Democratic Super PAC Begins Hillary Defense Effort

Democratic Super PAC American Bridge is launching a campaign to protect former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other potential Democratic presidential candidates from attacks by Republicans.

The new rapid-response group, called Correct the Record, “will aggressively challenge false right-wing attacks before they take hold and expose the fraudulent sources of these attacks to the public,” said American Bridge founder and chairman David Brock in a statement. American Bridge, which has traditionally been focused on tracking and opposition research on Republican candidates, said the Super PAC would devote more than 20 staffers and researchers to the effort.

The group will not be exclusively Clinton-focused, according to a person familiar with the effort, but her larger target will make defense of her a key mission. Last month Brock released an e-book called “The Benghazi Hoax” to push back on Republican attacks on Clinton over the 2012 consulate attack.

The group announced that Burns Strider, the director of faith-based outreach for her 2008 Presidential campaign, will be a senior advisor to the effort, the latest former Hillary aide to join an outside effort on her behalf.

The group Ready for Hillary has the backing of former White House Political Director Craig Smith and former senior advisor Harold Ickes. Priorities USA, the pro-Obama Super PAC from 2012, is also positioning itself to back Clinton, should she decide to run.