Online: | |
Visits: | |
Stories: |
Story Views | |
Now: | |
Last Hour: | |
Last 24 Hours: | |
Total: |
Hillary Clinton’s Department of State gave favorable defense contracts to countries and companies who contributed heavily to the Clinton Foundation, a new report finds.
International Business Times reported that several defense contractors, led by Boeing, gave $29 billion worth of fighter jets to Saudi Arabia in late 2011. Although this infuriated the Israelis, the State Department asserted the move was in the national interest.
In the years before the deal was made, the Saudis gave approximately $10 million to the Clinton Foundation, while Boeing gave the organization $900,000 two months before the deal, a company press release said. IBTimes breaks down more specifics from Clinton’s time at Foggy Bottom:
Under Clinton’s leadership, the State Department approved $165 billion worth of commercial arms sales to 20 nations whose governments have given money to the Clinton Foundation, according to an IBTimes analysis of State Department and foundation data.
That figure — derived from the three full fiscal years of Clinton’s term as Secretary of State (from October 2010 to September 2012) — represented nearly double the value of American arms sales made to…those countries and approved by the State Department during the same period of President George W. Bush’s second term.
During Clinton’s tenure, the State Department also facilitated $151 billion in deals between the Pentagon and 16 nations that donated to the Clinton Foundation, a 143 percent increase in sales compared to the Bush administration.
IBTimes additionally pointed out that several American defense contractors also donated to the Clinton Foundation while Clinton was secretary of state and paid former President Bill Clinton for speaking engagements.
Although foreign entities are banned from giving to political campaigns to buy American-made weapons, nothing prohibits them from contributing to a charitable or philanthropic organization.
The former first lady is seeking the Democratic nomination for president and is the clear front-runner in a field that includes Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, who is expected to announce his bid later this week.
Will this news come back to haunt Hillary? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
This post originally appeared on Western Journalism – Equipping You With The Truth