NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Clinton Foundation has confirmed it accepted a $1 million gift from Qatar while Hillary Clinton was U.S. secretary of state without informing the State Department, even though she had promised to let the agency review new or significantly increased support from foreign governments.
Qatari officials pledged the money in 2011 to mark the 65th birthday of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton’s husband, and sought to meet the former U.S. president in person the following year to present him the check, according to an email from a foundation official to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign chairman, John Podesta. The email, among thousands hacked from Podesta’s account, was published last month by WikiLeaks.
Clinton signed an ethics agreement governing her family’s globe-straddling foundation in order to become secretary of state in 2009. The agreement was designed to increase transparency to avoid appearances that U.S. foreign policy could be swayed by wealthy donors.
If a new foreign government wished to donate or if an existing foreign-government donor, such as Qatar, wanted to “increase materially” its support of ongoing programs, Clinton promised that the State Department’s ethics official would be notified and given a chance to raise any concerns.
Clinton Foundation officials last month declined to confirm the Qatar donation. In response to additional questions, a foundation spokesman, Brian Cookstra, this week said that it accepted the $1 million gift from Qatar, but this did not amount to a “material increase” in the Gulf country’s support for the charity. Cookstra declined to say whether Qatari officials received their requested meeting with Bill Clinton.
The rest is here
Emoluments, anyone?
Looks like we have a two-tiered justice system now.
Dems can do anything and will skate.
Reps will get prosecuted for just thinking about that.
We know how it works, unless they confess there was no intent.
“Oh, THAT million dollars. Yeah, I was GONNA tell you about it, but I forgot.”
Sheesh… what else is new? I guess you could make an emoluments case… if you considered bribery and influence peddling a business. But, let’s just file this… in case Hillary DOES decided to run.
Any idea what the headlines might look like if the Trump Charities had taken a million dollar donation from… well, anyone? Hell, a $10 donation! The lying corruption of the media is truly sickening. There will be NO reportage of this.