Hillary Clinton promised to give no special treatment to Clinton Foundation donors should she be confirmed as secretary of state back in 2009. Yet, Sarah Westwood at The Washington Examiner found that almost 40 percent of Clinton’s advisory appointments were to donors to her nonprofit. Is there any evidence of felonious activity? No. Is this unordinary? No. Yet, for a power couple that has a history of secrecy and allegations of conflict of interests with their foundation, it’s yet another negative spotlight on an issue that become a liability for her presidential campaign. The Clintons have pledged that the foundation would to stop accepting corporate or foreign donations if she wins, though they have made (and broken) that promise before.
Also, some of these appointments seem to fit the Rajiv Fernando mold, where the person was appointed to a position, where they’re grossly unqualified (via Wex):
Hillary Clinton placed dozens of her donors on State Department advisory boards between 2009 and 2012, federal records show.The former secretary of state's agency appointed 194 donors who had given either to her family's foundation, her political campaigns, or both, or were affiliated with groups that had.
Those donors represented nearly 40 percent of the 511 advisory appointments the State Department made during Clinton's tenure.
[…]
Clinton's State Department gave a board appointment to Kaki Hockersmith of the Arkansas Governors Mansion Association in Jan. 2010.
Hockersmith was named to the United States National Commission on UNESCO, a panel that "supports worldwide humanitarian development and values," according to the State Department.
Hockersmith is a longtime Clinton supporter and friend, with ties to the family that stretch back to their Arkansas days. An interior designer from Little Rock, Ark., Hockersmith was tapped to decorate the White House when Clinton's husband won the presidency.
[…]
Hillary Clinton appointed nine donors to the Secretary of State's International Council on Women's Business Leadership in Aug. 2011.
One of them was Judith Rodin of the Rockefeller Foundation, a donor to the Clinton Foundation and a client of Teneo.
Rodin's relationship to Hillary Clinton drew attention last year following the release of emails that showed a Teneo executive sought Abedin's help in securing a White House appointment for Rodin.
Documents exposed earlier this month through an illegal hack of the DNC's servers suggest officials considered political donations a factor in granting ambassadorships as well.
And yes, Westwood also cited Mr. Rajiv Fernando. Fernando was made famous when ABC News reported that the State Department entered crisis mode when they asked about Fernando’s credentials concerning his appointment to a high-level security intelligence board, the International Security Advisory Board, back in 2011. Reporter Brian Ross confronted Fernando at the 2012 Democratic Convention about the appointment, where the top Clinton donor threatened to have him arrested. The new organization made these inquiries in August of 2011, Fernando resigned from the board almost immediately after these inquires were made to devote more time to his company; he’s a leader in the field of computer-generated stock trading. Fernando personally lobbied for a position on the board, where one member bluntly said that no one knew who he was, and promised to make Hillary “look good.”
So, the Fernando appointment looks like a classic case of quid pro quo. Will there be any others?
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