March 29, 2024

John Kerry’s State Department Funneled MILLIONS To His Daughter’s Nonprofit

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 03: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the topic of "The Authorization of Use of Force in Syria" September 3, 2013 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Barack Obama is attempting to enlist the support of members of the U.S. Congress for military action against the Syrian government for using chemical weapons against its own people last month. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Absolute and utter corruption. This is the hallmark of the Obama presidency.

They left don’t produce. They mooch, loot and steal.

The right connections really do matter, it seems – just ask John Kerry’s daughter, Vanessa Kerry, whose nonprofit foundation saw a big boost of revenues from Department of State coffers, the same bureaucratic entity her dad happens to oversee.

The Daily Caller broke the news:

“More than $9 million of Department of State money has been funneled through the Peace Corps to a nonprofit foundation started and run by Secretary of State John Kerry’s daughter, documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation show.”

And where does the Peace Corps get its money, at least in part?

Why, the State Department – very glad you asked.

The Daily Caller continues:

“The Department of State funded a Peace Corps program created by Dr. Vanessa Kerry and officials from both agencies, records show. The Peace Corps then awarded the money without competition to a nonprofit Kerry created for the program.”

So to recap: From dad, to daughter, via dad’s workplace to daughter’s workplace.

As the Daily Caller noted, it took a bit of disseminating to arrive at that conclusion. Here’s what the news outlet found:

“Initially, the Peace Corps awarded Kerry’s group – now called Seed Global Health – with a three-year contract worth $2 million of State Department money on Sept. 10, 2012, documents show. Her father was then the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which oversees both the Department of State and the Peace Corps.

“Seed secured a four-year extension in September 2015, again without competition. This time, the Peace Corps gave the nonprofit $6.4 million provided by the Department of State while John Kerry was secretary of State.

“Seed also received almost $1 million from a modification to the first award, as well as from Department of State funds the group secured outside the Peace Corps.”

And all that, despite the fact that a fiscally responsible government is supposed to seek out the most cost-effective means of utilizing tax dollars for perceived necessary services – and voila, the bid process is born.

Apparently, some services – namely those that run in the family, or at least, that are tied to the correct family name – are exempt from such piddly concerns.

The Daily Caller concludes:

“Kerry and government officials colluded to launch the [Global Health Service Partnership Peace Corps] program and ensure that Seed would get the contract.”

How does the Daily Caller know that?

A damning memo revealed the details.

“‘Vanessa, Buck, and Sarah are meeting with Ambassador Goosby on the morning of 9/16/11 to discuss next steps for the GHSP,’ said a memo from September 16, 2011 – one year before Seed received its first award. ‘Conversations with OGAC leadership confirm that Ambassador Goosby is very supportive of the initial proposal.’

“The memo was referring to Peace Corps [d]irectors Buck Buckingham and Sarah Morgenthau and Ambassador Eric Goosby, who then headed the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) – the State Department office that later funded GHSP. A meeting one month later unveiled the strategy to send tax dollars to Seed.”

Dizzy with the details?

They go on – but the main takeaway is this: Kerry used his official office to help profit his daughter’s business ventures, according to a Daily Caller investigation.

Not shocking; just more Capitol Hill, par-for-the-course madness.

And then there was this, of course, from a defender of Seed, in the Daily Caller piece:

“Seed spokesman Mark Marino denied any conflicts of interest, telling TheDCNF: ‘No conflict of interest exists in our partnership with Peace Corps and the U.S. government. Dr. Vanessa Kerry is primarily employed by and paid through Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kerry receives no financial compensation from the Peace Corps or U.S. government. Funding from the Peace Corps, an independent agency in the federal government, represents about 27 percent of Seed’s total $6.4 million budget this fiscal year.”

Kery’s spokesman, John Kirby, said similarly. And yet:

“But a Peace Corps spokesman who demanded anonymity told TheDCNF that the ‘Peace Corps is proud of the continued work we have done in collaboratioon with Seed Global Health and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to send qualified health professionals abroad to teach and expand clinical capacity.

“Since the agency’s early years, Peace Corps has sought to improve health outcomes in the countries it serves. The Global Health Service Partnership is an innovative continuation of the Peace Corps’ commitment to global health.”

Whom to believe? Regardless:

“It’s [still] unclear why the Peace Corps violated its five-year policy by giving Seed seven years of non-competitively awarded funding,” the Daily Caller reported.

Source: Pamela Geller

Share
Source: