They only serve to confirm something that has been painfully obvious from the outset: Hillary Clinton had a stake in the Clinton Foundation as Secretary of State, and acted on it.
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A tough political attack is a awful thing to waste, but that is what Donald Trump has squandered by launching vague, sweeping accusations against Hillary Clinton at precisely the moment when newly released emails raise valid, specific concerns about whether Clinton improperly mixed her public and private interests while serving as secretary of state.
During a almost three-minute report on NBC’s Today that focused on Trump’s controversies, correspondent Hallie Jackson provided a scant 27 seconds to the e-mail news, noting in part: “Clinton under fire herself”. At the time, DOJ declined because it had looked into allegations surrounding the Clinton Foundation around a year earlier and found there wasn’t sufficient evidence to open a case.
The revelation FBI investigators wanted to build a case against Clinton stands in stark contrast to the “nothing to see here” attitude from DOJ and the State Department, and indicates there is a growing disconnect between career law enforcement and partisan figures in the government over how to handle Clinton’s past misdeeds. Some also expressed concern the request seemed more political than substantive, especially given the timing of it coinciding with the investigation into the private email server and Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Former U.S. Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton speaks at a press conference announcing a new initiative between the Clinton Foundation, United Nations Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies on December 15, 2014, in New York City.
During that hearing, Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah asked Comey if “the Clinton Foundation was tied into this investigation”. In the email Band tells Hillary Clinton’s former aides at the State Department, Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin, that it is “important to take care of [Redacted]”. The Clinton Foundation was also being investigated for public corruption.
Upon entering office as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation agreed to a set of rules to ensure any activities by the foundation would not “create conflicts or the appearance of conflicts for Senator Clinton as Secretary of State”.
“DOJ officials pushed back against opening a case during the meeting earlier this year”.
The Clinton Foundation is under increased scrutiny this week.
Mills’ trip from Washington, D.C., to NY by a top Clinton aide in 2012 seems to raise the same potential issues.
However, Mills says she was on vacation when she performed the interview and did the work for free as a non-profit volunteer. According to the Mills’ attorney, she paid for the trip herself. If Trump wants to persuade truly undecided voters to shun Clinton, he needs to familiarize the voting public with the particulars of what Clinton’s emails suggest, and why they might show conflicts of interest.
In a case where there’s a possible conflict of interest that’s not necessarily criminal, the inspector general can look into it and take an administrative remedy if necessary.
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The Clinton campaign said on Wednesday that this person was not a donor nor a Clinton Foundation employee, but refused to release his or her identity.
