Hillary Clinton would be much obliged if you all stopped talking about the more than $2 million Russia poured into her family’s foundation during the years Moscow lobbied the Clinton-led U.S. State Department for permission to acquire uranium mines in America.
No, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton explained Monday in a C-SPAN interview, reports detailing how much Russian cash flowed into the Clinton Foundation during Russia’s acquisition of Uranium One, a Canadian uranium company that had mines in the U.S., are a conspiracy to distract from the Kremlin’s alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
“I would say it’s the same baloney they’ve been peddling for years, and there’s been no credible evidence by anyone. In fact, it’s been debunked repeatedly and will continue to be debunked,” Clinton claimed Monday.
Stories about how much Russian cash went to the Clinton Foundation during the years that the nuclear energy firm Rosatom lobbied the U.S. State Department for permission to buy Uranium One have not, in fact, been debunked.
The Hill reported last week that the FBI, “obtained an eyewitness account — backed by documents — indicating Russian nuclear officials had routed millions of dollars to the U.S. designed to benefit former President Bill Clinton’s charitable foundation … during the time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton served on a government body that provided a favorable decision to Moscow.”
The New York Times also showed that Uranium One’s chairman donated approximately $2.35 million to the Clinton Foundation in four separate installments between 2009 and 2013 as his company was being acquired by a Russian nuclear energy firm called Rosatom.
Clinton headed the State Department from 2009 to 2013.
There’s more from that Times report:
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.
Rosatom was successful in its efforts to secure approval from the State Department. The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment gave the go-ahead in October 2010, handing the Russian state-owned nuclear agency control of 20 percent of the uranium in America.
Clinton continued Monday saying, “But here is what they are doing and I have to give them credit. Trump and his allies, including Fox News, are really experts at distraction and diversion. So the closer the investigation about real Russian ties between Trump associates and real Russians, as we heard Jeff Sessions finally admit to in his testimony the other day, the more they want to just throw mud on the wall.”
“I’m their favorite target. Me and President Obama, we are the ones they like to put in the crosshairs,” she added.
See, here’s the thing: It doesn’t have to be one or the other. There’s certainly a great deal of intrigue surrounding Russia’s reported meddling in the 2016 election. There are many, many questions that need to be answered regarding Trump and his associates’ communications with Russian operatives during the election.
But the story about Russian donations to the Clinton Foundation during the years that Moscow successfully sought approval from the Clinton-headed State Department for the purchase of Uranium One is also an interesting story.
Just because there are questions about the election doesn’t mean that the Clinton Foundation story isn’t worthy of equal scrutiny.
We understand that Clinton would prefer it be one or the other, but, unfortunately for her, many of us are quite capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time.
