A New Clinton Scandal?
February 1, 2008
By Richard Miniter
Bill Clinton invited Frank Giustra, a Canadian mining executive, to travel with him to Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan in September 2005. Apparently, they were not simply sight-seeing.
Every Quid was finding its Pro. Hours after his arrival in that mountainous dictatorship, Clinton endorsed Kazakhstan’s bid to join an international pro-democracy organization. Human-rights activists have long blocked Kazakhstan’s admission to the group because, ahem, its one-party rule has filled a lot of body bags.
Clinton’s companion got what he wanted, too. Guistra who runs UrAsia, a relatively small Uranium mining concern with no reputation in the region, suddenly got interests in three Kazakh Uranium mines—beating out the majors.
The New York Times reports: The monster deal stunned the mining industry, turning an unknown shell company into one of the world’s largest uranium producers in a transaction ultimately worth tens of millions of dollars to Mr. Giustra, analysts said.
And Clinton got paid off too, the New York Times notes: Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton’s charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month. The gift, combined with Mr. Giustra’s more recent and public pledge to give the William J. Clinton Foundation an additional $100 million, secured Mr. Giustra a place in Mr. Clinton’s inner circle, an exclusive club of wealthy entrepreneurs in which friendship with the former president has its privileges.
This story, which the MSM has largely ignored, raises a lot of important questions.
Are foreign governments using the Clinton foundation as a front to pay off a former president and a (perhaps) future one?
Does this mean that, in unmonitored corners of the world, President Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy will be for sale—or appear to be?
The Saudis are also major donors to the Clinton foundation. What do foreign donors expect in return for their money? Why does the law allow foreign governments and firms (which in Saudi Arabia, and many other places, amounts to the same thing) to donate to a former president’s foundation?
What is Guistra expect for his planned $100 million? Is Bill selling Hillary’s influence before she gets it?
For that matter, what is Bill Clinton planning to do with the $100 million? It is not like he is university president who wants to build a new science lab…
The questions are endless. Still, one query stumps me: Why would Hillary allow Bill to do so much dodgy stuff when she is vulnerable as a presidential candidate? Couldn’t they both wait until 2009?
Source: Pajamas Media