Picture a charity cloaked in goodwill, yet shadowed by whispers of foreign money and political favors that could make even the most trusting skeptic raise an eyebrow.
Newly released FBI documents expose a 2016 effort by field agents to investigate Hillary Clinton over potential misuse of the Clinton Foundation for foreign donations and campaign debt settlements during her tenure as Secretary of State, the Daily Caller reported.
This story kicks off during Clinton’s time at the State Department, when FBI agents began sniffing out troubling links between her foundation and overseas contributions, despite her pledge to restrict such funds.
Under the operation dubbed "Cracked Foundation," investigators gathered evidence, including a recorded discussion between Clinton and Indian hotel magnate Sant Singh Chatwal about foundation donations and clearing debts from her 2008 presidential run.
Chatwal, a foundation trustee and key player in Clinton’s past campaign, admitted guilt in 2014 to laundering straw donations for that race, coughing up $1 million in a deal with the Justice Department.
Yet, when field agents pushed to grill Clinton on these pay-to-play concerns, FBI headquarters in Washington slammed the brakes, refusing to let the probe move forward.
FBI New York Assistant Director Diego Rodriguez pressed for specific questions about the foundation to be put to Clinton, as shown in documents released to the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 15.
Agents had prepared queries about Chatwal’s involvement in the 2008 Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement and whether his funds influenced that policy shift on nuclear proliferation rules.
They also sought answers on the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, formed after Clinton’s no-foreign-funds promise, which reportedly channeled money to the foundation without required transparency.
Chatwal didn’t hold back, reportedly telling an FBI informant, “That’s the only way to buy them, get into the system,” about straw donations (as cited in FBI records).
That line hits hard—here’s a convicted campaign finance schemer seemingly confessing to manipulating the process, all while linked to Clinton’s foundation. Doesn’t this fuel conservative doubts about elite accountability?
In 2019, an assistant U.S. attorney from the Eastern District of New York vented frustration, stating, “We were trying to explore the Foundation, and we were told ‘NO’ by FBI HQ” (as per court statements).
By July 2016, when Clinton was interviewed by the FBI over her private email server in a separate case called “Midyear Exam,” not one question about the foundation or foreign bribery surfaced.
While some on the left might claim Clinton endured enough scrutiny elsewhere, the hard evidence of intercepted talks and undisclosed foreign cash suggests a missed chance for real answers.
Ultimately, for those wary of unchecked power, this tale of blocked investigations and unanswered questions isn’t just a footnote—it’s a glaring reminder that transparency shouldn’t be a partisan issue.
