On Monday, Hillary Clinton’s presidential team launched its official campaign against Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Peter Schweizer’s newly released book, Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich (HarperCollins).
The Hillary team dubbed their latest effort—complete with a new “rapid-response” website, videos, memos, and social media campaigns—“The Briefing.”
As part of these unprecedented efforts, Hillary Clinton’s campaign press secretary Brian Fallon raised eyebrows Tuesday when he released a heavily edited, first-person two minute-and-thirty-seven second video awkwardly attacking the mainstream media’s confirmation of newly revealed facts reported in Clinton Cash.
The Clinton campaign’s fear over Clinton Cash is apparent in the opening seconds of the Hillary video, wherein Fallon claims, “the book is being debunked far and wide,” an odd claim that raises an obvious question: “Why, then, does the Hillary campaign feel the need to launch a two-and-a-half minute video on it—as well as a new website to combat it?”
Bizarrely, Fallon then goes on to challenge revelations from the book that national media outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal have already confirmed are accurate, verified, and true.
“The author wants you to believe that Hillary tried to reward Clinton Foundation donors by getting our government to approve the sale of a [uranium] mining company to Russia in 2010. That’s just dead wrong,” said Fallon.
“And as for Hillary Clinton herself, she made no recommendation to the committee whatsoever on the sale. Not as Senator. Not as Secretary of State. Not ever!”
However, in a 4,000-word, front-page New York Times article by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Jo Becker and Mike McIntire, the Times confirmed that, in fact, Hillary’s foundation hid a secret $2.35 million foreign donation from the head of the Russian government’s uranium company, Ian Telfer, as the transfer of 20% of all U.S. uranium to the Russians was pending before then-Sec. of State Hillary Clinton’s department—a direct violation of the memorandum of understanding Sec. Clinton signed with the Obama White House.
Even more damaging is this fact, confirmed by the New York Times and Clinton Cash: Hillary’s foundation received $145 million in donations from nine financiers and investors involved in the uranium deal—and Bill Clinton was paid $500,000 for a single speech in Moscow paid for by a Kremlin-backed bank.
“Why was Bill Clinton taking any money from a bank linked to the Kremlin while his wife was Secretary of State?” asked the New Yorker magazine.
Oddly, the Clinton campaign seems to be suggesting Hillary had zero knowledge that a uranium deal was being considered by the State Dept. even though investors involved in the uranium deal had donated $145 million to Hillary and Bill’s foundation. Apparently Fallon is unfamiliar with this New York Times infographic explaining the money flow during Hillary’s uranium transfer to the Russian government.
Next, Hillary’s spokesman Brian Fallon goes on to claim: “This guy wants you to believe President Clinton made money on a series of speeches he wasn’t personally paid for.”
Again, the Hillary Clinton campaign is apparently unaware that the Washington Post and New Yorker magazine have already confirmed the book’s reporting on Bill Clinton’s windfall speaking fees, and noted how those payments intertwined with Clinton Foundation donors with business before Hillary’s State Dept.
“Bill Clinton was paid at least $26 million in speaking fees by companies and organizations that are also major donors to the foundation he created after leaving the White House, according to a Washington Post analysis of public records and foundation date,” reports the Washington Post.
Next, Fallon’s video shows a video clip of Bill Clinton’s former campaign strategist-turned-ABC News host George Stephanopoulos saying in an interview, “There’s no smoking gun!”
But as myriad political observers have pointed out, Hillary Clinton’s deletion of over 30,000 emails and wiping clean her secret server set up inside her home prevents anyone—especially an author without subpoena power—from accessing Hillary’s communications.
Moreover, ABC News said it conducted its own analysis of the book’s facts and concluded: “Records supported the premise that former President Clinton accepted speaking fees from numerous companies and individuals with interests pending before the State Department.”
The Hillary Clinton campaign video then shows a selectively edited clip showing Bloomberg editor Mark Halperin saying “a lot of the stuff that’s surrounding the book and the New York Times reported yesterday is, I think, ridiculous and silly.” The video does not put Halperin’s comments in context and fails to show the rest of Halperin’s statement.
“Here’s why you know this is serious because any Democrat, almost any Democrat, who is not on the Clinton’s payroll will tell reporters and others that these are serious issues, forget the politics. These are serious issues,” said Halperin on ABC News This Week.
The Bloomberg editor added: “Imagine if an assistant secretary of State had done what Hillary Clinton—we know that she did. They’d be out of the State Department.”
On Tuesday, renowned liberal economist and Columbia University Earth Institute director Jeffrey Sachs tweeted: “The new book Clinton Cash is compelling reading on how Bill and Hillary have mixed personal wealth, power, and influence peddling.”