Buzzfeed is reporting: Contracts: Clinton Owns Transcripts And Rights To Paid Speeches
Contracts from two paid speeches — made public through records requests in 2014 — each include the same boilerplate language ensuring that Clinton alone owns the rights to the contents of her speech and any reproductions of her speech.
“The sponsor shall not have ownership rights of any kind,” read both contracts for speeches to the University at Buffalo and the University of Nevada–Las Vegas.
The contracts from the Harry Walker Agency, which arranged Clinton’s paid speeches from 2013 to early 2015, also require hosts to hire a stenographer.
The documents suggest that Clinton owns the transcripts of the speeches arranged by Harry Walker and would face no contractual restrictions on their release.
When asked about the transcripts during the debate on Thursday night, Clinton replied:
“I don’t know the status, but I will certainly look into it.”
Which, as it turns out, may not have been 100% truthful.
Bernie Sanders was asked Sunday on on CBS News’ Face the Nation, about Clinton’s refusal to release the transcripts and had this to say:
“Yeah, well a lot of people think you know that’s ultimately her decision. I mean, her point is that she’s given these speeches. My understanding now is her campaign says she’s not going to release those transcripts. That’s her decision. But I think it would be you know a positive thing for the American people to know what was said behind closed doors to Wall Street, but ultimately that is her decision.”