14‑ and 15‑year‑old girls, they have to be held accountable,” he said. “There has to be justice for those survivors and the American public deserves the truth about who was involved in that.”
He added that while he is the ranking member, he will ensure the oversight committee will use all available political tools, including subpoenas — potentially even for the president.
“We want to subpoena anyone that we can … everyone’s kind of on the table.”
He also emphasized accountability for all powerful figures implicated, regardless of financial status, political party, or relationship with the president.
“For me, they’re about justice and doing the right thing,” Garcia said. “This is about women who … were girls and children when they were being abused, trafficked, in some cases, raped. And these women deserve justice.”
“The survivors are strong.”
Deputy White House Press Secretary Abigail Jackson issued a statement regarding the release the photos, echoing previous comments from Republicans on the timing and framing of the photos by the Oversight Committee.
“Once again, House Democrats are selectively releasing cherry-picked photos with random redactions to try and create a false narrative,” Jackson said.
“The Democrat hoax against President Trump has been repeatedly debunked and the Trump administration has done more for Epstein’s victims than Democrats ever have by repeatedly calling for transparency, releasing thousands of pages of documents, and calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends,”
In a press release on Friday, Garcia called for immediate DOJ action:
“It is time to end this White House cover-up and bring justice to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends. These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. We will not rest until the American people get the truth. The Department of Justice must release all the files, NOW.”
(Photo courtesy of the U.S. House Oversight Committee)
District of Columbia
Capital Pride announces change in date for 2026 D.C. Pride parade and festival
Events related to U.S. 250th anniversary and Trump birthday cited as reasons for change
The Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C. based group that organizes the city’s annual LGBTQ Pride events, has announced it is changing the dates for the 2026 Capital Pride Parade and Festival from the second weekend in June to the third weekend.
“For over a decade, Capital Pride has taken place during the second weekend in June, but in 2026, we are shifting our dates in response to the city’s capacity due to major events and preparations for the 250th anniversary of the United States,” according to a Dec. 9 statement released by Capital Pride Alliance.
The statement says the parade will take place on Saturday, June 20, 2026, with the festival and related concert taking place on June 21.
“This change ensures our community can gather safely and without unnecessary barriers,” the statement says. “By moving the celebration, we are protecting our space and preserving Pride as a powerful act of visibility, solidarity, and resistance,” it says.
Ryan Bos, the Capital Pride Alliance CEO and President, told the Washington Blade the change in dates came after the group conferred with D.C. government officials regarding plans for a number of events in the city on the second weekend in June. Among them, he noted, is a planned White House celebration of President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and other events related to the U.S. 250th anniversary, which are expected to take place from early June through Independence Day on July 4.
The White House has announced plans for a large June 14, 2026 celebration on the White House south lawn of Trump’s 80th birthday that will include a large-scale Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event involving boxing and wrestling competition.
Bos said the Capital Pride Parade will take place along the same route it has in the past number of years, starting at 14th and T Streets, N.W. and traveling along 14th Street to Pennsylvania Ave., where it will end. He said the festival set for the following day will also take place at its usual location on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., between 2nd Street near the U.S. Capitol, to around 7th Street, N.W.
“Our Pride events thrive because of the passion and support of the community,” Capital Pride Board Chair Anna Jinkerson said in the statement. “In 2026, your involvement is more important than ever,” she said.
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