About Us ThisisBigBrother.com

Maru · 05-01-2018, 10:05 PM

Source: http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign...-investigation

Quote:

The Justice Department has launched a new inquiry into whether the Clinton Foundation engaged in any pay-to-play politics or other illegal activities while Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonGrassley blasts Democrats over unwillingness to probe Clinton GOP lawmakers cite new allegations of political bias in FBI Top intel Dem: Trump Jr. refused to answer questions about Trump Tower discussions with father MORE served as secretary of State, law enforcement officials and a witness tells The Hill.

FBI agents from Little Rock, Ark., where the foundation was started, have taken the lead in the investigation and have interviewed at least one witness in the last month, and law enforcement officials said additional activities are expected in the coming weeks.

The officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the probe is examining whether the Clintons promised or performed any policy favors in return for largesse to their charitable efforts or whether donors made commitments of donations in hopes of securing government outcomes.

The probe may also examine whether any tax-exempt assets were converted for personal or political use and whether the foundation complied with applicable tax laws, the officials said.

One witness recently interviewed by the FBI described the session to The Hill as “extremely professional and unquestionably thorough” and focused on questions about whether donors to Clinton charitable efforts received any favorable treatment from the Obama administration on a policy decision previously highlighted in media reports.

The witness discussed his interview solely on the grounds of anonymity. He said the agents were from Little Rock and their questions focused on government decisions and discussions of donations to Clinton entities during the time Hillary Clinton led President Obama's State Department.

The FBI office in Little Rock referred a reporter Thursday to Washington headquarters, where officials declined any official comment.

Foundation spokesman Craig Minassian took a more muted response, saying the new probe wouldn't distract the charity from its daily work.

“Time after time, the Clinton Foundation has been subjected to politically motivated allegations, and time after time these allegations have been proven false. None of this has made us waver in our mission to help people," Minassian said. "The Clinton Foundation has demonstrably improved the lives of millions of people across America and around the world while earning top ratings from charity watchdog groups in the process."

The Wall Street Journal reported late last year that several FBI field offices, including the one in Little Rock, had been collecting information on the Clinton Foundation for more than a year. The report also said there had been pushback to the FBI from the Justice Department.

A renewed law enforcement focus follows a promise to Congress late last year from top Trump Justice Department officials that law enforcement would revisit some of the investigations and legal issues closed during the Obama years that conservatives felt were given short shrift. It also follows months of relentless criticism on Twitter from President Trump, who has repeatedly questioned why no criminal charges were ever filed against the “crooked” Clintons and their fundraising machine.

For years, news media from The New York Times to The Daily Caller have reported countless stories on donations to the Clinton Foundation or speech fees that closely fell around the time of favorable decisions by Clinton's State Department. Conservative author Peter Schweizer chronicled the most famous of episodes in his book "Clinton Cash" that gave ammunition to conservatives, including Trump, to beat the drum for a renewed investigation.

Several GOP members of Congress have recently urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to appoint a special counsel to look at the myriad issues surrounding the Clintons. Justice officials sent a letter to Congress in November suggesting some of those issues were being re-examined, but Sessions later testified the appointment of a special prosecutor required a high legal bar that had not yet been met.

Officials also said the Justice Department was re-examining whether there are any unresolved issues from the closed case into Clinton's transmission of classified information through her personal email server. Former FBI Director James ComeyJames Brien ComeyTrump: Dershowitz interview on ‘witch hunt’ a ‘must watch’ Comey after Trump tweet: FBI is honest, strong, independent Former ethics director: Trump's tweet on Flynn would have ended past administrations MORE in 2016 concluded Clinton was “extremely careless” in handling that classified information and that there was some evidence of legal violations, but he declined to recommend charges on the grounds that he could not prove Clinton and her top aides intended to break the law.

His decision was roundly criticized by Republicans, and recent revelations that his statement was watered down by edits and that he made the decision before all witness interviews were finished have led to renewed criticism.

A senior law enforcement official said the Justice Department was exploring whether any issues from that probe should be re-opened but cautioned the effort was not at the stage of a full investigation.

One challenge for any Clinton-era investigation is that the statute of limitations on most federal felonies is five years, and Clinton left office in early 2013.

Maru · 05-01-2018, 10:06 PM

FBI has been investigating Clinton Foundation for months: report
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...rt/1008434001/

Quote:

The US Justice Department is investigation the Clinton Foundation over allegations of 'pay for play' politics. Buzz60
AFP AFP_US9KJ A FIN USA CA

Hillary Clinton greets a supporter getting a signed copy of Clinton's book 'What Happened' at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, Calif., on Dec. 1, 2017.(Photo: Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – The FBI has been investigating for months the Clinton Foundation and whether the former U.S. secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered any policy favors for charitable contributions, according to a new report.

Agents in the FBI's field office in Little Rock, Ark., are trying to determine if there is any relationship between donations to the charity and official acts when Clinton was the nation's top diplomat from 2009 to 2013, the Hill newspaper first reported, citing law enforcement officials and a witness.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump repeatedly accused Clinton, the Democratic Party's nominee, of “pay to play.” Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon wrote a documentary alleging the Clintons got rich from their connections with big business and foreign governments.

Representatives for the foundation and Hillary Clinton strongly rejected the basis of the investigation, saying the Trump administration is abusing the Justice Department's powers to punish political enemies and to deflect from a separate probe into his campaign's ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign.

"Let’s call this what it is: A sham," Nick Merrill, a Clinton spokesman, said in an email. "This is a philanthropy that does life-changing work, which Republicans have tried to turn into a political football.

"It began with a long-debunked project spearheaded by Steve Bannon during the presidential campaign," Merrill continued. "It continues with (Attorney General) Jeff Sessions doing Trump’s bidding by heeding his calls to meddle with a department that is supposed to function independently."

The investigation may also examine whether any tax-exempt assets were used for personal or political use and whether the foundation complied with applicable tax laws, according to The Hill.

The Washington Post reported that there is some skepticism inside both the Justice Department and the FBI that the case will lead to any charges.

In August of 2016 during the campaign, the State Department released emails from former Clinton aide Huma Abedin that conservative groups said showed evidence of “special expedited access to the secretary of State” for some donors who had contributed from $25,000 to $10 million to the Clinton Foundation. Many of the exchanges involve former top Foundation executive Doug Band.

Yet Scott Amey, general counsel at the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight, or POGO, told USA TODAY that while the emails showed some donors requesting meetings and access, there wasn't evidence they were granted, meriting further investigation.

For instance, one 2009 exchange involved Band urging Abedin to get the agency to intervene in order to obtain a visa for members of a British football club, one of whose members was having difficulty because of a “criminal charge.” The campaign said at the time the emails show no action was taken.

Merrill said the goal of the probe "is to distract from the indictments, guilty pleas, and accusations of treason from Trump’s own people at the expense of our justice system’s integrity."

A special counsel and three congressional committees are investigating Russia's election meddling and possible collusion with Trump associates. Robert Mueller's investigation so far has produced criminal charges against four former campaign officials, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn who pleaded guilty last month for lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians.