A Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire who donated millions to Clinton-family nonprofits was denied a visa to enter the United States past year for terrorism-related grounds, according to a new report.
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This week, the GOP seemed to focus a little less on Hillary Clinton’s emails and a lot more on her schedule from her time as secretary of state.
The Trump team also released a new web ad Sunday accusing the Clinton Foundation of being a “slush fund” that “sold access to the State Department”.
“This (foundation) becomes a conduit for people to gain access, and gaining access is a favor”, Pence told CNN’s “State of the Union”.
Still, Minassian insisted the foundation’s work isn’t being reduced. “That’s why we want to see the rest of the emails”, referring to 15,000 Clinton documents uncovered by the FBI that a federal judge pressed the State Department last week to release.
On the list were three executives from organizations that have donated millions to the Clinton Foundation: Bob McCann, the then-president of wealth management at UBS; Dr. Judith Rodin, the president of the Rockefeller Foundation; and Hikmet Ersek, the CEO of Western Union.
Almost two weeks later, Band followed up on email, specifically requesting Rodin be seated at Vice President Joe Biden’s table.
The emails — released as part of a public records lawsuit by conservative group Citizens United and shared exclusively with ABC – reveal what the group claims is new evidence Foundation allies received special treatment.
“As the State Department said last week, ‘the Department’s actions under Secretary Clinton were always taken with the intent to advance our foreign policy interests and with no other intent in mind than that, ‘ ” Clinton spokesman Josh Schwerin told CNN, citing State Department spokesman Mark Toner’s comments to reporters last week. “I think they’ve … shown over and over again that they’re willing to be transparent and that they have gone beyond the letter of the law, to show that they’re trying to make sure there are bright red, green, purple lines that will separate them from any type of conflict”.
“The State Department does not believe it is inappropriate for the administration to consider individuals suggested by outside organizations when deciding who to invite to an official function”, State Department Director of Press Relations Elizabeth Trudeau said in a statement.
Calling Werthein a “great friend” and “big supporter”, Band asked Abedin to deliver a message to the USA ambassador to Malta on behalf of Werthein.
Abedin passed on Band’s message to another State Department official asking for delivery to the ambassador’s assistant, writing, “Just want to pass along for info”.
Current Democratic National Committee leader Donna Brazile downplayed the new Foundation revelations Sunday “I don’t see where the smoke is”, she said.
“I think there’s legitimate questions about the Clinton Foundation”, former Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, though he added that Trump’s business dealings are more problematic and the foundation has done good work.
A trove of newly release emails show a more links between Clinton Foundation officials and Hillary Clinton’s top aides when she was Secretary of State.
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“This notion that, somehow or another, someone who is a supporter, someone who is a donor, somebody who’s an activist, saying I want access, I want to come into a room and I want to meet people, we often criminalize behavior that is normal. When Democrats do that, they call it a conflict”, Brazile said.
