Free Republic

The revelations of the so-called Panama Papers that are roiling the world’s political and financial elites this week include important facts about Team Clinton. This unprecedented trove of documents purloined from a shady Panama law firm that arranged tax havens, and perhaps money laundering, for the globe’s super-rich includes juicy insights into how Russia’s elite hides its ill-gotten wealth. Almost lost among the many revelations is the fact that Russia’s biggest bank uses The Podesta Group as its lobbyist in Washington, D.C. Though hardly a household name, this firm is well known inside the Beltway, not least because its CEO...

In the summer of 2015, Center for Medical Progress (CMP) began releasing its undercover videos exposing alleged profiteering on the part of Planned Parenthood and its partners in the biomedical fetal tissue procurement industry. The shocking videos forced America’s largest abortion provider into rapid defense mode, and smearing undercover journalist David Daleiden and his group became a top priority of Planned Parenthood. The group hired Fusion GPS to perform a forensic evaluation on CMP’s videos, the results of which were reported at Politico in August of 2015 with the headline, “Report for Planned Parenthood Finds Sting Videos Manipulated.”

Theranos, a onetime star Silicon Valley startup focused on health technology, is closing its consumer blood-testing facilities amid its struggles with US regulators. The company, which has been seeking to disrupt the medical testing sector with new technology, said the closings will mean cutting some 340 jobs. "After many months spent assessing our strengths and addressing our weaknesses, we have moved to structure our company around the model best aligned with our core values and mission," company founder Elizabeth Holmes said in an open letter.

November 24, 2009 Glamour and Taste: Obama Tent Feast To Curry Favour With India Giles Whittell in Washington The Obamas' first state dinner is in honour of an abstemious vegetarian There will be music from the composer of the Slumdog Millionaire theme, food from an Ethiopian-born Swedish chef and cedar chips sprinkled on the roofs of the portable lavatories. There may also be the faint patter of drizzle on canvas. The first state dinner of the Obama era, held tonight in a tent village on the South Lawn of the White House, will honour an Indian Prime Minister described by...

Email at link has this attachment: MEMORANDUM To: John From: Sean RE: Framework Date: July 31, 2013 Sine Qua Non 1 - A board for Priorities USA Action SuperPAC that includes: You and Jim Messina as Chairs Capricia Marshall (The donors all respect her immensely) Paul Begala Minyon Moore Michael Whouley (Harold Ickes and Greg Speed are already on the Board) I think that if we are serious about having a functioning SuperPAC for her, it is imperative to have you and Jim as Chairs, and particularly important to have Michael and the Dewey Square folks to definitively get us...

His only qualification was giving lots of money to the Clinton Foundation A few weeks ago, ABC broke the story of Raj Fernando, a big-money donor to the Clinton Foundation - as well as past campaigns of both Obama and Hillary - and how he managed to land a spot on the prestigious International Security Advisory Board. That’s a board generally populated by former generals, governors and top diplomats, who advise the Secretary of State on international security matters. Lots of eyebrows were raised when a securities trader with no background in any of this was introduced as a new...

Erdogan was initially on the roster of speakers on the funeral — a list that includes a number of famous names, such as former president Bill Clinton and comedian Billy Crystal. However, on Monday, Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell had said that two unnamed speakers had been added to the program, meaning that foreign guests Erdogan and King Abdullah II of Jordan would no longer be able to make an address. Gunnell told reporters that the two world leaders had been “gracious and understood.” But there were a number of suggestions that perhaps Erdogan had been removed from the list...

The AP review of Clinton's calendar — her after-the-fact, official chronology of the events of her four-year term — identified at least 75 meetings with longtime political donors and loyalists, Clinton Foundation contributors and corporate and other outside interests that were either not recorded or listed with identifying details scrubbed. The AP found the omissions by comparing the 1,500-page document with separate planning schedules supplied to Clinton by aides in advance of each day's events. The names of at least 114 outsiders who met with Clinton were missing from her calendar, the records show.

Newly released State Department emails help reveal how a major Clinton Foundation donor was placed on a sensitive government intelligence advisory board even though he had no obvious experience in the field, a decision that appeared to baffle the department’s professional staff. The emails further reveal how, after inquiries from ABC News, the Clinton staff sought to “protect the name” of the Secretary, “stall” the ABC News reporter and ultimately accept the resignation of the donor just two days later. Copies of dozens of internal emails were provided to ABC News by the conservative political group Citizens United, which obtained...

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported President Obama spoke at a Nevada State Democratic Party fundraiser for Catherine Cortez Masto, who is running for Harry Reid’s Senate seat in 2016. “The event was held at the Henderson home of Las Vegas Sun editor and publisher Brian Greenspun. Contributions at the event hit a high of $33,400. The event, which drew more than 100 people, raised more than $300,000.” What kind of newspaper is the Las Vegas Sun that its editor and publisher hosts Democratic Party fundraisers with the president? A routinely partisan one. Jon Ralston, just hailed by Chuck Todd on...

Hillary should return all money raised from foreign nations.