FBI officials uncovered explosive documents revealing how the criminal investigations into Hillary Clinton’s alleged pay-to-play corruption scheme involving the Clinton Foundation during the 2016 election were quietly “shut down.”
According to documents released to the Senate Judiciary Committee by the FBI and published earlier this month, there were a slew of questions from FBI investigators revealing concerns about foreign bribery that the Clinton Foundation case — codenamed “Cracked Foundation” — had uncovered.
The report noted that FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez advised agents in Washington to ask Clinton several questions about the foundation — specifically about a recorded conversation between Clinton and Indian hotel magnate Sant Singh Chatwal in which Clinton discussed donations to the foundation and her remaining 2008 campaign debt.
The new documents confirm that FBI had at one time been “intercepting individuals associated with the Clinton Foundation,” including with Chatwel.
However, in July 2016, when Clinton was under investigation about her use of a private email server in a separate investigation codenamed “Midyear Exam,” FBI agents asked nothing about the allegations of pay-to-play with foreign governments or use of the global charity to funnel money to her then-campaign, despite the deep investigation happening by the FBI.
Chatwel, a longtime Clinton family friend and donor, pled guilty to laundering straw donations to Clinton’s 2008 campaign committee back in 2014, forfeiting $1 million in a deal with the Department of Justice.
Chatwel also served as a trustee to the Clinton Foundation, a chair of the exploratory committee that preceded Clinton’s 2008 presidential run, and was even invited to Chelsea Clinton’s wedding, according to a 2016 book by investigative journalist Peter Schweizer called “Clinton Cash,” which helped kick off the Cracked Foundation investigation.
“That’s the only way to buy them, get into the system,” Chatwal had told an FBI informant in that case.
The FBI had recorded Chatwal discussing straw donations in 2010 and sought to expand that investigation to the Clinton Foundation, but FBI headquarters let the case go cold, the documents state.
Back in 2011, State Department documents revealed that Chatwal had helped to settle the debt of Clinton’s 2008 committee, the FBI documents stated.
“Based on information derived from a recorded conversation, you (HC) and Mr. Chatwal had a conversation regarding settling debt,” the agents wanted to ask Clinton.
“You indicated to Mr. Chatwal that he could no longer donate to your campaign but he should instead donate to the Clinton Foundation. Were donations made to the Clinton Foundation used for personal use and/or to settle campaign debt?”
In addition to campaign donations, agents on Cracked Foundation wanted Clinton to be asked about Chatwal’s role in a 2008 Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement that weakened the 1978 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act enacted in response to the dueling Indian and Pakistani nuclear weapons programs.
Under the deal, India for the first time in three decades received American exports of dual use nuclear technology and yet did not have to become a party to the treaty.
After Congress gave the deal final approval in October 2008, Chatwal quickly received one of the country’s most prestigious civilian awards for his lobbying efforts, according to excerpts from Clinton Cash.
At the time, FBI investigators sought to ask Clinton about whether Chatwal’s money had affected the deal.
“Mr. Chatwal pled guilty to using straw donors to raise campaign funds for your first presidential campaign along with using large amounts of cash to your husband,” reads the agents’ intended question.
“To your knowledge, did Mr. Chatwal also provide large cash payments to Indian officials in an effort to secure a nuclear deal between India and the US?”
The documents also revealed FBI agents also had evidence that the Clinton Foundation continued to accept foreign funds while Clinton was America’s top diplomat, even though Clinton had officially pledged that it wouldn’t, their questions show.
“You had an agreement with the Obama administration which planned restrictions on receiving donations to the Clinton Foundation from foreign countries, yet the Foundation continued to accept contributions without disclosures from countries where you lobbied for actions,” one of the questions reads.
“On how many occasions did the Foundation disregard the official agreement to accept contributions from countries you had State Department business in?”
The Clinton Foundation and Chatwal have not yet publicly commented on the new documents at the time of publication.