Clinton Foundation gala snubbed; Charity struggling to regain luster (done-in by do-goodism?)

politico.com ^ | 9/26/15 | Kenneth P. Vogel and Noah Weiland

[Liz]

The Clinton Foundation gala's invites were turned down by Pope Francis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill de Blasio, Janet Yellen...and all manner of celebrities, dignitaries and donors...b/c controversies and Hillary’s presidential campaign have made some wary of the foundation.

The glitzy Clinton Global Initiative gathering w/ the lofty title “The Future of Impact,” was supposed to have been a celebration of the accomplishments of the $2-billion family-friendly "Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation’s" past work as it pivots towards placing Chelsea at the helm.

Instead, it’s become emblematic of the foundation’s struggles to regain its luster....scaling back some of its ambitions and restructuring.... amid heightened scrutiny of its internal workings, the diminished role of Hillary, and that ex-pres Bill could be forced to step back.

“They've had a lot of rejections from people – both for membership renewals and speaking roles this year......", said one planner of events.

Arianna Huffington, a past CGI participant, was asked to be a panelist, but opted to attend an exclusive “thought leaders” conference in Aspen hosted by TV host Charlie Rose....corporate donors have dropped their sponsorships, and planners say it’s become increasingly difficult to raise money from large companies for meetings in which executives would appear on panels with Chelsea, not her parents.

Event documents reviewed by POLITICO, show that the foundation had hoped to land either Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen or French economist Thomas Piketty to speak on income inequality. Both declined, as did Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Rock legend Elton John was to receive an award for his efforts to fight AIDS, but he’s not coming.

Zuckerberg had a scheduling conflict, while a Fed official pointed out that no sitting chair has attended the annual CGI meetings. Piketty said his decision had nothing to do with the presidential campaign, or his opinions of the Clintons and their economic policies. “I'm not particularly a fan, but I am not a non-fan either,” he emailed, adding that he “preferred Hillary's 2008 health plan to Obama's.

Obama’s decision to skip the event for the first time since taking office stemmed from his busy schedule... British PM David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were among the foreign heads of state who turned down invitations.....scheduled to appear are Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

.....sources with CGI say the percentage of regrets seems higher this year....attributed to politically charged suggestions that donors, particularly foreign donors, sought or received favors from Hillary’s state department, as well as media scrutiny of the foundation’s finances and staff.

At least five major companies that sponsored the 2014 CGI event backed out of sponsoring this year’s meeting. One past donor expressed concerns WRT the foundation's effectiveness, questions about its record-keeping, and heavy spending on travel and administration.

Scheduled to attend: celebrity chef, Mario Batali, Jessica Biel, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Ashley Judd, Edward Norton, George Soros, Charlize Theron, Neil deGrasse Tyson and top executives from Chinese internet giant Alibaba, Barclays, Cisco, Gap and Xerox.

The sprawling 2,000-employee Clinton Foundation is looking to become more internally efficient....it has raised money to fight countless do-good projects---AIDS, childhood obesity, elephant poaching in Africa---but failed to rein in foundation in-fighting or program costs.

A number of foundation employees have decamped for Hillary's campaign, and more are expected to do so after the four-day CGI gala. The uncertainty has led foundation staff to privately wonder whether this might be the last CGI meeting for the foreseeable future.

[Liz]

"Do-goodisn" was the Clintons' passport into the deep pockets of numerous global entities. The avaricious Clintons devised hundreds of obscure programs to collect billions.....bragging about do-goodism, how the money was supposedly dispersed to "assist" endless charitable projects.

CHECK IT OUT--Peruse 276 web pages of obscure programs all of them vehicles to raise money. All of them expecting payback w/ Hillary in the WH.

FOUNDATION WEB SITE http://www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-global-initiative

LOCATED
1271 Avenue of the Americas 42nd Floor
New York, NY 10020
212-348-8882

WEB SITE http://www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-global-initiative

NOTE The do-gooder Clintons calculatedly morphed into
"The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Family Foundation" .....
giving them even more fund-raising capabilities w/ a friendly "family" aura.

"Smile everybody. Another $100 million came in today."

[circlecity]

It’s become pretty common knowledge this “foundation” is nothing more than a sleazy money laundering scheme. Nobody wants to be associated with it.

