Report: Saudi Arabia Major Donor To Clinton Campaign

The Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton is under fire this election cycle for a litany of scandals that involve illegal fundraising practices. However, a recently recovered report that Saudi Arabia allegedly provided 20 percent of Hillary’s campaign total funding could be the final scandal that brings down the Clinton political machine and halt her march to the White House.

According to Middle East Eye, the deleted report featured comments from Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the eve of his official visit to the U.S.

“Saudi Arabia always has sponsored both Republican and Democratic Party of America and in America current election also provide with full enthusiasm 20 percent of the cost of Hillary Clinton’s election even though some events in the country don’t have a positive look to support the king of a woman (sic) for presidency,” the report quoted Prince Mohammed.

The Washington Post reported in 2015 that Saudi Arabia was among the leading foreign governments that supported Hillary before she was appointed as secretary of State. The Clinton Foundation released a statement stating the royal family donations were in the ballpark of $10 million to $25 million from 2008 to 2014.

“Like other global charities, the Clinton Foundation receives support from individuals, organizations and governments from all over the world because the foundation’s programs improve the lives of millions of people around the globe,” a Clinton Foundation statement said according to Politifact.

During her tenure with the State Department, Hillary Clinton violated an ethics agreement with the Obama administration by accepting donations from foreign governments. Hillary was forced into signing the agreement due to concerns that other countries, primarily Middle Eastern oil-rich nations, would use the foundation donations to gain favor with the new secretary of State.

Hillary and her foundations have been involved in other campaign finance scandals while on the campaign trail this year. Fellow Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders accused Clinton of looting a joint fundraising committee with the DNC so she could circumvent the dollar cap on personal donations.

According to The Intercept, the Hillary Victory Fund raised roughly $358,500 per person, which is way over the $5,400 donation cap for individuals. The fund was to be shared with other members of the Democratic National Committee who are running for office. Sanders said the fund was used to “cover expenses for the Clinton campaign instead of spending on down-ballot races.”

This isn’t the first time one of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns raised a multi-use fund. Between 2008 and 2009, a leadership PAC called Hill PAC, which was similar to the Hillary Victory fund, directly enriched itself by siphoning donations that were meant for other Democratic candidates, The Intercept said.

The Sanders campaign said Hillary’s joint-fundraising committee with the DNC may have committed “serious apparent violations” of campaign-finance laws and declared that his “opponent is bending campaign-finance rules to their breaking point.” Sanders sent a letter to the DNC in hopes they would investigate the matter future, but it is unlikely there will be any kind of serious investigation or inquiry, according to The Atlantic.

“This isn’t even a complaint to the FEC, but even if it were, the reality is the FEC is not likely to do anything about it or anything timely about it,” said Larry Noble, the general counsel for the Campaign Legal Center.

[Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AP Images]