2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumClinton Foundation Donors Got Weapons Deals From Clinton State Dept
Clinton Foundation Donors Got Weapons Deals From Hillary Clinton's State Department
By David Sirota @davidsirota AND Andrew Perez @AndrewPerezDC On 05/26/15 AT 8:44 AM
Under Hillary Clinton, the State Department approved $165 billion worth of commercial arms sales to 20 nations whose governments had given millions to the Clinton Foundation.
Even by the standards of arms deals between the United States and Saudi Arabia, this one was enormous. A consortium of American defense contractors led by Boeing would deliver $29 billion worth of advanced fighter jets to the United States' oil-rich ally in the Middle East.
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But now, in late 2011, Hillary Clintons State Department was formally clearing the sale, asserting that it was in the national interest. At press conferences in Washington to announce the departments approval, an assistant secretary of state, Andrew Shapiro, declared that the deal had been a top priority for Clinton personally. Shapiro, a longtime aide to Clinton since her Senate days, added that the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army have excellent relationships in Saudi Arabia.
These were not the only relationships bridging leaders of the two nations. In the years before Hillary Clinton became secretary of state, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia contributed at least $10 million to the Clinton Foundation, the philanthropic enterprise she has overseen with her husband, former president Bill Clinton.
Just two months before the deal was finalized, Boeing -- the defense contractor that manufactures one of the fighter jets the Saudis were especially keen to acquire, the F-15 -- contributed $900,000 to the Clinton Foundation, according to a company press release.
The Saudi deal was one of dozens of arms sales approved by Hillary Clintons State Department that placed weapons in the hands of governments that had also donated money to the Clinton family philanthropic empire, an International Business Times investigation has found.
Under Clinton's leadership, the State Department approved $165 billion worth of commercial arms sales to 20 nations whose governments have given money to the Clinton Foundation, according to an IBTimes analysis of State Department and foundation data.
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The Clinton-led State Department also authorized $151 billion of separate Pentagon-brokered deals for 16 of the countries that donated to the Clinton Foundation, resulting in a 143 percent increase in completed sales to those nations over the same time frame during the Bush administration.
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The State Department formally approved these arms sales even as many of the deals enhanced the military power of countries ruled by authoritarian regimes whose human rights abuses had been criticized by the department.
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Under federal law, foreign governments seeking State Department clearance to buy American-made arms are barred from making campaign contributions -- a prohibition aimed at preventing foreign interests from using cash to influence national security policy. But nothing prevents them from contributing to a philanthropic foundation controlled by policymakers.
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National security experts assert that the overlap between the list of Clinton Foundation donors and those with business before the the State Department presents a troubling conflict of interest.
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That year, the Algerian government donated $500,000 to the Clinton Foundation and its lobbyists met with the State Department officials who oversee enforcement of human rights policies. Clintons State Department the next year approved a one-year 70 percent increase in military export authorizations to the country. The increase included authorizations of almost 50,000 items classified as toxicological agents, including chemical agents, biological agents and associated equipment after the State Department did not authorize the export of any of such items to Algeria in the prior year.
During Clintons tenure, the State Department authorized at least $2.4 billion of direct military hardware and services sales to Algeria -- nearly triple such authorizations over the last full fiscal years during the Bush administration. The Clinton Foundation did not disclose Algerias donation until this year -- a violation of the ethics agreement it entered into with the Obama administration.
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Even so, Bill Clinton took in speaking fees reaching $625,000 at events sponsored by entities that were dealing with Hillary Clintons State Department on weapons issues.
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Lockheed is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, which paid Bill Clinton $250,000 to speak at an event in 2010. Three days before the speech, Hillary Clintons State Department approved two weapons export deals in which Lockheed was listed as the prime contractor.
Over the course of 2010, Lockheed was a contractor on 17 Pentagon-brokered deals that won approval from the State Department. Lockheed told IBTimes that its support for the Clinton Foundation started in 2010, while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.
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cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)MaggieD
(7,393 posts)May the 187th time will do the trick! You never know.
grasswire
(50,130 posts)You keep trying to hide them. Every time you post is a kick.
MaggieD
(7,393 posts)It contains major omissions of facts and make baseless accusations based on spurious "correlations" just like it did the other hundred times it was posted.
grasswire
(50,130 posts)nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)think
(11,641 posts)Will questions about conflict of interest hurt the Clinton campaign?
By Judy Woodruff - April 23, 2015 at 6:35 PM EST
JUDY WOODRUFF: Two news reports out today are raising questions about Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation.
