After the Democratic National Convention (DNC) selected Hillary Clinton as their first woman presidential candidate, she has been attempting to rebrand herself. Her spin doctors claim that this is Hillary 2.0 version. A Hillary that is more accessible, relatable candidate who learned the lessons of her bruising, failed 2008 bid: From now on, no equivocating, no entitlement, no dubious financial dealings.
If anybody think this is true, then they are as gullible and naive as somebody who just finished primary education. Here are some of the scandals that Hillary was involved with in her years at public limelight:
The Shady Foundation
Founded in 2001 as The Clinton Foundation and renamed the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation in 2013, this ostensible philanthropic concern has become a liability.
As reported by the International Business Times, while serving as secretary of state, Clinton was lobbied by human rights groups and union leaders to address the Colombian government’s abuse of striking oil workers, some of whom had been threatened at gunpoint by the military. Meanwhile, the oil company in question, Pacific Rubiales, was promising millions to the Clinton Foundation.
Hillary’s State Department wound up publicly hailing Colombia’s commitment to human rights reform — and that statement allowed the United States to continue funding the Colombian military.
Today, the founder of Pacific Rubiales is a board member of the Clinton Foundation.
And as Politico reported, a major phosphate company owned by the Moroccan government has just pledged at least US$ 1 million to the foundation. In 2011, Clinton’s State Department assailed Morocco as a corrupt state guilty of "arbitrary arrests and corruption in all branches of government." Women in Morocco are still subjugated by Islamic rule, yet last September, Hillary Clinton’s public stance on the government had changed.
"A vital hub for economic and cultural exchange," she called it, one that was "in the midst of dramatic changes."
The Spotty Resume
Hillary served as US senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, but her accomplishments are thin. No piece of legislation bears her name. Her tenure came to be defined in the 2008 presidential primaries by her vote for the war in Iraq — which Barack Obama, who had opposed the war, used to chip away at her foreign policy bona fides.
Her accomplishments as secretary of state are as unclear. She traveled to 112 countries, but again, she has nothing of consequence to her name: no peace treaty, no accord, no summit of consequence. Her defenders say she helped restore America’s reputation in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; critics say she was too afraid to make a mistake that would affect her presidential run in 2016.
When asked in 2014 by Diane Sawyer to name her greatest achievement or "signature doctrine," Hillary could not. "We haven't had a doctrine since containment worked with the Soviet Union," she said. "But we’ve had presidents who've made some tough calls and some hard choices, some of which have worked, and some of which have not."
The Suspicious Finances
Without ever breaking any laws, the Clintons have long appeared to be reaping ill-gotten gains. Right before Bill was elected governor of Arkansas, family friend James Blair, who also worked as a lawyer for Tyson Foods, helped her turn US$ 12,000 worth of stock — Hillary only had US$ 1,000 in her account at the time — into a near-immediate US$ 100,000 profit. She did not disclose this until her husband’s second year in office.
It was during Bill’s first run for president, in 1992, that the Whitewater scandal surfaced. In the 1970s and ’80s, the Clintons and their friends Jim and Susan McDougal had invested in the Whitewater Development Corp.; it was alleged that Clinton, as governor, had pressured a local S&L to loan Susan McDougal US$ 300,000 for real estate investments with the company, and that transactions between an Arkansas bank and Bill Clinton had been concealed.
Neither Clinton was charged, though both McDougals and Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, who served as governor after Clinton, were convicted of fraud.
The Spectacular Greed
Clinton will likely position herself as the champion of the middle class. Yet in 2014, it was revealed that Clinton, who charges a minimum of US$ 300,000 per speech, also had an extensive list of demands.
Most anyone who hires Hillary to speak must also provide a private jet — a US$ 39 million Gulfstream G450 or better — and put her up in presidential suites. Her standard agreement requires her presence for only 90 minutes, and 50 photos with 100 attendees — no more.
Hillary has defended her enormous speaking fees by saying she and Bill were "not only dead broke, but in debt" when they left the White House.
In 1999, Bill and Hillary bought their house in Chappaqua for US$ 1.7 million, and in 2000 purchased a seven-bedroom in Washington, DC, for US$ 2.85 million. Hillary’s Senate financial disclosure form that year listed their assets at US$ 1.8 million.
