American voters have been skeptical of Hillary Clinton’s honesty throughout this presidential election. Recently, a Saudi Crown Prince made a claim that won’t help Clinton convince voters that she is honest and trustworthy.
Jordan’s official news agency, Petra News Agency, published a report with comments from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman where he claimed the Saudi Arabian government had funded 20 percent of Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign. However, Petra News Agency later deleted the report, according to Zero Hedge.
The report was published and deleted the night before Prince Mohammed left for an official visit to the United States. The Saudi Press Agency reported Monday that the prince was flying to Washington to meet with officials to discuss US-Saudi ties. Mohammed will discuss regional issues with American officials and will meet with financial companies about diversifying Saudi Arabia’s economy away from oil.
“Saudi Arabia always has sponsored both Republican and Democratic Party of America and in America current election also provide with full enthusiasm 20 percent of the cost of Hillary Clinton’s election even though some events in the country don’t have a positive look to support the king of a woman [sic] for presidency,” Mohammed said in the report.
If the report is true, Hillary Clinton’s campaign would be breaking the law. Federal law prohibits foreign influence by funding candidates.
There are well-known connections between the Clintons and the Gulf Kingdom. In 2008, it was discovered that the Saudi Arabian government had donated between $10 million and $25 million to the Clinton Foundation, according to the foundation’s database.
Additionally, according to The Intercept, the Centre for Studies and Media Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court paid the public relations firm Podesta Group $200,000 in 2015 for a month-long project to provide “public relations services.” The Podesta Group was founded in 1988 by brothers John and Tony Podesta, and John is the chair of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
This claim from Mohammed comes after Clinton was critical of Saudi Arabia and accused them of supporting radical organizations after the Orlando shooting last weekend.
“For starters, it is long past time for the Saudis, the Qataris, and the Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organizations. And they should stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path towards extremism,” Clinton said Tuesday.
The Clinton Foundation has accepted money from two other Middle Eastern countries in addition to Saudi Arabia. Politifact Wisconsin found that the Clinton Foundation has received donations from the governments of Morocco and Oman.
Hillary Clinton’s strong connections with the Saudi Arabian government and her statement that accuses the Saudis of promoting extremism make her look like a hypocrite. Actions like these will make it tough for voters to trust Hillary as a presidential candidate.
Below is a screenshot of the English report that was published and then deleted by the Petra News Agency:
