Foreign donor storm hits Hillary campaign
Clintons ‘amassed millions from dodgy deals’
HILLARY Clinton’s White House bid was in crisis last night over claims she and husband Bill made millions from shady foreign deals.
A forthcoming book, Clinton Cash, alleges that Mrs Clinton used her former post as US Secretary of State to do favours for foreigners who donated to her family foundation.
The same donors also paid millions to her husband for speaking engagements.
The ‘quid pro quo’ allegations cover the sale of a uranium mine in Kazakhstan, a free trade agreement between the US and Colombia, a controversial oil pipeline in Canada and lucrative development contracts in Haiti.
The Clinton camp has denied any illegality and claims it is the target of a rightwing smear campaign as the book’s author, Peter Schweizer, is a former adviser to George W Bush. However, his research has been backed by parallel investigations undertaken by America’s two leading liberal newspapers, the New york Times and Washington Post.
The New york Times yesterday detailed how investors in a uranium company donated millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation while Mrs Clinton’s State Department was considering whether to allow the company to be bought by Russia’s atomic energy agency. The contributions were not publicly disclosed despite an agreement Mrs Clinton had made with the White House to identify all donors.
At the same time, former president Mr Clinton made £330,000 for a speech in Moscow, paid by a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin, which was backing the uranium deal.
The main Clinton Foundation donor involved, Canadian mining magnate Frank Giustra, is a darling of the liberal establishment due to his support with Mr Clinton of a ‘sustainable growth’ initiative. Former Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney said yesterday that the uranium deal ‘looked like bribery’.
A spokesman for the Republican National Committee said each new revelation showed Mrs Clinton ‘cannot be trusted to lead on the international stage’.
It has also been revealed that Mr Clinton accepted private jet trips to South America from Mr Giustra to give four speeches for £527,000. At the time, Mr Giustra – who had business interests in Colombia – was backing a US-Colombia free trade pact.
Mrs Clinton had initially opposed the pact but changed her mind and it was finalised under her time in office.
Records show that of the £69million that Mr Clinton made in speeches over 12 years, about half came during his wife’s four years at the State Department.
The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, which invests in philanthropic initiatives, has some £165million in assets – much of it from foreign donations while Mrs Clinton was secretary of state.