Ann Hornaday writes at the Washington Post that the new documentary film “Clinton Cash” based on Peter Schweizer’s bestselling book of the same name, is aimed at influencing progressive voters against Hillary Clinton.
As in the book, there’s no hard evidence or smoking guns in the hour-long film, which screened here for buyers on Monday morning. Instead of proof of quid pro quo deals, Schweizer, a longtime Clinton critic, presents a series of dots that he leaves for viewers to connect with the help of menacing music cues and lurid, blood-splashed graphics. The bottom line: By donating to the Clintons’ foundations or ponying up large speaking fees for the former president, foreign political and corporate powers were able to skew policies in their favor while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State.
“We want to spread awareness about corruption,” Schweizer explained at the Majestic Hotel later that day. “Obviously, the film is specifically about the Clintons, but the important thing I try to emphasize is it’s really about … a new model that I think they have perfected and developed, which is creating this apparatus which allows foreign money to influence American political figures.”
The book “Clinton Cash” was published just as Hillary Clinton announced her presidential candidacy, timing that Schweizer insists was a coincidence; but there’s no doubt that the movie is being rolled out with the goal of influencing the November election – specifically targeting progressive voters who will potentially be turned off by the State Department’s support for the Keystone XL pipeline (a position Schweizer chalks up to an Bill Clinton accepting speaking fees from an investor in the project) and a series of implications involving unsavory activities in Haiti, Nigeria, the South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Yes, we are zeroing in on people who are concerned on these issues,” Schweizer admitted. “I mean look, if there’s a conservative out there who’s disliked the Clintons for 20 years and they want to come see the film, that’s great. If it’s a swing voter, that’s great. If it’s a Bernie Sanders progressive, great. My belief is it will appeal to all of them.”
Read the rest here.
Watch the Clinton Cash trailer below: