Hillary Clinton’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday was something of a love-fest. Even the normally sensible Senator DeMint saw fit to assure Clinton “I have no questions about your integrity.” Has DeMint forgotten Hillary’s corruption during the 1990s, which led her to the brink of a deserved indictment?
Fortunately, two Senators — Lugar and Vitter — asked Clinton appropriately tough questions about the matter of foreign contributions to her husband’s “Clinton Foundation.” The problem presented by contributions from donors like Saudi Arabia to the fiefdom of the Secretary of State’s husband could hardly be more obvious. Nor is the problem merely theoretical. The Washington Post editorial board notes that, as a Senator, Clinton intervened at least six times in government issues directly affectiing firms or individuals tied to contributions to her husband’s foundation.
Accordingly, Lugar argued that the Clinton Foundation should receive no foreign donations while Hillary Clinton is Secretary of State. Alternatively, he made a series of modest, and in the Post’s words “sensible,” recommendations for dealing with foreign donations. They included immediate disclosure of gifts in excess of $50,000, instead of the yearly disclosure the Clintons have agreed to, and disclosure of foreign gifts of over $50,000 as soon as they are pledged.
Clinton responded by praising Lugar (this was a love-fest after all) and ignoring his suggestions. Her answers, which basically refused to acknowledge the existence of the problem, suggest that she remains almost as ethically tone-deaf as she was during her days as First Lady.
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