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08-24-2016, 01:36 PM
Hillary Clinton has steadfastly maintained that she kept the shady Clinton Foundation at arm’s length during her tenure as secretary of state to avoid conflicts of interest. Republican Donald Trump has routinely scoffed at her explanation, saying Mrs. Clinton fostered a “pay to play” system, calling it a “scam” in which the Clintons traded access to the State Department in return for generous donations to her family’s charitable foundation.
It turns out that Mr. Trump, who is frequently criticized for shooting his mouth off, was on the mark in this case.
Emails released Monday provide new examples of a Clinton Foundation official seeking access to the State Department on behalf of donors at a time when Mrs. Clinton led the department.
The emails — obtained through a lawsuit by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch — are damaging to Mrs. Clinton’s increasingly fragile credibility. The emails reveal a pattern that the Clinton Foundation’s fundraising habits created a conflict of interest for Clinton during her work as the nation’s top diplomat.
For example, the Crown Prince of Bahrain was forced to go through the foundation to see Mrs. Clinton, after pledging $32 million to the Clinton global initiative. At this point, there is no evidence that the crown prince received anything substantial for his $32 million contribution, other than getting a photo-op with the secretary of state so he could amaze his more impressionable friends.
The emails released by Judicial Watch showed exchanges in which a former Hillary Clinton top aide, Huma Abedin, provided influential Clinton Foundation donors special, expedited access to the secretary of state.
In many instances, the preferential treatment provided to donors was at the specific request of Clinton Foundation executive Douglas Band, a close ally of former President Clinton.
For example, Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain was rebuffed when he requested a meeting with Secretary of State Clinton — something to which he was entitled since Bahrain has been a steadfast U.S. ally in the Middle East. Then he was forced to go through the Clinton Foundation to get an appointment. Ms. Abedin advised Band that when she went through “normal channels” at State, Mrs. Clinton declined to meet. After Mr. Band intervened, the meeting was set up within only 48 hours. Surprise, surprise. It seemed Mr. Band described the prince in an email as a “good friend of ours.” No, make that a great and generous friend. According to the Clinton Foundation website, in 2005, Salman committed to establishing the Crown Prince’s International Scholarship Program (CPISP) for the Clinton Global Initiative. And by 2010, it had contributed $32 million to CGI. The Kingdom of Bahrain reportedly gave between $50,000 and $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation. And Bahrain Petroleum also gave an additional $25,000 to $50,000.
With friends like that, the Clinton Foundation is always in the money.
This appears nothing more than an old-fashioned shakedown — or, as Mr. Trump puts it, “pay to play” if you want attention from the Clintons. This email trail is hugely troubling to the Clinton campaign and raises more serious doubts about the Democrat’s honesty. If Mrs. Clinton was willing to hang a “For Sale” sign on her office at the State Department, what’s to stop her from doing the same thing at the White House?
American voters have a right to know, except Mrs. Clinton isn’t talking, as she continues to duck reporters in a press conference setting. It has been nearly 258 days since Ms. Clinton has had a press conference, which is beyond ridiculous for someone who might be elected president in only 80 or so days. It’s true that Mrs. Clinton doesn’t perform well in such unscripted sessions. But if she wants to be the next president, she must show the ability to think on her feet and respond to hard questions, not softball inquiries lobbed by friendly talk-show hosts like Jimmy Kimmel on Monday.
The Clinton Foundation deserves credit for some of the humanitarian work it has done. But its shakedown of rich donors is reprehensible. Mrs. Clinton’s use of her public office to pry checks from donors is unethical and may help explain why Mrs. Clinton wants to keep her many emails hidden from public view. For instance, who else besides this obscure but rich crown prince gave money in return for special favors from the Clinton State Department?
Mr. Trump called Mrs. Clinton’s role with the Foundation “a disgusting situation. The whole thing is a scam.”
This time, he seems to be hitting close to the truth.
SavannahNow (http://savannahnow.com)
It turns out that Mr. Trump, who is frequently criticized for shooting his mouth off, was on the mark in this case.
Emails released Monday provide new examples of a Clinton Foundation official seeking access to the State Department on behalf of donors at a time when Mrs. Clinton led the department.
The emails — obtained through a lawsuit by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch — are damaging to Mrs. Clinton’s increasingly fragile credibility. The emails reveal a pattern that the Clinton Foundation’s fundraising habits created a conflict of interest for Clinton during her work as the nation’s top diplomat.
For example, the Crown Prince of Bahrain was forced to go through the foundation to see Mrs. Clinton, after pledging $32 million to the Clinton global initiative. At this point, there is no evidence that the crown prince received anything substantial for his $32 million contribution, other than getting a photo-op with the secretary of state so he could amaze his more impressionable friends.
The emails released by Judicial Watch showed exchanges in which a former Hillary Clinton top aide, Huma Abedin, provided influential Clinton Foundation donors special, expedited access to the secretary of state.
In many instances, the preferential treatment provided to donors was at the specific request of Clinton Foundation executive Douglas Band, a close ally of former President Clinton.
For example, Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain was rebuffed when he requested a meeting with Secretary of State Clinton — something to which he was entitled since Bahrain has been a steadfast U.S. ally in the Middle East. Then he was forced to go through the Clinton Foundation to get an appointment. Ms. Abedin advised Band that when she went through “normal channels” at State, Mrs. Clinton declined to meet. After Mr. Band intervened, the meeting was set up within only 48 hours. Surprise, surprise. It seemed Mr. Band described the prince in an email as a “good friend of ours.” No, make that a great and generous friend. According to the Clinton Foundation website, in 2005, Salman committed to establishing the Crown Prince’s International Scholarship Program (CPISP) for the Clinton Global Initiative. And by 2010, it had contributed $32 million to CGI. The Kingdom of Bahrain reportedly gave between $50,000 and $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation. And Bahrain Petroleum also gave an additional $25,000 to $50,000.
With friends like that, the Clinton Foundation is always in the money.
This appears nothing more than an old-fashioned shakedown — or, as Mr. Trump puts it, “pay to play” if you want attention from the Clintons. This email trail is hugely troubling to the Clinton campaign and raises more serious doubts about the Democrat’s honesty. If Mrs. Clinton was willing to hang a “For Sale” sign on her office at the State Department, what’s to stop her from doing the same thing at the White House?
American voters have a right to know, except Mrs. Clinton isn’t talking, as she continues to duck reporters in a press conference setting. It has been nearly 258 days since Ms. Clinton has had a press conference, which is beyond ridiculous for someone who might be elected president in only 80 or so days. It’s true that Mrs. Clinton doesn’t perform well in such unscripted sessions. But if she wants to be the next president, she must show the ability to think on her feet and respond to hard questions, not softball inquiries lobbed by friendly talk-show hosts like Jimmy Kimmel on Monday.
The Clinton Foundation deserves credit for some of the humanitarian work it has done. But its shakedown of rich donors is reprehensible. Mrs. Clinton’s use of her public office to pry checks from donors is unethical and may help explain why Mrs. Clinton wants to keep her many emails hidden from public view. For instance, who else besides this obscure but rich crown prince gave money in return for special favors from the Clinton State Department?
Mr. Trump called Mrs. Clinton’s role with the Foundation “a disgusting situation. The whole thing is a scam.”
This time, he seems to be hitting close to the truth.
SavannahNow (http://savannahnow.com)