Dinner with President Barack Obama was offered to donors who could afford $10,000 seats.
One of the pages from the WikiLeaks dump of documents and emails purloined from the Democratic National Committee and posted online reveals a spreadsheet that appears to connect major donors to potential federal appointments.
Chuck Ross, who wrote about the issue at Daily Caller, included in his report the conclusion that could pose a legal problem.
“The disclosed DNC emails sure look like the potential Clinton administration has intertwined the appointments to federal government boards and commissions with the political and fundraising operations of the Democratic Party,” Ken Boehm, chief of the National Legal and Policy center, told him.
“That is unethical, if not illegal.”
At the American Thinker, Thomas Lifson noted that such quid pro quo largely has been assumed – that “presidents appoint wealthy donors to commissions, ambassadorships, and other honors. But we have never before seen evidence of the way the transactions are carried out.”
However, now through WikiLeaks, “we have an actual spreadsheet listing donors and possible purchases of office being circulated among DNC officials.”
The Daily Caller noted that the spreadsheet has 23 names of little-known corporate executives and professional fundraisers who have supported Democrats, as well as contact details and a note referencing the U.S. Postal Service.
“It might be illegal, but everyone knows the Justice Department would never pursue an indictment against Democrats, so getting to the bottom of this scandal requires the election of Donald Trump, the appointment of a[n] aggressive attorney general (Chris Christie, please!), and a thorough housecleaning at [the] Justice Department, following broad civil service reform legislation,” Lifson wrote. “Hey, a guy can dream.”
The Caller said the records were among those released last weekend.
“Most of the donors listed on the spreadsheet have given to Clinton’s campaign. None gave to Sanders.”
The report said, “It is unclear from the DNC spreadsheet if any of the people on the list made specific requests for federal appointments. But one tip-off that the document is detailing a quid pro quo is an entry next to the name of David Shapira, the executive chairman of grocery store chain Giant Eagle, Inc.”
The spreadsheet includes a “USPS” reference. President Obama nominated Shapira for a position on the USPS board last year, but the move was held up in Congress.
“Shapira and his wife Cynthia have donated heavily to Clinton, the DNC and other Democratic and liberal political action committees,” the report said. “They have given the $2,700 maximum to Clinton. In 2014, Shapira contributed $100,000 to American Unity PAC, a political action committee that supports pro-LGBT candidates.”
His wife also made large donations, he said.
The details come from an email chain where Jordan Kaplan, the report said, asks for names of donors others want to put in federal jobs.
Kaplan, the DNC’s finance director, wrote, “Last call for boards and commissions.”
Boehn, once chief of Citizens for Reagan, said, according to the report, “Having participated in the boards and commissions work for president-elect Reagan, I know there’s no need to involve partisans months before the election. These appointments are made on a staggered basis so there’s no rush.”
Also on the list, the report said, is David Trone, who “maxed out his donations to Clinton and has given $334,000 to the Democratic Hope Fund.”
At Bizpacreview, Warner Todd Huston commented, “It all adds up to a free for all of paybacks the likes of which haven’t been seen in modern times.”
The Center for Research on Globalization also noted wealthy potential donors also were courted “with promises of access to the president.
“On at least one occasion, a White House lawyer asked DNC employees to alter the language of an invitation to a high-dollar event so it would not appear to be soliciting donations in exchange for access to President Barack Obama.”
The report continued, “Such revelations appear to confirm the argument that relying on large donations from wealthy individuals and large corporations inevitably leads to corruption of the political process. Indeed, both Bernie Sanders and Green Party presumptive presidential nominee Jill Stein have condemned the DNC’s fundraising practices and called for campaign finance reform.”
The worst may not yet be over, either.
The Hill reported Jennifer Palmieri, communications director for Hillary for America, thinks more emails will be released before the coming election.
“The WikiLeaks leak was obviously designed to hurt our convention,” she told the Hill. “I don’t think they’re done. That’s how they operate.”
from PropagandaGuard https://propagandaguard.wordpress.com/2016/07/26/dnc-donors-promised-access-to-obama-for-cash/
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