The Clinton Foundation has been the subject of long-standing allegations of questionable donations and reporting. It is also viewed by many critics as a massive shadow campaign structure that employed aides and funded Clinton trips. However, the most serious allegation was a type of pay-to-play scheme where foreign and domestic donors gave money in the hopes of currying favor or gaining access to the State Department. Now, Judicial Watch has released dozens of emails that were deleted improperly by the Clinton staff, but contain non-personal communications. Among the recovered emails are communications showing interventions for donors at the State Department, including one on behalf of a convicted money launderer. The relative lack of coverage on both the proof of the improper deletion of such emails and the pay-for-play concerns is astonishing — and magnify concerns that mainstream media has been giving such controversies minimal coverage.
Clinton turned over 30,000 emails and repeatedly insisted that some 30,000 deleted emails were entirely and clearly personal in nature. That has been proven to be untrue. More importantly, the emails contain clear interventions for donors. Clinton just recently denied any such connection between the Foundation and State Department business. However, in one email exchange, Doug Band, an executive at the Clinton Foundation, intervened for Gilbert Chagoury — a convicted money launderer — with the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon. Band emphasizes that Chagoury is a “key guy there [Lebanon] and to us” and asks Clinton aide Huma Abedin call Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman on behalf of Chagoury. Chagoury was a major donor to both the Foundation and is a close friend of former President Bill Clinton. He also pledged $1 billion to the Clinton Global Initiative. He was convicted in 2000 in Switzerland for money laundering, but cut a deal to avoid jail time.
The Clinton campaign does not address the fact that this was one of many emails improperly deleted and only recovered through court orders. However, the campaign did insist that “Neither of these emails involve the Secretary or relate to the Foundation’s work. They are communications between her aides and the President’s personal aide, and indeed the recommendation was for one of the Secretary’s former staffers who was not employed by the Foundation.”
Another email showed the revolving door between the foundation and State with an effort by aides to find a position for a foundation associate. Clinton Foundation official Doug Band told Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin that it is “important to take care of (redacted).” Abedin then assured Band that “Personnel has been sending him options.”
Also deleted was an email from Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, on the effort of the National Security Agency and State Department officials to develop a modified blackberry for Clinton that might be used when she worked in a restricted State Department office that did not allow private phones. It was clearly a government-related email and one that bore directly on what the FBI Director later found to be careless handling of classified communications by Clinton and her aides.
It is hard to see how the Clinton aides could have read these emails and deleted them as purely personal matters. One would think that such clearly improper deletions would generate more media scrutiny of tens of thousands of emails unilaterally deleted by the Clinton staff.
Corruption is the biggest threat to our nation.
That sums it up well, Jill. The game they have is an effective one though. Divide and conquer. Proven strategy. The complicit press (as you point out) aims to keep leveraging our differences instead of speaking to us a population of a nation. It seems to me even the intelligent folk are influenced by this strategy, as they feel instantly defensive and support their “chosen team” as part of their defensive response. It is so effective, I do not know if there is a way to counter it. Certainly logic cannot do it.
And it is extra shameful that the people trusted with enforcing laws just turn their heads. Or is Clinton so powerful they can’t escape her wrath either? Sorry, that’s part of the job though.
And what’s up with the DNC staffer who spilled the beans? Haven’t heard much more about that…
This criminality will not stop unless people stop accepting criminality in our “leadership”.
Right now we have 1. no rule of law 2. a corrupt judiciary 3. a corrupt political class, 4. corrupt major corporations 5. a corrupt FBI and all the clandestine agencies and 6. a corrupt press which has been nearly completely co-opted by the powerful oligarchy.
This is obviously a frightening situation. To me, this leaves only people of conscience left as a way to confront this massive injustice and corruption. It certainly is an option to maintain that things have always been bad so people should do nothing. This option guarantees nothing will change.
Nevertheless, this is not true of history. Corrupt leaders have been removed from power and gains in civil and economic rights have been made. We can become an ethical people capable of standing against wars, corruption and for the rule of law. We can use soul-force. Will this work? I don’t know. The only thing I do know is that counseling just walking away when you see wrong doing enables wrong-doing. It ensures things will continue as planned with the oligarchy winning in every aspect.
We need to care about others. Our actions may not be successful but we need to have the courage and altruism to care about our society and stop just allowing wrong doing to continue. Showing others that we care enough to take a stand is important in and of itself.
That’s about the only positive I see with Trump winning. I think it will set the wheels in motion to start to tear up government a good bit. Trump could be a Cromwell, and most likely wouldn’t survive very long himself. Maybe it’s time for some of corporate raider Romney’s “creative destruction” in government. It would be nice if it happened to all of them instead of their policies being doled-out on us for a change.
Although the revelations of corruption throughout all sectors of the US government are disturbing, it is a historical fact the US government, federal and otherwise, has been more or less corrupt from its inception. The likelihood of any major improvement in this perennial disaster is negligible. Perhaps the use of the death penalty might make a slight dent in the criminality but the species of humanity that hungers after political power, or any other control over fellow humans, would quickly fill the vacancies with other crooks so the outlook for decent government is rather dim.
How high are the stakes in this election? If Trump wins, hundreds of whistleblowers will have cover to come forth and help indict Hillary and put her in prison, along with potentially hundreds of co-conspirators, all the way up to the highest levels of government. Obama and the DNC cannot afford to lose this election. They will stop at nothing, including the use of violence, to win.
On the other hand, the stakes are even higher for the American people. The Supreme Court will become an even bigger bagman for corporations. Free Speech will be dramatically curtailed. Christians will be persecuted. Guns will be outlawed. Small business will be swallowed by Big Business. Taxes will double, even triple. GMO food will swamp the world food supply. Open borders will double US population within a generation. English will become a minority language. Pretty much everything we already have today, only far worse.
Clinton’s use of a ‘private’ server and the possibility of intrusion makes her a perfect target for blackmail by anyone or any nation with access to private details of a personal nature as well as government operations.
SHE IS ALREADY ESTABLISHED AS THE SECURITY RISK.
But the media is obsessed with trumping this fact.
The nation is in deep trouble and it has no leadership.
Banana republic comes to mind
Now wait a minute. These were clearly about the wedding. For example, Clinton needed to have the wedding dress laundered. That costs about 1 billion dollars with today’s inflated dry cleaning bills. There is absolutely no reason to get upset when someone who helped pay for the daughter’s dry cleaning bill wants to engage in our foreign policy.
Foreign policy should be run by criminal money launderers outside of the govt. It’s important to have private individuals make decisions so that no one is help to account for war crimes. Jeesh, what is wrong with you people!
Full Stop-naked emperors are running loose. No more cheering, no more excusing. Demand justice.
If Hillary is elected, there should be no honeymoon period. Republicans should do their solemn constitutional duty and form an impeachment subcommittee the moment she takes the oath.
The State Dept is still slow walking the emails. The judge estimated they would have Chelsea’s by 2027. State is protecting Hillary and I don’t know why. She did not do a good job.
Require all citizens age 18 and older to take a civics test and maintain a score similar to a FICO score. Weight their vote based on their score so the more civically-literate voters have a greater impact than those that have no idea how this constitutional republic is supposed to function. I know, I know, this isn’t fair to people that….. It’s also not fair to those that take the time to know what their vote will do.
Doglover, I guess it depends on what you consider “hurting someone.” Seems like they have an awful lot of nasty people onboard that do hurt people. I actually think that is the point here…
Isaac, Great suggestions! Thanks.
Issac has a good idea in theory, but it’s kind of like prohibition. And to provide an antithetical response to my own statement, Clinton has surely worked very hard to curve the field to her advantage.
Since politicians are all about the after-office hookups these days, what if it was required that every elected official serves two terms, then has a big community party and shot by firing squad in the spirit of political renewal?? There might be a problem with that, but I’ll think about it.
That’s what “power” is all about – helping your friends who help you retain power. It’s compromise and negotiations among those who have power. Of course the Clinton Foundation is a system for identifying who is within that process. Anyone can donate to the Clinton Foundation. The favors handed out will correspond to the relative size of the donation. It’s a workable system. Does it hurt anyone?
Slohrss29…..I agree.
Independent Bob….55 to 60 million primary voters gave us Hillary and Trump.
I generally agree with your comment that “..it is the people who are the problem”.
There were initially 6 Democratic candidates for the nomination and 17 GOP candidates, and we end up with the Trump v. Clinton “choice”.
There is an opening this year for 3rd party candidates to have a real impact, given the very high unfavorables/ dislike/ distrust of the two major party nominees.
But there was also an opportunity for those tens of millions of primary voters to nominate far better candidates.
The Clinton-Trump “choice” was a unique “gift” from those primary voters who nominated them.
Guess we can’t escape that old saying, “you can’t escape the leaders you deserve.” Sad but probably true.
Al, I don’t know if you saw Autumn’s video from yesterday, but Clinton is out ahead on that issue. So that’s a scratch. Isn’t there just a point when we can say our protectors of the constitution aren’t doing their job and we can arrest them?? What does this person have to do to face trial for egregious charges?? Anymore on that DNC guy who didn’t make it to work?? Did the Russians do that too??
Hillary is way ahead of Trump when it comes to compiling an enemies list & doing cement jobs.
In year 1995 there were 900 FBI files with Hillary’s finger prints all over them.