Tony Rodham Might Support His Sister At The Debate

Political debates are a chance for the candidates to show off their families for the cameras, as well as hold a debate on the substantive issues facing the country. So is Tony Rodham at the first presidential debate? Inviting Hillary Clinton's youngest brother could cause a stir for the Democratic nominee's team.

Rodham was last in the news when author and investigative journalist Peter Schweizer discovered that he was sitting on the board of Delaware firm VCS Mining, a gold mining company pursuing an opportunity in Haiti. Rodham allegedly met the CEO of the firm while at a Clinton Foundation event, according to a Washington Post story from last year by Kevin Sullivan and Rosalind S. Helderman. When Rodham was asked whether he went to CGI events in order to expand his business network, he replied, “No, I go to see old friends. But you never know what can happen.”

Before his involvement with VCS, Rodham, along with his elder brother Hugh, got his sister and her husband's administration in hot water after getting into business with the political rival of a former president of the Republic of Georgia. "You never wanted to hear their name come up in any context other than playing golf," a former senior White House official during the Clinton administration told The New York Times in a piece published less than a month after Bill left office. The brothers ended up abandoning their hazelnut-exporting dream.

Rodham also worked for former Virginia governor and Clinton family political ally Terry McAuliffe, claiming in court proceedings over unpaid legal bills that “I was complaining to my brother-in-law I didn’t have any money. And he asked McAuliffe to give me a job."

Rodham's resume also includes stints as a prison guard, a private investigator, and consultant alongside the above endeavors. Since he resides with his wife and family in Vienna, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C., he'd have to make a special trip up to Long Island just to attend the debate at Hofstra University. While it remains to be seen whether or not Rodham will end up making the trip, after everything that Clinton's youngest sibling has been through, it might be best for his sister's chances if he cheered her on remotely.