It\’s not like New York Times reporter Nick Confessore is telling anything that isn\’t perfectly obvious (unless you are a Hillarybot, that is). But it is nice to know that it is being stated at all.
From Mr. Confessore\’s segment on the decidedly leftward “The Rundown with Jose Diaz-Balart” on (where else?) MSNBC:
“I just feel like the Clinton Foundation, for all the good that it does, is going to be an endless source of headaches, because of all the money they raise from overseas governments, from big corporations that are seeking influence in American politics, and no doubt seeking influence with a potential future president. And every time they take one of these big checks, you have to wonder how it impacts the policy decision-making of her and her campaign.
“Millions and millions of dollars from people and governments, let\’s also point out, governments that cannot give any money at all the conventional way in politics. They are banned from giving money to campaigns or super PACs, but they can plow a ton of money into that family philanthropy if they want to.”
Very well said, Mr. Confessore. And, because of this, The Times is, of course, conducting a full-scale investigation into which countries and which individuals have gotten what favorable accommodations for their big money, right?
I do not know whether The Times is or is not conducting such an investigation. I would certainly hope it is, and I certainly hope it is not shy about publishing the findings it would uncover. Maybe a good start would be Canada billionaire Frank Giustra, which bloomberg.com has already done a “we smell a rat” piece on.
But there is little doubt that he\’s not the only one. Not with 1,100 donors the Clinton Foundation neglected to tell us about until just last week….and $290 million dollars in unaccounted-for donations from 2009-20012 (unless you consider “other expenses” to be an accounting, that is).
There is plenty of time for The Times to conduct a thorough investigation…and plenty of time for other media to do so as well.
What will they find? Just keep remind yourself that these are the Clintons we are talking about.