[bert]

Luster doesn’t really matter. The foundation has got the money

Having the money is what counts

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Snubbed because it is a giant Clinton Slush Fund.

They are deeply in bed with the United Way(if Planned Parenthood wasn’t bad enough) also. If you research it look for “CGI” (Clinton Global Initiative). That is one trick they use to hide their involvement.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I keep asking, “What accomplishments?” I’ve yet to receive an answer!

[onedoug]

The “Messenger Of Peace” backed off? Uh-oh.

[Liz]

Clinton donors have faced intense media scrutiny. Canada-based mining investor Frank Giustra, a major Clinton Foundation donor and personal friend of Bill Clinton, was scrutinized for business deals that critics said were linked to his donations to the charity.

WRT the sell-off of strategic US uranium assets the NYT reported
on uranium investors who also donated to the Clinton Foundation:

Canadian Frank Giustra--globe-trotting pal of Bill---donated $31.3 million and a pledge for $100 million more to the Clinton Foundation. Giustra built a company that later merged with Uranium One. Seems to have facilitated the uranium sell-off.

Canadian Ian Telfer--donated $2.35 million to the Clinton Foundation. Mining investor who was chairman of Uranium One when an arm of the Russian government, Rosatom, acquired it.

Paul Reynolds--donated $1 million to $5 million to the Clinton Foundation Adviser on 2007 UrAsia-Uranium One merger. Later helped raise $260 million for the company.

Frank Holmes---donated $250,000 to $500,000 to the Clinton Foundation. Chief Executive of U.S. Global Investors Inc., which held $4.7 million in Uranium One shares in the first quarter of 2011.

Canadian Neil Woodyer---Founded Endeavour Mining with Giustra--donated $50,000 to $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation. Adviser to Uranium One.

GMP Securities Ltd.---Donating portion of profits to the Clinton Foundation. Worked on debt issue that raised $260 million for Uranium One.

[Liz]

The avaricious Clinton Foundation picked the pockets of countless entities.....all salivating for payback when (and if) Hillary wields the presidential pen.

JUST FOR STARTERS Some Clinton Foundation donors and board members’ shady dealings and criminal convictions are legendary. The blockbuster “Clinton Cash” book details the buck-raking couple’s sordid circle.

•The SEC charged a Clinton Foundation trustee with misallocating $9.5M from his database company. Shareholders sued for using the company jet to fly the Clintons around and paying Bill Clinton a $3M consulting fee.

• A Clinton Foundation trustee was accused of paying Bahraini executives (roughly $52 million) to win sales contracts for US-based Alcoa which later settled with the DOJ for $384M.

• A Clinton Foundation trustee donated to Hillary’s campaigns...gave the Clintons millions in honoraria and millions more to the foundation. The trustee was arrested for allegedly defrauding a bank. He pleaded guilty in a Bklyn court to “funneling more than $180,000 in illegal contributions to three federal candidates,” Hillary among them.

• An Indian legislator sat at the head table at the Clinton Global Initiative and dined privately with the Clintons at their home. He gave between $1-5 million to the Clinton Foundation....then was arrested for bribing members of parliament WRT a US-Indian nuclear-technology agreement....he was booted from his party, ending his political career.

• Venezuelan Claudio Osorio fundraised for Hillary and supported the Clinton Global Initiative. He falsified federal applications and bilked US taxpayers to score a loan of $10M tax dollars to build homes in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Osorio was convicted of financial fraud, using federal “humanitarian assistance for personal benefit,” and got 12 years in federal prison.

• He was on the federal terrorist no-fly list yet a Lebanese-British businessman donated $460,000 to Miami Democrats for voter-registration and attended the Clintons’ WH Christmas party. He was later convicted of money-laundering and “aiding a criminal organization WRT billions of dollars stolen from Nigeria.

The Lebanese businessman’s company pledged $1 billion to the Clinton Global Initiative. The eco-minded Clinton awarded him a prize for “sustainable development.”

[Timber Rattler]

Why pay to play anymore when the intended benefactor is probably going to jail?

[Liz]

ACADEMY-AWARD WORTHY---Obama puts on a convincing act.
He "knows nothing." Obama didn't even know about this (snix).

