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It’s happening. The Justice Department has launched a new inquiry into whether the Clinton Foundation engaged in any pay-to-play politics or other illegal activities while Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State, law enforcement officials and a witness tells The Hill.
thank you @kevinh07 - hooooly shit. LOL http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/367541-fbi-launches-new-clinton-foundation-investigation
The Justice Department and the FBI are going hard. Let’s do this shit.
And OMG the judges and US prosecutors that have recently been appointed. Ohhhh my goodness. 
#ThrowbackThursday —Remember when the State Department appointed 194 of Hillary Clinton’s donors to advisory boards at the agency while she was Secretary of State?
These donors gave money to either Clinton’s political campaigns, the Clinton Foundation, or both, or they were affiliated with organizations that did.
The 194 donors represented approximately 40% of the total 511 advisory appointments during Clinton’s tenure.
The 194 donors represented approximately 40% of the total 511 advisory appointments during Clinton’s tenure.
One of these donors, Kaki Hockersmith, ended up being appointed to the United States National Commission on UNESCO, a component of the United Nations that focuses on building international peace. Hockersmith collected at least $100,000 for Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Another donor was Ken Miller, who ended up appointed to the the International Economic Policy Board in 2010.
Miller used to be on the board for Merrill Lynch.
Miller used to be on the board for Merrill Lynch.
While Clinton was Secretary of State, Miller joined Teneo Holdings, which ended up hiring top Clinton aide Huma Abedin a month before Miller asked if he should join.
Miller had been donating to Clinton since she ran for the U.S. Senate.
Miller had been donating to Clinton since she ran for the U.S. Senate.
Another appointee to UNESCO by Clinton was Sara Ehrman, who gave up to $10 million to the Clinton Foundation.
#PaytoPlay
#PaytoPlay
The appointment of Rajiv Fernando to the International Security Advisory Board by Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, was heavily criticized because Fernando had no experience or credentials qualifying him to work on highly sensitive national security matters.
Fernando has been a longtime fundraiser for Democrats and the Clinton Foundation.
Betsy Cohn, another six-figure bundler, also secured a position on the UNESCO board.
Cohn is a longtime Clinton donor whose support earned her a stay at the WH in the 90s, when they were getting trashed for their practice of having political donors to sleep in the Lincoln Bdrm.
Cohn is a longtime Clinton donor whose support earned her a stay at the WH in the 90s, when they were getting trashed for their practice of having political donors to sleep in the Lincoln Bdrm.
https://www.publicintegrity.org/2000/09/22/3267/white-house-overnight-guests-listed
Hockersmith had also enjoyed a night at the White House, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
#FatCatHotel
Hockersmith had also enjoyed a night at the White House, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
#FatCatHotel
What a sleepover!
Cohn's relationship with Clinton landed her a job as vice chair of finance for Clinton's Senate campaign. Cohn served positions in the Democratic National Committee and NARAL, a pro-abortion group that supported Clinton.
https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/Litigation_F-2014-13322/C05798460.pdf
Abedin collected paychecks simultaneously from Teneo, the State Department and the Clinton Foundation.
In July 2012, Miller reached out to Abedin to seek her advice on whether he should join Teneo, emails made public through FOIA show.
Abedin collected paychecks simultaneously from Teneo, the State Department and the Clinton Foundation.
In July 2012, Miller reached out to Abedin to seek her advice on whether he should join Teneo, emails made public through FOIA show.
In May 2011, Clinton named Thomas McLarty to an advisory board aimed at strengthening ties between the U.S. and China.
McLarty's firm, McLarty Associates, has given up to $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation. He and his wife have personally donated up to $500,000 to the foundation.
McLarty's firm, McLarty Associates, has given up to $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation. He and his wife have personally donated up to $500,000 to the foundation.
https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=Thomas+McLarty
McLarty served as chief of staff to Bill Clinton during the first year of his administration and has given generously to Clinton's political campaigns, dating back to her Senate bids.
McLarty served as chief of staff to Bill Clinton during the first year of his administration and has given generously to Clinton's political campaigns, dating back to her Senate bids.
http://www.centerpeace.org/about/staff/sara-ehrman/
Sara Ehrman, former deputy political director at the Democratic National Committee and a veteran of Bill Clinton's presidential campaign, landed a position on the UNESCO board in Jan. 2011.
Sara Ehrman, former deputy political director at the Democratic National Committee and a veteran of Bill Clinton's presidential campaign, landed a position on the UNESCO board in Jan. 2011.
Ehrman was a senior adviser at the Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace. Abraham was himself one of the most generous Clinton Foundation contributors, giving up to $10 million to them.
Hillary Clinton appointed nine donors to the Secretary of State’s International Council on Women's Business Leadership in Aug. 2011.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/clinton-approved-controversial-arrangement-for-top-aide/article/2572803
One of them was Judith Rodin of the Rockefeller Foundation, a donor to the Clinton Foundation and a client of Teneo.
One of them was Judith Rodin of the Rockefeller Foundation, a donor to the Clinton Foundation and a client of Teneo.
Rodin's relationship to Hillary Clinton drew attention last following the release of emails that showed another Teneo executive seeking Huma Abedin's help in securing a White House appointment.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/leaked-papers-appear-to-reveal-dem-pay-for-play-scheme/article/2601866
Documents exposed that officials considered political donations a factor in granting ambassadorships as well.