In Clintonian fashion, Hillary backed off the "dead broke" statement — sort of. "I regret it. It was inartful," she said. "But it was accurate."
If anybody think this is true, then they are as gullible and naive as somebody who just finished primary education. Here are some of the scandals that Hillary was involved with in her years at public limelight:
The Shady Foundation
Founded in 2001 as The Clinton Foundation and renamed the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation in 2013, this ostensible philanthropic concern has become a liability.
As reported by the International Business Times, while serving as secretary of state, Clinton was lobbied by human rights groups and union leaders to address the Colombian government’s abuse of striking oil workers, some of whom had been threatened at gunpoint by the military. Meanwhile, the oil company in question, Pacific Rubiales, was promising millions to the Clinton Foundation.
Hillary’s State Department wound up publicly hailing Colombia’s commitment to human rights reform — and that statement allowed the United States to continue funding the Colombian military.
Today, the founder of Pacific Rubiales is a board member of the Clinton Foundation.
And as Politico reported, a major phosphate company owned by the Moroccan government has just pledged at least US$ 1 million to the foundation. In 2011, Clinton’s State Department assailed Morocco as a corrupt state guilty of "arbitrary arrests and corruption in all branches of government." Women in Morocco are still subjugated by Islamic rule, yet last September, Hillary Clinton’s public stance on the government had changed.
"A vital hub for economic and cultural exchange," she called it, one that was "in the midst of dramatic changes."
The Spotty Resume
Hillary served as US senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, but her accomplishments are thin. No piece of legislation bears her name. Her tenure came to be defined in the 2008 presidential primaries by her vote for the war in Iraq — which Barack Obama, who had opposed the war, used to chip away at her foreign policy bona fides.
Her accomplishments as secretary of state are as unclear. She traveled to 112 countries, but again, she has nothing of consequence to her name: no peace treaty, no accord, no summit of consequence. Her defenders say she helped restore America’s reputation in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; critics say she was too afraid to make a mistake that would affect her presidential run in 2016.
When asked in 2014 by Diane Sawyer to name her greatest achievement or "signature doctrine," Hillary could not. "We haven't had a doctrine since containment worked with the Soviet Union," she said. "But we’ve had presidents who've made some tough calls and some hard choices, some of which have worked, and some of which have not."
The Suspicious Finances
Without ever breaking any laws, the Clintons have long appeared to be reaping ill-gotten gains. Right before Bill was elected governor of Arkansas, family friend James Blair, who also worked as a lawyer for Tyson Foods, helped her turn US$ 12,000 worth of stock — Hillary only had US$ 1,000 in her account at the time — into a near-immediate US$ 100,000 profit. She did not disclose this until her husband’s second year in office.
It was during Bill’s first run for president, in 1992, that the Whitewater scandal surfaced. In the 1970s and ’80s, the Clintons and their friends Jim and Susan McDougal had invested in the Whitewater Development Corp.; it was alleged that Clinton, as governor, had pressured a local S&L to loan Susan McDougal US$ 300,000 for real estate investments with the company, and that transactions between an Arkansas bank and Bill Clinton had been concealed.
Neither Clinton was charged, though both McDougals and Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, who served as governor after Clinton, were convicted of fraud.
The Spectacular Greed
Clinton will likely position herself as the champion of the middle class. Yet in 2014, it was revealed that Clinton, who charges a minimum of US$ 300,000 per speech, also had an extensive list of demands.
Most anyone who hires Hillary to speak must also provide a private jet — a US$ 39 million Gulfstream G450 or better — and put her up in presidential suites. Her standard agreement requires her presence for only 90 minutes, and 50 photos with 100 attendees — no more.
Hillary has defended her enormous speaking fees by saying she and Bill were "not only dead broke, but in debt" when they left the White House.
In 1999, Bill and Hillary bought their house in Chappaqua for US$ 1.7 million, and in 2000 purchased a seven-bedroom in Washington, DC, for US$ 2.85 million. Hillary’s Senate financial disclosure form that year listed their assets at US$ 1.8 million.
In Clintonian fashion, Hillary backed off the "dead broke" statement — sort of. "I regret it. It was inartful," she said. "But it was accurate."