The New York Times reported a company now known as Uranium One sought approval to sell control of the company to Russias atomic energy agency. The owners of that company donated $2.35 million to the Clinton Foundation. The State Department, headed by Hillary Clinton at the time, signed off on the sale.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/will-questions-conflict-interest-hurt-clinton-campaign/
vintx
(1,748 posts)Yet another ad for the GOP should she get the nod.
think
(11,641 posts)Hillary's Campaign Is Built on a Shaky Foundation
Are conflicts of interest inevitable when the Clintons are involved?
David A. Graham
| Mar 20, 2015
The thing about the controversies shaking Hillary Clinton's still-not-yet-presidential campaign is how utterly predictable they are.
For example, communications that were supposed to be preserved turning up missing or deleted? We've heard that before. And now questions about sketchy foreign donations, and failures to disclose them? Somehow, that one seems familiar too. (Yes, James Carville, some of us do remember those long-ago controversies.)
Friday's news actually brings two, somewhat-related stories about questionable practices at the Clinton Foundation, the charitable organization that Bill Clinton created after leaving the White House. Reuters notes that when she became secretary of state in 2009, Hillary Clinton pledged to President Obama that the foundation would issue an annual report of all of its donors, to ease worries about foreign influence on the nation's top diplomat. That promise soon fell by the wayside, though: The Clinton Health Access Initiative, by far the foundation's largest element, hasn't issued a report since 2010. (CHAI was spun off that year, but remains subject to the same rules.) An official acknowledged the mistake.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/hillarys-campaign-is-built-on-a-shaky-foundation/388324/
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)Except when it's politically expedient to supply guns to killers.
yourout
(7,532 posts)Quid pro quo is not seafood.
Jarqui
(10,130 posts)Investigators with the State Department issued a subpoena to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation last fall seeking documents about the charitys projects that may have required approval from the federal government during Hillary Clintons term as secretary of state, according to people familiar with the subpoena and written correspondence about it.
We've been assured that what Hillary did was here no different than what Condoleezza Rice or Colin Powell did as Secretary of State ... though for some stupid reason, no one has been able to find $5+ million donations from Saudi Arabia and Boeing to the Rice or Powell Foundations ... (I guess we just have to stay tuned ...)
Obviously, it would be silly of the GOP to try to bring this up during the general election because the Clintons have already assured us once again (paraphrased) "I did not take bribes from that country ... or company!" So we can take comfort that this will not come up and hurt our candidate's chances to be elected to the White House. Or maybe the spin should be "why wouldn't Americans want a president with the good sense to take bribes when they get the chance??"
So don't worry your pretty little heads about this, ok? Move along. There's nothing to see here.
vintx
(1,748 posts)They've been preparing for this for 20 years.
Jarqui
(10,130 posts)They've got so much in the can on her, the big GOP campaign argument during the general will be which are the top 60 swiftboat ads to run against her.
Whitewater, Travelgate, cattle futures, etc. there's a whole generation to educate or reeducate on Hillary Clinton - educate so they'll hate her and won't trust her like the previous generations. We know the mainstream media will not turn down hundreds of millions from the Koch brothers. The Koch brothers will spend like drunks to hang on to political power. There's an unprecedented amount of GOP ugliness on Hillary coming to a TV screen or newspaper near you in the fall.
The trouble with it is, different from the swiftboating of John Kerry or Obama is a Kenyan Muslim, there's a significant layer of truth to what they'll be telling Americans about Hillary - which will make it very difficult to refute or prevent from sticking or penetrating deeper into the electorate.
Corporate America do not want Citizens United overturned because that could erode their grip on political power. I think the GOP have wanted Hillary as a candidate all along and we're about to see why that is. The corporate media who delivered her primary isn't going to be there for her in the general election - they too want a Republican Supreme Court Judge. They'll take her ad money but their thumb will be on the scale for the GOP. Hillary is going to taste what she dished out to Bernie.
think
(11,641 posts)MaggieD
(7,393 posts)Much like the faux IRS scandal. The GOP smear machine stays in gear 24/7/365. Can't wait until Skinner cracks down on this stuff.
BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)Should be either commissions or bribes.