Circa 2010--Ex-Pres Clinton in Moscow having a laugh w/ Putin
as strategic US uranium deposits were sold off to Russia for Big Bucks.

"Hahahaha. US ntl security? Hahahaha. You gotta be kidding, Vlad."

====================================================

With all the top-level intel available to him, can Americans actually believe:

<><>Obama was oblivious to the Clintons jerking around US foreign policy?

<><> Obama knew nothing of Hillary and Sid Blumenthal's emails WRT Iran (the man Obama banned from US govt employment)?

<><> Obama knew nothing about the Clinton Foundation/slush fund buck-raking activities?

<><> Obama never noticed Bill Clinton trotting around the globe?

<><> Obama never noticed the Clinton "charity" used to worm his way into the confidences of foreign leaders.... but only those leaders w/ untapped reserves of gold, uranium, oil, and other valuable commodities?

<><> Obama never knew Hillary's brother got a gold-mining permit in Haiti?

=======================================

WE, THE PEOPLE, NOTICED Hand-picked by Obama to run State, Hillary ran it like a shadow govt.... w/ her husband taking notes WRT buck-raking opportunities available from Hillary's actions OR inaction.

Secy Hillary never e-v-e-r uttered a discouraging word e-v-e-r......as the Clinton Foundation sucked up hundred of millions of foreign dollars from shady characters.

[Mouton]

From your mouth to god’s ears. IMO, not going to happen. The only time she would spend in jail would be if she were visiting someone trying to extort another payment from them.

[M Kehoe]

Bttt.

5.56mm

[samtheman]

“The Future of Impact”

Vintage Hillary. A phrase about nothing.

In reality she should start thinking of The Future Of Incarceration.

[Awgie]

This is how she would run the country. Trump would make mince meat out of her. Bush would be joyful.

[PghBaldy]

"Obama’s decision to skip the event for the first time since taking office stemmed from his busy schedule"

LOL

[Lopeover]

Done in by the fact that it is a fund to financially support the Clintons & friends, it lacks of transparency and really doesn’t provide much charitable works.

[Walkingfeather]

The real fun will begin when the quid pro quo is documented and all of these corporate “donors” (read bribers), are shown to have given to get. When the media turns their backs it will be a PR bloodbath.

[Liz]

Hillary's looking like Medusa.....a tangle of evil. Hitting the news are her State Dept emails found on the Clinton Foundation server, sold for cash, imperiling our ntl security (not to forget the State Dept's missing $6 billion on her watch).

Paraphrasing VDHanson ....lurid revelations indicate the Clinton Foundation is a huge money-laundering operation fuelling the Clintons’ affluent lifestyle and their political ambitions.....with well-paid sinecures for the hydra-headed Clinton retinue flitting around w/ scads of money. The serial cover-ups and financial legerdermain are the result of greed and the Clintons naked buck-raking.......

Time to look at the Clintons money-laundering operation. When L/E looked at Jeffrey Epstein's Orgy Island pedophile case, they found Bill Clinton and pal Doug Band w/ 20 phone nos and email addresses. L/E recognizes this as a classic money-laundering MO.

Bill Clinton was an inveterate globe-trotter w/ do-goodism as his passport to the world.....secret accounts, business interests, and other evidence of money laundering, must be everywhere.

Course, dear, dear Lanny Davis is still a "true believer" (/snix).

====================================================

REFERENCE When he finally went to jail, investigators found Ponzi king, Bernie Madoff, had stashed billions offshore---into a labyrinth of financial entities. Some $8.9 billion was funneled through a dozen so-called funds based in Europe, the Caribbean and Central America......a labyrinth of hedge funds, management companies and service providers that was structured to look like perfectly legal.

Although he was jailed in the Ponzi scheme, Madoff's usefulness was helping billionaires and their tax-exempt foundations to launder money and evade taxes.

Looks the buck-raking Clintons took notes.

[WKUHilltopper]

“The sprawling 2,000-employee Clinton Foundation....it has raised money to fight countless do-good projects—”

LOL!! I had know idea that running guns to 3rd world dictators and lining Clinton’s own pockets were considered “do-good projects”.