If Hillary Clinton loses the New York Times — and I am not talking about whether it eventually supports her candidacy but whether it is serious about delving into the scandals swirling up, down and around her – she is in big trouble.
I do not know if today’s article, written by Jo Becker and Mike McIntire, suggests that this is happening. It isn’t even in my print edition of the paper (though this may mean it will be in Friday’s edition). But one look at the headline excerpts below will tell you why Ms. Clinton should be worried about it. Please pay special attention to the part I’ve put in bold print:
Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation as Russians Pressed for Control of Uranium Company.
The headline in Pravda trumpeted President Vladimir V. Putin’s latest coup, its nationalistic fervor recalling an era when the newspaper served as the official mouthpiece of the Kremlin: “Russian Nuclear Energy Conquers the World.”
At the heart of the tale are several men, leaders of the Canadian mining industry, who have been major donors to the charitable endeavors of former President Bill Clinton and his family. Members of that group built, financed and eventually sold off to the Russians a company that would become known as Uranium One.
Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies. Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Mr. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well.
And shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire a majority stake in Uranium One, Mr. Clinton received $500,000 for a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin that was promoting Uranium One stock.
How does that smell to you? Not very good, I’m betting.
Well it smells the same to me.
It reinforces, maybe indelibly etches in some voters’ minds, the claims we have heard that the Clintons have no problem selling their influence to the highest bidders – even when it involves a strategic asset which directly affects our national security.
The only reason Hillary and Hubby Bubba have been able to get away with things like this in the past, is that there is a rich history of mainstream media covering for them, of the James Carvilles and Lanny Davises of their entourage sneering out meaningless lines like “ah, that don’t mean nuthin'” or “that’s just politics”, or “If you drag a $100 bill through a trailor park you never know what you’ll find”, and being taken seriously when they do.
This article – especially if it finds its way into the print edition (maybe even today’s later editions…I get the early one) suggests that, in the immortal words of Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, The Party’s Over*.
If so, it’s about time. And about time that Hillary Clinton and her husband answer for their actions – not just in this scandal either.
===========================================
On a completely non-political note, the late, immensely great, Judy Holliday sang “The Party’s Over” in Styne/Comden/Green’s musical masterpiece, “Bells Are Ringing”. No one ever came close to doing it like she did. Click here and listen for yourself.
