At the first public appearance of her presidential campaign yesterday, Hillary Clinton spoke out against the influence of “unaccountable money” in politics. Speaking at a roundtable at a community college in Iowa, she said, “We need to fix our dysfunctional political system and get unaccountable money out of it once and for all.”
What Clinton didn’t mention — and what her supporters in the media have largely ignored — is her own extensive experience with “unaccountable money.” According to recent reports, the Clinton Foundation has accepted millions from shady foreign interests since 2008 – donations that may have affected Clinton’s policies as Secretary of State.
After Columbian corporation Pacific Rubiales pledged millions to the foundation in 2011, with CEO Frank Giustra promising millions more, Secretary Clinton switched her position on the U.S.-Colombia trade pact and decided to support the deal, which she had previously opposed during her run for president in 2008.
The Clinton Foundation accepted untold millions from other foreign corporations and governments during her time in office. There is no way of knowing whether these donations also influenced Hillary’s policies at the State Department.
If she is truly interested in taking “unaccountable money” out of politics, perhaps Hillary Clinton should look at the foreign interests funding her own foundation.
