Bill and Hillary Clinton’s non-profit foundation allegedly redirected $2 million to their close friends’ for-profit.
According to an investigative reporting from The Wall Street Journal, Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) redirected a $2 million pledge to a for-profit owned by family friends and fellow Democrats of the Clintons.
The move was highly unusual since CGI is committed to attracting funds and grants and redirecting them to non-profits to make the world better. But in 2010, the funds mysteriously went to Energy Pioneer Solutions Inc., a privately owned firm that makes homes more energy efficient through insulation.
The Journal also found that Mr. Clinton pulled some strings at the Energy Department and with help from former Energy Secretary Steven Chu he managed to obtain an $820,000 federal grant for his friends’ company. Mr. Chu recently denied any involvement in the issue.
The CGI is a program run by the Clintons and their daughter Chelsea. The group has been under fire for its shady businesses with some of the world’s governments and corporations that may influence Hillary’s decisions if she makes it to the Oval Office
Nevertheless, CGI has claimed ever since that it has “strong donor integrity and transparency practices.”
Yet, the deal with Energy Pioneer Solutions Inc. is also borderline illegal as tax-exempt non-profits such as CGI are expected to act in the public interest. According to the Internal Revenue Service, such entities are not allowed to act “for the benefit of private interests.”
And there are a lot of private interests in Energy Pioneer Solutions, which was founded by Democrat Scott Kleeb, who owns 29 percent of the company. Another 29 percent belongs to Julie Tauber McMahon, a close acquaintance of Mr. Clinton while 10 percent is owned by fellow democrats and long-time friends of the Clinton family, Mark Weiner and Andrew Tobias.
The Clinton Foundation denied the allegations on Thursday when the charity’s spokesperson Craig Minassian said that no federal law was broken in 2010.
Minassian explained that the Clintons made many friends and professional connections throughout their political careers. Therefore, it should not be a surprise that the family decided to work with these people to make a better world through CGI afterwards.
The spokesperson added that CGI is committed to reducing dependency on fossil fuels and tackle climate change challenges. So, it was only natural to redirect some funds to a company that strives to make homes less dependent on fossil fuels.
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