Top mention in this #paytoplay article? Perkins Coie.
Documents exposed that officials considered political donations a factor in granting ambassadorships as well.
Top mention in this #paytoplay article? Perkins Coie.
In an email dated May 18, 2016 sent by Perkins Coie attorney Jacquelyn Lopez to staffers at the DNC, Lopez asked them to set up a call "to go over our process for handling donations from donors who have given us #paytoplay letters."
A separate document lists the presidential appointments that were given out to donors.
That list notes the highest bidder, Matthew Barzun, contributed $3.5 million to President Obama's first election in 2008, and subsequently received an appointment as America's ambassador to the United Kingdom and Sweden in August 2009.
Perkins Coie announced back in August 2016 that it was entering a partnership with Google to offer election information through the search engine. Google insisted it was a nonpartisan effort aimed at encouraging users to vote.
Fucking collusion AND #paytoplay.
Fucking collusion AND #paytoplay.
Of the top 57 donors, 18 received ambassadorships at Clinton's State Department. The cheapest, Bill Facho, paid $950,718 to serve as ambassador to Austria from 2009-13.
The median price was about $1.5 million, and the four contributors closest to that range received appointments to South Africa, Belgium, Luxembourg, and New Zealand.
While it's not uncommon for donors to receive political appointments, the Obama admin was criticized for handing out an unusually large number over the years.
Unqualified appointees could constitute a violation of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which prohibits appointments from being made on a purely financial basis.
The Foreign Affairs Policy Board was filled with donors in Dec. 2011. Thirteen of the 25 appointments to that panel went to Clinton donors that year, while at least two other positions went to advisers at the Center for American Progress — Podesta’s other group.
Familiar faces who landed posts on the foreign affairs board in Dec. 2011 included John Podesta, founder of the Center for American Progress, Strobe Talbott, head of the Brookings Institute and a close friend of Clinton during her tenure, and McLarty.
The witness already interviewed by the FBI said that agents inquired specifically about donations to Clinton entities and official government actions during Clinton's leadership of the State Department under President Obama.
Law enforcement officials said there will be “additional activities"” relating to the Clinton #PayToPlay investigation in the coming weeks.
Late last year, AG Jeff Sessions told prosecutors to evaluate "certain issues" raised by congressional Republicans cocerning alleged unlawful dealings related to the Clinton Foundation.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Federal investigators are also focusing on Clinton herself, and Justice Department is separately taking another look at Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.
Emails from Clinton aide Huma Abedin's account show Clinton Foundation donors requesting and receiving favors from the State Department.
In July 2009, Zachary Schwartz, an associate for donor Steve Bing, contacted Doug Band, a Clinton Foundation official and former top aide to President Bill Clinton, requesting help on visas for Cuba for a film production crew from Bing's Shangri La Entertainment.
Band forwarded the request to Abedin asking her to call Schwartz "asap." Abedin said she would. Bing donated between $10 million and $25 million to the #ClintonFoundation.
Another instance was in September 2009, when chairman of futures brokerage firm CME Group and #ClintonFoundation donor Terrence Duffy asked Clinton to help arrange “government appointments” in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Clinton forwarded the request to Abedin, who said she would “follow up” with his secretary.
“Would like to get some more information and details so we can try to help,” Abedin wrote to Duffy’s secretary.
“Would like to get some more information and details so we can try to help,” Abedin wrote to Duffy’s secretary.
Duffy’s secretary replied, “We would also like some help in arranging meetings with some key govt officials in both locations, such as the Prime Minister of Singapore, and would appreciate any help you may be able to provide.”
Abedin responded on Sept. 29, 2009 that they were “happy to assist with any and all meetings” and that she had “discussed you and your trip with our assistant secretary of state for east Asia and pacific affairs.”
Duffy donated to Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, and his company paid Clinton $225,000 for a speaking fee.
Other documents show Clinton received “proposed questions” in advance of a “Global Press Conference” in 2009 from seven foreign reporters, among other communications among Clinton, Abedin and other State Department aides.
On Feb. 12, 2010, a Clinton speechwriter, Case Button, asked Abedin if her mother would be willing to give him advice on talking points he was preparing for Clinton for her town hall meeting at Dar Al Hekma, a women’s university in Saudi Arabia.
Abedin’s mother has been considered a controversial *choke* Islamist activist, among other things.
In October 2016, @NPR’s Joel Rose acknowledged that some donors were awarded meetings with Clinton when she was secretary of state but that “there's no evidence that big donors got any special favors from the State Department.”
Rose didn't even bother to look at NPR's own reports. A few months earlier, NPR's Scott Detrow had laid out the 2009 case of the #SwissBank UBS and its problem with the IRS. The tax collectors wanted the identities of Americans with secret bank accounts.
Clinton brokered a tentative deal with the bank, and it agreed to turn over a small fraction of the information the IRS sought. Then, presto! The bank's Clinton Foundation donations grew from less than $60,000 to about $600,000 by the end of 2014.
It also showered Bill Clinton with $1.5 million for a series of speeches.
But there's “no evidence” of favors.
But there's “no evidence” of favors.
