From the uncomfortable Newsweek profile of Huma Abedin.
“She was a very, very religious person—she didn’t smoke, drink or swear, always very polite,” recalls one Clinton friend, who, like most people who spoke to Newsweek, asked not to be named.
Which telegraphs that people are afraid of her.
Even ex-Clinton aides with no role in the campaign quake at the mention of her name. Abedin is said to be the third rail of the Clinton camp. One terrified former Clinton aide in Washington, now a consultant, claimed he felt electricity starting to singe his hair as he shared a small, anodyne anecdote.
The Hillary-Huma relationship also reveals how incapable and unwilling Hillary Clinton is to do simple things for herself. And Huma has gotten in this close by babying her to an extent you usually see only among royalty.
“A lot of times, Hillary would snap her fingers and go, ‘Gum.’ And Huma would fetch it.”
Abedin took her duties so seriously, the source recalled, that when she learned that Clinton had once carried her own bag up a flight of stairs in her aide’s absence, Abedin nearly burst into tears.
As a result, Huma Abedin controls complete access to Hillary. Even from Bill Clinton.
Insiders understand that if they want anything from Clinton, they need to hit Abedin’s direct number first. Says New York financier and Clinton supporter Alan Patricof, “I don't even waste time trying to find Clinton directly. I only would go to Huma. It’s like talking to Clinton.”
Even aspiring first husband Bill has reportedly complained that he cannot get past Abedin.
That is one great relationship. And there's no reason to think that if Hillary Clinton wins, access to her will still run through Huma Abedin, effectively making her the second most powerful government official.