DOJ Opens New Investigation Into Clinton Foundation Over ‘Pay to Play’ Allegations
Did Hillary provide favors to big time donors?
President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a new investigation into the Clinton Foundation over “pay to play” allegations.
Over the past year or so, Judicial Watch has dumped numerous emails when failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state under President Barack Obama and quite a few showed connections between Clinton Foundation donors and Hillary.
New Investigation
The Hill reported:
FBI agents from Little Rock, Ark., where the Foundation was started, have taken the lead in the investigation and have interviewed at least one witness in the last month, and law enforcement officials said additional activities are expected in coming weeks.
The officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the probe is examining whether the Clintons promised or performed any policy favors in return for largesse to their charitable efforts or whether donors made commitments of donations in hopes of securing government outcomes.
The probe may also examine whether any tax-exempt assets were converted for personal or political use and whether the Foundation complied with applicable tax laws, the officials said.
The witness told The Hill that the interview was “extremely professional and unquestionably thorough.” The FBI mainly asked questions “about whether donors to Clinton charitable efforts received any favorable treatment from the Obama administration on a policy decision previously highlighted in media reports.”
Clinton Foundation spokesman Craig Minassian told Fox News that the foundation has not done anything wrong. Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill insists the investigation is just a way for Trump “to distract the public.”
The Allegations
We at Legal Insurrection have blogged about the allegations as they came out. In September 2016, Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) asked then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch to start an investigation into the “pay to play” allegations after an Associated Press report that the majority of the people who met with Hillary during her term “gave money – either personally or through companies or groups – to the Clinton Foundation.” The AP reported:
At least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had phone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs, according to a review of State Department calendars released so far to The Associated Press. Combined, the 85 donors contributed as much as $156 million. At least 40 donated more than $100,000 each, and 20 gave more than $1 million.
In one email, Clinton Foundation executive Doug Band asked Hillary’s aide Huma Abedin to schedule a meeting with the Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain, reminding her the man is a “good friend of ours.”
Band also asked Abedin and aide Cheryl Mills about a favor for a friend and reminded them “it is important to take care of [redacted].” Officials blacked out the name, but Abedin said “Personnel has been sending him options.” He also asked them to put the department’s “key guy” to Lebanon in touch with Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and donor Gilbert Chagoury.
Band went back to Abedin about visas for the members of Wolverhampton Football Club from the UK. Apparently the team had a hard time receiving visas due to one member’s “criminal charge.” Band asked this favor on behalf “of Casey Wasserman, a millionaire Hollywood sports entertainment executive and President of the Wasserman Foundation.” Wasserman donated “between $5 million and $10 million to the Clinton Foundation through the Wasserman Foundation.”
Clinton fundraiser Lana Moresky asked Clinton to provide a job for someone. Clinton herself told Abedin “to follow up and ‘help’ the applicant and told Abedin to ‘let me know’ about the job issue.”
U2 frontman Bono even tried to receive favors:
The Abedin emails reveal that even U2’s Bono got into the act when former Bill Clinton aide Ben Schwerin, who helped set up the Clinton Foundation, urged Abedin to help the aging rock star broadcast from the international space station. In a May 27, 2009, email with the subject line “Bono/NASA,” Schwerin wrote, “Bono wants to do linkup with the international space station on every show during the tour this year.… Any ideas? Thks.” Bono has been a donor to the Clinton Global Initiative. And in 2011, he gathered top entertainers for “A Decade of Difference: A Concert Celebrating 10 Years of the William J. Clinton Foundation.” According to USA Today, “Some tickets were sold to the public for $50 to $550, and premium seats went for $1,000 to $5,000 on the Foundation website.”
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Comments
Spokesman Craig Minwhatever insists the foundation has done nothing wrong.
Craig baby, you are so corrupt that you have lost the ability to even discern right from wrong.
People over at T_D are speculating that all the chatter about Hillary’s emails are just a distraction from the true scandals, the Clinton Foundation. This will make them happy. A DoJ investigation is far better than congressional hearings.
It’s a good day.
Wouldn’t it be just lovely, a bonus, if the investigation uncovers misappropriation of funds by the CF, e.g., fundis were used to pay for Chelsea’s weddings and to purchase her Manhattan luxury apartment?
Didn’t Podesta’s leaked e-mails already acknowledge that Chelsea has been helping herself to the “charitable” foundation’s funds for years now?
The real mystery here is why she hasn’t been prosecuted yet.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=Podesta%E2%80%99s+leaked+e-mails+already+acknowledge+that+Chelsea+has+been+helping+herself+to+the+%E2%80%9Ccharitable%E2%80%9D+foundation%E2%80%99s+funds&pc=MOZI&form=MOZCON
I want to believe that, but I have no confidence in Rip van Sessions at the moment.
Didn’t Martha Steward go to jail based on analogous circumstantial evidence of insider trading?
https://www.thoughtco.com/martha-stewarts-insider-trading-case-1146196
Hillary is very good at distancing herself from skullduggery, to the point that her supporters have jeered at others for failing to act though third parties. But the CF has certain markings of a personal piggy-bank.
No. Martha Stewart went to jail for lying to the FBI.
