Hillary Clinton’s campaign is vetting James G. Stavridis, a retired four-star Navy admiral who served as the 16th supreme allied commander at NATO, as a possible running mate, according to a person with knowledge of the vetting process.
Some close to Mrs. Clinton, the former secretary of state, say she was always likely to have someone with military experience on her vice-presidential shortlist, and Mr. Stavridis, currently the dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, fits the description.
During his four years as NATO’s supreme allied commander, he oversaw operations in the Middle East — Afghanistan, Libya and Syria — as well as in the Balkans and piracy off the coast of Africa.
The Clinton campaign declined requests for comment, and Mr. Stavridis declined to comment other than referring calls to the campaign. The person with knowledge of the vetting spoke anonymously because of the sensitive nature of the process.
In 2012, Mr. Stavridis was investigated for having improperly used a military aircraft to fly with his wife to an exclusive party in Burgundy, France with winemakers.
He was later cleared of misconduct after a long Pentagon investigation into his travel and expenses, including trips he took with his wife, daughter and mother. The Pentagon inspector general’s report ultimately concluded that he had failed to exercise sufficient oversight over staff members, and had made several bookkeeping mistakes.
Donald J. Trump has also said he sees certain appeal to selecting someone with military experience as a running mate, and is considering retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. In an interview with ABC News over the weekend, Mr. Flynn, a lifelong Democrat, seemed to stumble, offering his support for abortion rights — a view out of lock step with Republican base orthodoxy.
But in a phone interview with The New York Times on Tuesday, Mr. Trump called Mr. Flynn “a patriot.”
Mr. Trump will continue his public audition process for possible running mates on Tuesday night, when he is set to appear at a campaign rally in Indiana with Mike Pence, the state’s governor.
Source: nytimes.com