Clinton campaign chief linked to Russian bank listed in Panama Papers

[OnlinePoker]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Washington Examiner

The head of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign is linked to a Russian bank involved with an emerging international scandal, according to documents reported on Tuesday.

Registration forms indicate that the Podesta Group signed up to lobby for the Sberbank of Russia in Washington about a month ago, in early March. The bank has been implicated in a scheme unearthed on Sunday in which leaders worldwide illegally stashed their assets overseas.

Read more: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/clinton-campaign-chief-linked-to-russian-bank-listed-in-panama-papers/article/2587741?custom_click=rss

---

The stink from the Panama Papers keeps spreading.

[onehandle]

1. Right-Wing online 'newspaper' loaded with right-wing bloggers says something.

What? Was the world net daily link not up to The 'Not Hillary' Party's 'standards?'

[Scuba]

2. Which part of the report are you disputing?

[Peace Patriot]

3. The source does give me pause, but it cites docs that can be checked.

You might do your candidate some good--or do yourself good if scandal hits your candidate--by studying up on the Panama scandal, the Clinton Foundation and the FBI's email server investigation. I think your candidate is vulnerable on these issues.

What is the gun for? It always startles me to see it.

[pangaia]

30. The gun, yea me too...

[RoccoR5955]

38. Yeah that gun

That person better not come around when Clinton starts complaining about Sanders' "record on gun control."

[FailureToCommunicate]

4. ...

[tomm2thumbs]

5. Podesta Group / Iraq

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/13/tony-podesta-group-iraq-lobbying

excerpt:

Whenever you think DC sleaze has reached its low point, it always manages to prove you wrong. Politico's Byron Taub and Anna Palmer this afternoon report that the authoritarian, human-rights-abusing government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malki is about to hire The Podesta Group as its first lobbying firm.

That firm is run by Tony Podesta, who legally peddles his influence with Democratic Party politicians to shape legislation on behalf of companies such as BP Oil, General Dynamics, Walmart, and Bank of America.

[Dustlawyer]

11. For the work he did with BP he would burn in Hell, if there was one!

[BlueMTexpat]

15. Tony Podesta is not John. eom

[tomm2thumbs]

17. (Tony) Podesta co-founded the Podesta Group with his brother John Podesta

[BlueMTexpat]

20. In 1988. John has not been actively

associated with the Group for many years.

The association with Sberbank - a legitimate lobbying relationship, btw - only began in March 2016.

Do you mean to imply that John was involved in setting up all these Panamanian secret accounts? Because that's what it seems to me - and that is pretty flimsy.

Why not also consider me involved in those same nefarious doings? I myself had a very tangential relationship with Sberbank from 2006-2008 - to enable Russian victims of the Nazi Reich to receive payments for harms done to them. So, of course, I must have known everything about the secret accounts in Panama too.

Same (il)logic. This place gets crazier and crazier.

[tomm2thumbs]

22. not talking about Panama at all

I think the Guardian is a more respectable source and the lobbying aspects of government on a grand scale is a little more prescient to me right now

[BlueMTexpat]

29. The "lobbying aspects of government

on a grand scale" - not sure what you mean by this ???

If you mean that lobbying on a grand scale harms government, I agree with you when the lobbying is done on behalf of corporate interests alone. But there is a lot of lobbying that takes place to advance social causes in a way that individual voters cannot. More precision on your part is necessary, IMO.

But the context of the OP here is to smear Hillary because her campaign manager has a very tangential - and very recent link - to Sberbank, which was very involved in setting up nefarious accounts in Panama, presumably for Russian citizens.

That is simply wrong. You might as well smear me for my "relationship" with Sberbank, which although tangential was likely more substantive than ANY Podesta - and by extension, Hillary - relationship would be.

[pnwmom]

6. "linked" -- by a RW screed. It's major Russian bank represented by lobbyists. Unless you think

we should have no business or political relations with Russia, there will be these 'links."

[B Calm]

7. Results

AUTOMATED MESSAGE: Results of your Jury Service
On Wed Apr 6, 2016, 07:45 AM an alert was sent on the following post:

Clinton campaign chief linked to Russian bank listed in Panama Papers
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141404446

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Using a right wing source to smear Democrats. Clearly the campaign nor Podesta has any connection to hiding the money since they just took them on as a client a month ago. This alliance with the right wing to promote the GOP electoral prospects does not belong on a Democratic site.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Wed Apr 6, 2016, 07:57 AM, and the Jury voted 3-4 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Defend your candidate with facts instead!
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: DU has become a new Freeper site.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[Lucinda]

8. And?

[RATM435]

9. Excellent.

[OnlinePoker]

12. Okay...here's the actual Podesta Lobbying Registration Form

It lists the bank in question.

http://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=8a5bd4fb-2687-4cdf-9906-0a65f4d8d52b&filingTypeID=1

[BlueMTexpat]

16. From March 2016.

So?

[closeupready]

13. Everybody is, it's the new normal, big deal!

[BlueMTexpat]

14. Another of the usual no nuance slurs.

Although the Podesta Group was co-founded in 1988 by brothers John and Tony Podesta, it is Tony who runs the group today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Podesta

It is John who is chairman of the Clinton Campaign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Podesta

Even the information from this dubious source shows that the Group - whose work is to lobby for Sberbank, not to enhance its practices in Panama - did not enter that relationship until a month ago. The Panamanian schemes were in place LONG before that.

But yes, let's please slur Hillary. Anyway we can.

As a matter of fact, part of my last job before "official" retirement involved making arrangements with this same Sberbank to pay claimants in Russia sums due them from their experiences under the Nazi Reich. Sberbank was the only feasible payment mechanism in Russia.

Does this also link ME with Sberbank's nefarious practices in Panama?

[OnlinePoker]

19. It is the company you keep

From your Wiki link to John Podesta: Now known as the Podesta Group, the firm "has close ties to the Democratic Party and the Obama administration [and] has been retained by some of the biggest corporations in the country, including Wal-Mart, BP and Lockheed Martin."

[BlueMTexpat]

21. "close ties to the Democratic Party"

Isn't Bernie running as a Democrat?

[FailureToCommunicate]

41. You should get an A for effort

from the Hillary campaign. But here it looks like you're running on fumes. Might be time for a stop to fill up the tank?

[Ford_Prefect]

18. "Book 'Em Danno"

[jpak]

23. BENGHAZI!!!!11111

[pinebox]

24. And so it begins.....

[Divernan]

26. More accurately:"So it continues"-shady deals & scandals never ending.

[pinebox]

27. True

[Turborama]

25. Tenuous.

What does this actually prove?

[Kingofalldems]

31. It proves that John Podesta's brother is a lobbyist.

But I bet Hillary put him up to it!!

Benghazi!

[7wo7rees]

28. Surprise, surprise!!! Not much. Podesta.....

Now why does that name sound so familiar? .......

[jwirr]

34. CIA?

[Arizona Roadrunner]

32. Bernie better keep going....

Great, now another potential problem for a very flawed Clinton candidacy. Better make sure Bernie hangs around. By the way, is John Podesta making any money from "the firm" he and his brother started? If he is, then his position as Clinton's campaign manager may have numerous conflicts of interest. The top people around Clinton have not been properly vetted and therefore, her whole campaign is suspect.

By the way, I am waiting for a taxpayer to sue Clinton for release of those speeches to Goldman-Sachs. If Goldman-Sachs tax deducted those speeches as an "expense", then it would be interesting to find out if a regular taxpayer has "standing" to sue. This would be based on the "regular" taxpayer paying more in taxes or getting less in services because of the lost revenue to the government due to the $675,000 tax deduction.

[Jerrymooney]

33. I don't see how this changes much...

There is a part of me, the Bernie supporter, that wants this story to have legs. So far, though, I'm not really even seeing the guilt by association. I think Sanders' message that Clinton takes money from big money is well established and this might support the narrative, but I'm not sure how much it adds.

[oberliner]

35. Right-Wing sources seem to be OK at DU these days

As long as they say something negative about Hilary.

[humbled_opinion]

36. What? No way, can't be

to be honest, I won't be surprised if she got money from a bunch of dirty foreign investment banks, RELEASE THE TRANSCRIPTS....

[BeyondGeography]

37. What a reach

[George II]

39. "Linked"? Very clever. That is a REAL stretch.

[Omaha Steve]

40. Locking after a review by forum hosts

Statement of Purpose

Post the latest news from reputable mainstream news websites and blogs. Important news of national interest only. No analysis or opinion pieces. No duplicates. News stories must have been published within the last 12 hours. Use the published title of the story as the title of the discussion thread.