The Trail

PENN PUSHED TRADE DEAL

Clinton Aide Admits 'Error in Judgment'

Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's top political strategist, apologized yesterday for meeting with Colombian officials to advocate for a trade agreement that Clinton opposes.

"The meeting was an error in judgment that will not be repeated, and I am sorry for it," Penn said in a statement released by the campaign. "The senator's well-known opposition to this trade deal is clear and was not discussed."

Penn met with Colombia's ambassador as recently as Monday to discuss how to get a bilateral free-trade agreement passed between the South American nation and the United States. Campaign officials said the meeting was done as part of Penn's separate job as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller, an international communications and lobbying firm.

But the meeting could be problematic for the Clinton campaign for two reasons.

The candidate has been a vocal opponent of free-trade agreements, even telling audiences that she privately opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which her husband aggressively and successfully pushed through Congress in the early 1990s. And Clinton has criticized Barack Obama because Canadian officials said that Obama's chief economics adviser, University of Chicago professor Austan Goolsbee, downplayed Obama's NAFTA opposition in a meeting with the Canadian consulate in Chicago. Goolsbee has denied that account.

Penn has been a longtime political adviser and pollster to Clinton and her husband. His dual role -- running a major lobbying firm while advising the campaign -- has long raised questions about potential conflicts for his candidate.

The Change to Win union coalition, which has endorsed Obama, called for Clinton to fire Penn, saying in a statement: "The last revelation that Penn . . . is actively involved in securing its passage in the middle of Senator Clinton's presidential campaign is outrageous. . . . It is time for Penn to go."

-- Perry Bacon Jr.

SECRET SERVICE