More problems for Hillary Clinton? Could be…
Today’s Wall Street Journal has a new report out on Hillary Clinton’s time as Secretary of State and potential conflicts of interest with donors to the Clinton Foundation. In summary, Hillary helped Swiss banking giant UBS negotiate a favorable deal with the IRS regarding an investigation into Americans who had secret accounts at the bank and then — surprise, surprise — donations from UBS poured into the Clinton Foundation as well as $1.5 million paid to Bill Clinton in speaking fees.
This is our shocked face:
Here’s more on the deal from Fox News, which included Switzerland’s help with an American held hostage in Iran, resettlement of some Guantanamo Bay detainees and the shutting down of a Swiss energy company accused of providing nuclear technology to Iran all in exchange for help on the IRS lawsuit:
Over the next three months, the Journal reports, the U.S. and Switzerland engaged in a series of complex negotiations. Citing diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks as well as people involved in the case, the Journal reports that the U.S. pressed Switzerland to work for the release of American journalist Roxana Saberi, who was being held by Iran. Another issue Clinton brought up was alleged violations of international sanctions by a Swiss energy-consulting company thought to be providing civilian nuclear technology to Iran. The Swiss embassy represented U.S. interests in Iran, which has not had formal diplomatic relations with Washington since 1979.
After Saberi’s release that May, the shutting down of the Swiss energy company’s Iran operations that July, and the expressed willingness the Swiss government to accept some low-level detainees from Guantanamo Bay, the Journal reports settlement talks intensified.
Under the terms of the deal, which was announced by Clinton and Calmy-Rey July 31, UBS would turn over information about 4,450 account-holders, a fraction of the 52,000 sought by the IRS.
The WSJ points out that there’s no evidence of wrongdoing here, but it’s certainly an example of a potential conflict of interest that should have been avoided. And, of course, we won’t be able to find a smoking gun because there is no email trail to investigate to see if there were backdoor negotiations or solicitations between all the parties involved. Funny how it always comes back to the scrubbed email server, right?
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Related:
Twitchy coverage of Hillary Clinton.
