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Clinton’s ’20 Questions’ Tweet Storm Examines Trump’s ‘Sketchy’ Foreign Ties

By  3 min read
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Source: Newsweek/Twitter
Source: Newsweek/Twitter

In response to a story highlighting the direct ties the Trump Organization – of which Donald Trump is heavily involved – has with “global financiers, foreign politicians and even criminals,” Hillary Clinton’s campaign has unloaded 20 questions her campaign says Trump needs to answer immediately.

On Wednesday, Newsweek‘s Kurt Eichenwald released “How the Trump Organization’s Foreign Business Ties Could Upend U.S. National Security,” an in-depth look at how the Trump Organization’s “sprawling business empire” with a “web of contractual entanglements that could not be just canceled” could “raise serious conflicts of interest and ethical quagmires” if Trump is elected president. The magazine acknowledges no illegal activity had been uncovered, but says the deep ties the organization has with foreign powers – allies like South Korea and enemies like Muammar el-Qaddafi – could “jeopardize the security of the United States.”

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In response to the article, Clinton released “20 questions Donald Trump needs to answer about his business – and the national security risk it poses,” inquiries into controversial ties the Trump Organization – and by extension Trump himself – has with foreign entities. Clinton’s campaign has repeatedly attacked Trump for failing to disclose his tax returns, questioning what the presidential hopeful is hiding and that, if he’s got nothing to hide, why not release his returns. The Trump Organization is as secretive or more-so than Trump about its financial dealings.

Clinton’s own foundation has not escaped scrutiny but has been more transparent about her dealings with the Clinton Foundation during her time as Secretary of State. From the AP:

“The meetings between the Democratic presidential nominee and foundation donors do not appear to violate legal agreements Clinton and former president Bill Clinton signed before she joined the State Department in 2009. But the frequency of the overlaps shows the intermingling of access and donations, and fuels perceptions that giving the foundation money was a price of admission for face time with Clinton.”

While the foundation is under more intense scrutiny, numerous watchdog groups say the Clinton Foundation has and still does exceptional work all across the globe.

Charity Navigator gave the Clinton Foundation “four stars and a score of 94.74 out of 100 along with a 93.00 out of 100 for accountability and transparency in a 2016 review. The foundation lost points for its donor privacy policy.” Group Charity Watch estimates that 88 percent of the money raised by the Clinton Foundation goes to programs while just 12 percent is spent on overhead, a number far higher than other charities, according to reports.

Those numbers are readily available because the Clinton Foundation has released all its tax filings and disclosed its financial dealings.

According to Newsweek, the Trump Organization has provided no transparency into its numerous global contracts.

“On the other hand, the Trump family rakes in untold millions of dollars from the Trump Organization every year. Much of that comes from deals with international financiers and developers, many of whom have been tied to controversial and even illegal activities. None of Trump’s overseas contractual business relationships examined by Newsweek were revealed in his campaign’s financial filings with the Federal Election Commission, nor was the amount paid to him by his foreign partners. (The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for the names of all foreign entities in partnership or contractually tied to the Trump Organization.) Trump’s financial filings also indicate he is a shareholder or beneficiary of several overseas entities, including Excel Venture LLC in the French West Indies and Caribusiness Investments SRL, based in the Dominican Republic, one of the world’s tax havens.”

Clinton’s campaign is ramping up the pressure on Trump to disclose his financial records, asking the real estate mogul, “What do you have to hide?” See Clinton’s questions below.

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