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NY Post: ‘Quid Pro Dough’ for Clintons

New book raises the heat on Hillary and Bill Clinton for their foreign donors

New York Post cover, April 21, 2015
April 21, 2015

Hillary and Bill Clinton found themselves in pile of cash on the cover of the New York Post on Tuesday morning in the wake of a new book that charges that the couple was doing favors for foreign governments in exchange for big pay-days.

The book, Clinton Cash by Peter Schweizer, alleges that Hillary Clinton’s actions as secretary of state led to millions of dollars in speaking fees for her husband as well as large donations to the Clinton Foundation.

Schweizer writes that he found a clear "pattern of financial transactions involving the Clintons that occurred contemporaneous with favorable U.S. policy decisions benefiting those providing the funds."

One example of this pattern came with a free-trade agreement with Colombia, according to the New York Post:

One example of an alleged quid pro quo cited by the Times and other sources involved the State Department’s backing of a free-trade agreement with Colombia that benefited a company founded by a big donor to the Clinton Foundation.

Hillary opposed the trade deal when running for president in 2008 because of the South American country’s poor record on workers’ rights.

But then the company, Canadian-based Pacific Rubiales, and its founder, Clinton Foundation board member Frank Giustra, donated "millions" to the foundation, The International Business Times reported.

In 2010, the State Department under Hillary lauded Colombia’s human rights record, allowing Giustra’s company to reap huge profits.

The book also alleges that Bill Clinton used Hillary’s four years as secretary of state to become one of the richest ex-presidents ever:

During Hillary’s four-year stint as secretary of state, the ex-president earned about $48 million of a $105 million speaking haul amassed between 2001 and 2013.

More than half of the $48 million was paid by companies in China, Japan, Canada, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the Cayman Islands, among others.

The author writes that "of the 13 Clinton speeches that fetched $500,000 or more, only two occurred during the years his wife was not secretary of state."

Bill Clinton is believed to be the richest living ex-president and one of the 10 wealthiest ever.