New documents reveal that the Clinton Foundation’s alleged illegitimate ties to the US State Department may be in violation of the ethics agreements that Hillary Clinton agreed to in order to be appointed and confirmed as Secretary of State.
Newly published records from Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State raise further concerns that she utilized her senior diplomatic position to advance the interests of the Clinton Foundation.
Judicial Watch, a US law watchdog, on Tuesday released 296 pages of State Department records, of which 44 email exchanges were not previously turned over to the State Department, apparently contradicting statements by Clinton that, “as far as she knew,” all of her government emails were turned over to the State Department.
The new documents reveal that in April 2009 controversial Clinton Foundation official Doug Band pushed Clinton for a job for an associate. 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 name].” Band is reassured by Abedin that “Personnel has been sending him options.” Band was co-founder of Teneo Strategy with Bill Clinton and a top official of the Clinton Foundation, including its Clinton Global Initiative.
Included in the new document production is a 2009 email in which Band directs Abedin and Mills to put Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and Clinton Foundation donor Gilbert Chagoury in touch with the State Department’s “substance person” on Lebanon. Band notes that Chagoury is “key guy there [Lebanon] and to us,” and insists that Abedin call Amb. Jeffrey Feltman to connect him to Chagoury.
Chagoury is a close friend of former President Bill Clinton and a top donor to the Clinton Foundation. He has appeared near the top of the Foundation’s donor list as a $1 million to $5 million contributor, according to foundation documents. He also pledged $1 billion to the Clinton Global Initiative. According to a 2010 investigation by PBS Frontline, Chagoury was convicted in 2000 in Switzerland for laundering money from Nigeria, but agreed to a plea deal and repaid $66 million to the Nigerian government.
Violation of the Ethics Agreements
“Clinton’s top aides’ favors for and interactions with the Clinton Foundation seem in violation of the ethics agreements that Hillary Clinton agreed to in order to be appointed and confirmed as Secretary of State.” Judicial Watch stated.
In February 2009, as preparation for Hillary’s upcoming visit to Asia, Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, sent Clinton a copy of his upcoming testimony before Congress in which he would condemn any US efforts to criticize Chinese monetary policy or enact trade barriers. Several days later, Hillary asked Abedin about Roach possibly “connecting” with her while she was in Beijing: “I forwarded you my email to him about connecting in Beijing. Can he come to the embassy or other event?” Morgan Stanley is a long-time financial supporter of the Clintons.
Emails also reveal misconduct by Clinton’s staff.
The emails reveal that Clinton campaign adviser and pollster Mark Penn advised Clinton on NATO and piracy.
Another major Clinton fundraiser, Lana Moresky, also pushed Clinton to hire someone for a position at State. Clinton directed Abedin to follow up and “help” the applicant and told Abedin to “let me know” about the job issue.
The emails show that Hillary Clinton relied on someone named “Justin” (presumably Justin Cooper, a Bill Clinton and Clinton Foundation employee) to set up her cell phone voicemail rather than having State Department personnel handle it.
Hiding From the American People
“No wonder Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin hid emails from the American people, the courts and Congress,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “They show the Clinton Foundation, Clinton donors, and operatives worked with Hillary Clinton in potential violation of the law.”
Judicial Watch has previously released Clinton documents allegedly implicating Clinton in misconduct or illegal actions.
Hillary Clinton has repeatedly stated that she believes that the 55,000 pages of documents she turned over to the State Department in December 2014 included all of her work-related emails. In response to a court order in other Judicial Watch litigation, she declared under penalty of perjury that she had “directed that all my emails on clintonemail.com in my custody that were or are potentially federal records be provided to the Department of State, and on information and belief, this has been done.” This new email find is also at odds with her official campaign statement suggesting all “work or potentially work-related emails” were provided to the State Department.
An investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server while at the State Department has fueled public distrust of her and plagued her presidential campaign. The Justice Department declined to press charges against Clinton for her handling of classified information related to the server, while FBI Director James Comey charged Clinton’s actions were “extremely careless.”
Source: United with Israel
