Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton received monthly missives about the growing unrest in Libya from a longtime friend who was previously barred by the White House from working for her as a government employee, according to emails received on her personal account.

The messages show the role played by Sidney Blumenthal, who was working for the Clinton family foundation and advising a group of entrepreneurs trying to win business from the Libyan transitional government.

Blumenthal repeatedly wrote dispatches about the events in Libya to Clinton, who often forwarded them to her aides at the State Department.

Clinton's earlier efforts to hire Blumenthal, who has spent nearly two decades working for the Clinton family

State Department employee had been rejected by Obama administration officials

Clinton is the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, which has heightened the scrutiny of her use of a private email account and server while serving as secretary of state.

Blumenthal's continued role was revealed in nearly 350 pages of emails, published Thursday by The New York Times, about the 2012 attacks on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Last year, Clinton gave the State Department 55,000 pages of emails that she said pertained to her work as secretary sent from the personal address she used while at the agency

The messages about the events in Libya were given for review to a special House panel investigating the attacks. They are expected to be released by the State Department in the coming days after months of delay.

Blumenthal, through his lawyer, told The Washington Post on Thursday that he will cooperate with the congressional inquiry.

The report claimed French and British intelligence services were activating long-standing contacts with tribal leaders in Libya, encouraging them to establish a breakaway, semi-autonomous area.