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Hillary Clinton’s Scandalous Record |
By
Stephen Lendman |
| Kathleen Willey is a former White House volunteer. She
said Bill Clinton sexually assaulted her during his first term in office
- in his Oval Office private study. She created “A Scandal a day” web site. Her book titled “Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton” became a best seller. Willey created her web site to alert Americans about “the potential danger of Hillary Clinton becoming president.” Among an array of rogue presidential aspirants, she stands out as especially abhorrent - a menace to world peace, stability and security as well as what remains of homeland freedoms. Perhaps scandals haunting her will derail her presidential ambitions. The Wall Street Journal revealed another one, headlining “UBS Deal Shows Clinton’s Complicated Ties.” In return for intervening on behalf of Swiss banking giant UBS in a case involving an IRS suit seeking identities of Americans with secret accounts believed to be possible tax cheats, the Clinton Foundation got “large contributions…and a fat paycheck for Bill Clinton to participate in question-and-answer session(s) with” top bank officials - a clear conflict of interest. The IRS wanted names of 52,000 accounts. Clinton got the number reduced to 4,450. UBS contributions to her foundation increased from less than $60,000 in 2008 to about $600,000 by yearend 2014. It loaned a foundation initiative “to launch entrepreneurship and inner-city programs” $32 million. It paid Bill Clinton $1.5 million for a series of private Q & A sessions. Hillary’s involvement with UBS “is a prime example of how (she and husband Bill’s) private and political activities,” perhaps cross the line - potentially illegally, said the Journal. “UBS is just one of a series of companies that engaged with both the Clinton family’s charitable organization and the State Department under Mrs. Clinton.” In this case, she intervened on behalf of a foreign bank, “not a popular constituency among Democrats.” Mixing foundation contributions with fundraising reflects a disturbing Clinton family practice - selling influence for huge sums. Law Professor Lawrence Lessig said they “engaged in behavior to make people wonder: What was this about?” What other than what’s been revealed. UBS officials lied claiming no connection between their IRS case and foundation donations. along with lucrative sums to husband Bill. A Swiss embassy in Washington spokeswoman declined comment. In May 2008, former UBS banker Bradley Birkenfeld was indicted for arranging “fictitious trusts and bogus corporations to conceal the ownership and control of offshore assets. (He) advised clients to destroy bank records and helped them file false tax returns…” In January 2010, he began serving a three-year, four-month sentence for blowing the whistle on one of the largest tax fraud schemes in US history. He was the first insider ever to explain the secretive world of Swiss banking. He said 90% of his UBS clients were tax cheats. Senior bank officials ignored criminality for profits. Birkenfeld said he exposed 19,000 international criminals with accounts worth over $19 billion. “The disclosure led UBS to enter into a deferred-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department in 2009,” said the Journal. “The bank admitted to helping set up sham companies, creating phony paperwork and deceiving customs officials. It paid a $780 million fine and turned over the names of 250 account holders.” Another 52,000 accounts worth $18 billion remained secret in a dispute with the IRS. Clinton’s role in resolving things was more extensive than earlier reported. She got involved at least in part over “separate diplomatic concerns,” said the Journal. She met with Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey. Switzerland’s Tehran embassy represented US interests since 1979. Iranian issues were discussed - including a jailed US journalist, the Swiss energy consulting company Colenco allegedly violating US sanctions, and so-called “low-risk” Guantanamo detainees Clinton wanted Switzerland to take. Its government responded to her concerns favorably. Out-of-court negotiations to settle the UBS case resolved it. Clinton pressure was apparently heavy-handed. Calmy-Rey said the US-Swiss relationship was at stake. On Friday, a deal in principle was announced at the State Department. The Justice Department and IRS dropped the lawsuit, settling things under a US-Swiss treaty. UBS agreed to reveal names of only 4,450 of 52,000 secret accounts. Calmy-Rey called resolution a “Peace Treaty.” UBS was pleased. So were thousands of US tax cheats. Large sums of bank cash flowed to the Clintons for services rendered. Former Justice Department lawyer Stu Gibson in charge of prosecuting UBS said the process leading to resolution “raises questions that need to be addressed, or should be addressed.” If the Clintons violated US laws, accountability should follow. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs. |
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