Politics Emails reveal how foundation donors got access to Clinton and her close aides at State Dept.

Plunge in Clinton Foundation donations fuels GOP scrutiny amid DOJ probe

By Brooke Singman | Fox News
House Oversight Committee sets hearing for Clinton Foundation probe.

Newly released tax documents showing a plunge in Clinton Foundation donations after Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential election defeat have fueled long-standing Republican allegations of possible “pay-to-play” transactions at the organization, amid a Justice Department probe covering foundation issues.

The tax filings, which were made public this month, show the Clinton Foundation pulled in $62.9 million in 2016, but only $26.6 million the following year, representing a nearly 58 percent drop. Tax documents for 2018 are not yet available.

But the filings further emboldened congressional Republicans concerned the foundation benefited first from Clinton's position atop the State Department and later as a presidential candidate, by way of donors seeking political favors -- only for that cash flow to dry up when it was clear Hillary Clinton was out of government.

"The remarkable significance of the drop in Clinton foundation donations raises grave concerns their operations were not above board as the American people have been led to believe," House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said in a statement to Fox News. "Whenever we look at the possibility of 'pay to play' by government officials, current or former, it demands answers--and anyone who uses public office to sell access for their own financial benefit must be held accountable."

President Trump, citing reports about the foundation's fundraising, tweeted Sunday that it "shows that they illegally played the power game" and "monetized their political influence through the Foundation."

But former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was fired almost immediately after the midterm elections, revealed in March that he had appointed U.S. Attorney John Huber to lead an evaluation into a range of Clinton-related issues -- including the FBI's handling of the email case as well as the foundation's operations.

Huber has been mum on the investigation since the start, but House Republicans last week announced they plan to hold a hearing on Dec. 5 to hear Huber’s testimony—just one month before Democrats take control of the House.

Rep. Meadows, who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations, told The Hill last week that it was time to “circle back” with Huber on developments in the probe.

“Mr. Huber with the Department of Justice and the FBI has been having an investigation—at least part of his task was to look at the Clinton Foundation and what may or may not have happened as it relates to improper activity with that charitable foundation, so we’ve set a hearing date for December 5th,” Meadows said.

When appointed, Sessions said that Huber was conducting his work “from outside the Washington D.C. area” and would cooperate with Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Sessions said, at the time, that Huber’s review would “include a full, complete and objective evaluation of these matters in a manner that is consistent with the law and facts.”

Huber is the twice Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney for the district of Utah. He previously served in leadership roles within the U.S. Attorney’s Office as national security section chief and executive assistant U.S. attorney.

 

They're so corrupt that surely they'll be indicted any day now.

 

Maris is Denny

 

Clinton Foundation whistleblowers have come forward with hundreds of pages of evidence, Meadows says

By Samuel Chamberlain, Catherine Herridge | Fox News

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said three people have presented hundreds of pages of evidence of potential Clinton Foundation wrongdoing. (AP, File)

Three people have come forward with hundreds of pages of evidence of potential wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation, including misappropriation of funds and allegations of quid-pro-quo promises made to donors during Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., told Fox News on Thursday.

Meadows, the leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is also the chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations. The panel is set to hold an investigative hearing next week on the status of the Foundation case.

U.S. Attorney John Huber was tasked to investigate the foundation last year by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The Clinton Foundation consistently has maintained that it is a charity, and never traded on Hillary Clinton's position as America's top diplomat, which she held from 2009-2013. The organization has a four-star rating from the watchdog site Charity Navigator and has touted its mission "to create economic opportunity, improve public health, and inspire civic engagement and service."

However, The Hill reported Thursday that prosecutors working for Huber recently requested documents from a private investigative firm that also has been looking into the foundation. The firm, MDA Analytics LLC, reportedly has contacted the IRS, the Justice Department and the FBI's Little Rock office with evidence from its own investigation.

In addition, The Hill reported that a whistleblower submission filed with the FBI and IRS in August 2017 included internal legal reviews that the Clinton Foundation conducted between 2008 and 2011. Those reviews raised concerns about legal compliance and improper mingling of personal and charity business.

According to the Hill report, MDA investigators met with Clinton Foundation CFO Andrew Kessel in late November 2016. During the meeting, Kessel said that "one of the biggest problems was [former President Bill] Clinton’s commingling and use of business and donated funds and his personal expenses." A separate interview memo stated that Bill Clinton "mixes and matches his personal business with that of the foundation. Many people within the foundation have tried to caution him about this but he does not listen, and there really is no talking to him."

Last week, Fox News reported that newly filed tax documents showed donations to the Clinton Foundation plunged in the wake of Hillary Clinton's loss to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. The filings showed that the foundation took in $26.6 million in 2017, a 58 percent drop from the $62.9 million it received the previous year.

A spokesman for the foundation told The New York Post the drop was “largely attributable to the absence of sponsorship and membership contributions for [the Clinton Global Initiative]", which wrapped up in 2016. However, Meadows said that the donation drop "raises grave concerns their operations were not above board as the American people have been led to believe.

"Whenever we look at the possibility of 'pay to play' by government officials, current or former, it demands answers," Meadows added, "and anyone who uses public office to sell access for their own financial benefit must be held accountable."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cl...th-hundreds-of-pages-of-evidence-meadows-says

 

Good ol' reliable Fox News.

On the bright side, surely indictments are soon to follow.