Lorien
(31,935 posts)They don't care about any of it, because they don't care about anything except their own egos and labels:
Hillary wants to attack Iran: http://www.globalresearch.ca/hillary-clinton-if-im-president-we-will-attack-iran/5460484
Hillary pushed Fracking on the rest of the planet: http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/hillary-clinton-fracking-shale-state-department-chevron
Hillary and childhood poverty: http://www.salon.com/2015/10/15/the_worst_thing_hillary_clinton_has_ever_done/
What Hillary calls "feminism" : https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/03/hillary-clinton-womens-rights-feminism/
How women workers faired at Walmart when Hillary was on it's board:
Hillary's campaign had a gender pay gap: http://freebeacon.com/politics/hillary-clintons-campaign-has-a-gender-pay-problem/
Hillary takes millions in campaign cash from her "enemies": http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/10/14/hillary-takes-millions-in-campaign-cash-from-enemies
Hillary on Gay marriage in 2004: &feature=youtu.be
Hillary open to raising the retirement age and reducing SS benefits: http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/10/hillary-clinton-indicates-she-is-open-to-raising-the-retirement-age.html
Bernie has a MUCH better record of accomplishments as Senator than Hillary does: https://pplswar.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/fact-bernie-sanders-got-more-done-in-the-senate-than-hillary-clinton/
When you ask me to vote for Hillary: https://medium.com/@Lookingforrobyn/when-you-ask-me-to-vote-for-hillary-174becdb5ccc#.2ixs3cg5o
Hillary's legacy of pushing the party to the right: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/33869-hillary-clinton-s-ghosts-a-legacy-of-pushing-the-democratic-party-to-the-right
Chomsky: Democrats are now moderate Republicans:http://trofire.com/2015/09/23/noam-chomsky-dems-are-now-moderate-repugs-republicans-are-now-off-the-spectrum-of-reality/
The political compass finds Bernie to be the most centrist candidate, Hillary falls into the right wing Authoritarian spectrum:: http://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2016
Bernie rejects big fundraising events: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/features/2015-03-26/bernie-sanders-hates-money-in-politics-the-very-thing-he-ll-need-to-beat-clinton
Debunking the "Bernie has a Super PAC" lie: http://www.rawstory.com/2016/02/debunking-the-big-bernie-sanders-has-a-superpac-lie/
Elizabeth Warren on Hillary Clinton: https://www.facebook.com/shaunking/videos/986305904741661/
A comparison of bills put forth by Bernie and Hillary: http://giphy.com/gifs/clinton-vs-sanders-bills-passed-according-to-congressgov-3o6gaQaIZcGAW7hCfu
Hillary helps a bank, which then funnels millions to the Clintons: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/hillary-helps-a-bankand-then-it-pays-bill-15-million-in-speaking-fees/400067/
Under Sanders, incomes and jobs would soar:http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/08/news/economy/sanders-income-jobs/
Electing Bernie would usher a wave of "Bernie Democrats" into Congress: https://newrepublic.com/article/129047/bernies-army-running-congress
Bernie vows to stop disastrous TPP deal: http://ecowatch.com/2015/10/05/sanders-stop-tpp-deal/
Bernie's foreign policy positions are solid and through: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-foreign-poicy-213619
Hillary's foreign policy record is dismal: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-ritter/hillary-clinton-foreign-policy-record_b_9221284.html
Bernie has plenty of foreign policy knowledge: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-foreign-poicy-213619
Hillary's foreign policy record is a disaster: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-ritter/hillary-clinton-foreign-policy-record_b_9221284.html
Top economist, UN advisor and climate activist: "Clinton is a danger to world peace" http://m.dailykos.com/stories/2016/2/15/1485382/-Top-economist-UN-advisor-and-climate-activist-Clinton-is-a-danger-to-world-peace
The pragmatic case for Bernie Sanders: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/02/the-pragmatic-case-for-bernie-sanders/462720/
Who could beat Trump? Bernie by a wide margin, while Hillary could lose against him: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-a-goodman/bernie-sanders-destroys-donald-trump-by-13-points-6-more-than-clinton-_b_8936840.html
Bernie Sanders would beat Donald Trump 51-38 in a general-election: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/poll-against-bernie-sanders-donald-trump-would-get-schlonged-20151223#ixzz3zvCwk44J
Poll shows that Hillary could easily lose to Trump in the General election: http://www.inquisitr.com/2667052/poll-shows-hillary-clinton-could-easily-lose-to-donald-trump-in-general-election/
Hillary voted to allow more carcinogens in drinking water: http://usuncut.com/news/hillary-clinton-groundwater-pollution/
In Europe, Sanders would be Center-Right: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-01-19/in-europe-sanders-would-be-center-right
MaggieD
(7,393 posts)The boys cried wolf too many times. Your wall of blue links won't even get clicks at this point. Neither will the propaganda videos. Just think what productive things you could have done for the revolution instead?
marew
(1,588 posts)I just hope the people who need to read this actually will!