Former PM Helen Clark says concerns by the US Embassy over the screening of Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 for a Labour Party fundraising event showed "outright bullying" and "unprofessional" conduct by officials.

Former United States Ambassador Charles Swindells got the job because he was a Republican Party funder so did not understand diplomacy, and as a result fed wrong information about New Zealand to his Government, Labour leader Phil Goff says.