Yet another process crime. It seems that these days, the FBI can only get people on process crimes.
Only certain people, whom they deem to prosecute or ruin.
And one of the contentions of the Prosecutor was that Martha’s protestations of innocence was an attempt to keep stock price up
“Did Hillary provide favors to big time donors?”
Oh, yeah.
Next question….
When are they going to lock her up?
Never….sadly.
Well the investigation might get somewhere this time unless the same investigators that COVERED UP the extortion and bribes the LAST TIME “investigate” and COVER UP again.
I have a terrible memory, but I remembered something about somebody getting a job… So I did a quick yahoo search and look what popped up:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2016/06/clinton-donor-with-no-experience-appointed-to-govt-intelligence-board/
Trump hires campaign workers instead of farm experts at USDA
From the Politico article:
What a hackfest article from Politico. Their whole argument is… some of the folks appointed don’t have the appropriate college degrees! Oh my! The press NEVER digs into appointments by Donks… especially Obama’s admin. He and his, put total political activists into positions to which they had nothing but a partisan agenda and loyalty to the admin. Fine. I have no problem with both sides doing this. That’s what patronage is all about.
My problem is news outlets trussing up “outrage” stories in one direction only.
Cross your fingers. Don’t hold your breath.
The fact that donations dried up almost completely after Hillary lost the election would seem to indicate there were expectations from donors. Also, if I am not mistaken, some donors actually asked for refunds.
^^^^ This!
FBI agents from Little Rock … have taken the lead in the investigation and have interviewed at least one witness in the last month
Interviewed one witness? Woo-hoo! Not exactly a blitz chock full to the brim with “shock & awe,” is it?
Unfortunately, all the cited examples sound pretty weak. One would think that Clinton Crime, Inc would provide loads of ripe pickings. The Clintons are blatant, rapacious, and none too clever. Unfortunately, the only evidence we have so far is that the FBI will bend over backwards to let a Clinton off the hook.
Tom
Perhaps only one witness spoke up about it . Any who were more central may not want to speak and maybe the one speaking out hasn’t been in Arkansas long enough to be brought up to speed by the locals on Arkancides
IIRC, there are statute of limitation issues that come into play.
Can the keen legal minds at LI please help to clarify this for us?
If such issues do exist, how soon would they cause problems for investigation(s)/prosecution(s)?
Doesn’t look suspicious./ On the other hand, a Russian talked to an unpaid Trump volunteer, so that must be what should be investigated.
I think that part of what is significant is that this time the investigation is in AK, instead of the SDNY, where Loretta Lynch hired many of the prosecutors when she was USA there, and then was replaced by the odious Preet Bahara when she became AG. And the investigation was was apparently closely supervised by soon-to-retire FBI Assistant Director Andrew McCabe (whose office was apparently used for the “insurance” discussion).
What is going to be interesting this time is the extent to which the Clinton Foundation gets ahold of the recovered emails from Crooked Hillary’s illegal email server. The investigators apparently repeatedly requested access to the emails, and were just as repeatedly rebuffed by DoJ and FBI HQs. Getting access to the emails would maybe be even more helpful than moving the investigation out of the SDNY.
Regarding the statute of limitations, isn’t there a legal exception when the perpetrators are found to have obstructed justice and hindered investigations?
There may be statute of limitation issues for her time, but they could very well uncover shoddy bookkeeping and slushy activity that we all know is going on there. The Clinton Foundation could be completely shut down .. internationally.. for being a huge slush-fund. I hope.
The Clinton Foundation could be completely shut down .. internationally.. for being a huge slush-fund.
Seem to me that it has all but been shut down since she lost the election, and GOD DO I LOVE TYPING THAT!
However, there are some powerful people who must be very nervous about now. Maybe even powerful enough to take her for a walk in the park.
Maybe even powerful enough, and nervous enough to take her for a walk in the park.
Should have been how the last sentence read. Oh how I wish for an edit function here.
Strange coincidence with her Chappaqua fire the other day. They have an a priori excuse for failing to turn over any records or evidence requested. It burnt up!
In one email, Clinton Foundation executive Doug Band asked Hillary’s aide Huma Abedin to schedule a meeting with the Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain, reminding her the man is a “good friend of ours.”
I don’t remember where I read it, but from an article about how Mafia members greet each other when introducing someone new. A “good friend of ours” indicates another insider to whom you can speak freely. A good friend is just an acquaintance and you need to be careful what you say.
A lot of the “contributions” were made to ensure that Hillary didn’t take action that would hurt the contributor. Like $145 million to ensure that Hillary didn’t block the uranium mine purchase and $22 million to ensure that Ericson wasn’t prosecuted for violating the Iranian embargo. Gov employees shouldn’t be able to benefit from their positions and this includes charities they run.
Imagine if that crew had gotten into the Oval Office.
Again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOGUXD3MMbc
Wow, they’re really bearing down hard, I mean 1 interview in the last month. Wow, old Hill and Bill don’t stand a chance.
I’m glad to see that we cleaned out the FBI/DoJ and installed new personnel! Oh, wait…
Does scratchin’ yer ass make it feel better???
My suspicion is the real purpose of the investigation is to gain control of the evidence to prevent independent disclosure and review and then sit on it.