Lost but not totally forgotten in the EmailGate debacle is the Clinton family’s questionable relationships with foreign powers. In particular, foreign powers whose interests are detrimental to the national security of the United States.
Via investigation into the Clinton Foundation, some of these unsavory alliances have been unearthed for public viewing.
A sampling:
There was the time a Colombian oil company magically received a trade agreement Mrs. Clinton opposed while running for president in 2008. The trade agreement was reached immediately following a generous donation to the Clinton Foundation. Of course this happened while Mrs. Clinton was Secretary of State.
Also happening while Mrs. Clinton was “Secretary Clinton” — that whole incestuous, Russian uranium deal:
The NYT’s latest exposé into the sordid world of the Clinton family suggests a direct connection between the Clinton Foundation, Russian donations (that were not publicly disclosed), and the Russian acquisition of Uranium One. The events transpired while Mrs. Clinton was serving as Secretary of State.
Oh yes, and how can we forget the weapons deal with the Saudis:
In the years before Hillary Clinton became secretary of state, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia contributed at least $10 million to the Clinton Foundation, the philanthropic enterprise she has overseen with her husband, former president Bill Clinton. Just two months before the deal was finalized, Boeing — the defense contractor that manufactures one of the fighter jets the Saudis were especially keen to acquire, the F-15 — contributed $900,000 to the Clinton Foundation, according to a company press release.The Saudi deal was one of dozens of arms sales approved by Hillary Clinton’s State Department that placed weapons in the hands of governments that had also donated money to the Clinton family philanthropic empire, an International Business Times investigation has found.
These examples are by no means a comprehensive list but they are indicative of what appears to be a pattern of wielding official influence for cash.
Tuesday, Ed Henry of Fox News published an exclusive report showing a request from President Bill Clinton to the State Department to give a paid speech to an Iranian group in 2012.
As Henry notes, it was during a “sensitive time” in Mrs. Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State. The National Iranian American Counsel, in front of whom Clinton wished to speak for a fee, has long been viewed as the lobbying entity of the Iranian government, though they deny the allegations. Ultimately, President Clinton did not give the speech.
An aide to Bill Clinton asked the State Department in 2012 about the former president potentially delivering a paid speech to an Iranian government-tied group that has pushed for an end to all U.S. sanctions against Tehran, according to an email exclusively obtained by Fox News.The email request, in June 2012, came during a sensitive time for then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that in July 2012, one of her top aides, Jake Sullivan, started meeting in secret with Iranian diplomats in talks that helped paved the way for the nuclear deal with Tehran.The email from the former president’s office was sent on June 4, 2012, from an aide to Bill Clinton to three aides for then-Secretary Clinton, including Sullivan as well as State Department chief of staff Cheryl Mills. It concerned an event in the U.S. hosted by the National Iranian American Council.”Would USG have any concerns about WJC doing a paid speech for [the] National Iranian American Council (‘NIAC’)?” Ami Desai, an aide to the former president, wrote. “We have been approached by the National Iranian American Council (‘NIAC’) for President Clinton to speak at a fundraising gala they are putting on.” The gala was described by the group at the time as a “first and only of its kind” event bringing Iranian Americans to Washington, D.C. “to learn about government, meet with key policymakers and influencers and network with their fellow NIAC members.”The email was obtained through a lawsuit by conservative activist and Clinton critic David Bossie of Citizens United, which has recently shared with the media several emails about the vetting process for Bill Clinton’s speaking requests.Fox News and other media outlets have previously obtained emails showing an aide to Bill Clinton vetted with the State Department possible paid speaking gigs in North Korea and the Republic of the Congo – an event that would have included notorious Democratic Republic of the Congo leader Joseph Kabila.
Fox News did not discuss reasons why those speeches never happened, only that they did not.
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