As Hillary Clinton closed in on the presidential nomination in the spring of 2016, FBI field officers advised colleagues at headquarters to press her on the foreign donations flowing to the Clinton Foundation while she steered American foreign policy and whether she had used the charity as a campaign piggy bank.
But FBI HQ in Washington — a city in which the former secretary of state and first lady wields enormous influence — let the trail go cold.
FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez advised agents in Washington to ask Clinton several questions about the foundation, which are reproduced in full in documents released to the Senate Judiciary Committee by the FBI and published on Dec. 15. (p. 22) The questions reveal the concerns about foreign bribery that the Clinton Foundation case — codenamed “Cracked Foundation” — had uncovered. (p. 41)
Among the evidence available to investigators, according to their questions: 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.” (p. 23)
But when Clinton arrived to the FBI two months later, in July 2016, to answer questions about her use of a private email server in a separate investigation codenamed “Midyear Exam,” D.C. agents asked nothing about the allegations of pay-to-play with foreign governments or use of the global charity as a slush fund.
The Clinton Foundation did not respond to a request for comment. Chatwal could not be reached for comment.
Chatwal, a longtime family friend and donor, served as a trustee to the Clinton Foundation, a chair of the exploratory committee that preceded Clinton’s 2008 presidential run, and even clinched an invitation 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.
Forbes estimated Chatwal’s properties to be worth $750 million in a 2006 profile.
He pled guilty to laundering straw donations to Clinton’s 2008 campaign committee in 2014, forfeiting $1 million in a deal with the Department of Justice.
“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 would not allow it, the documents state. (p. 5)
State Department documents published through Wikileaks first revealed in 2011 that Chatwal had helped to settle the debt of Clinton’s 2008 committee, the FBI documents state.
“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?” (p. 22)
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 made first call to the Indian prime minister to celebrate, and in 2010 Chatwal received one of the country’s most prestigious civilian awards for his lobbying efforts, according to Clinton Cash.
“Even my close friend Hillary Clinton was not in favor of the deal [in 2006],” Chatwal told Indian media, according to the book. “But when I put the whole package together, she also came on board.”
“It took me four years and millions of dollars, which I paid out of my own pocket. I’m very proud of that, because I love my motherland,” he also told Indian reporters, the book states.
Cracked Foundation 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 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?” (p. 22)
A second nonprofit organization, the Clinton Guistra Sustainable Growth Initiative (CGSGI), was established soon after promising that the Clinton Foundation would stop taking foreign donations during her tenure in Foggy Bottom.
“Per your agreement with the Obama administration, prior to becoming Secretary of State, you agreed to disclose all donations made to the Clinton Foundation. Shortly after agreeing to this, the Clinton Guistra Sustainable Growth Initiative (CGSGI) was established,” another question reads. “The majority of funds raised by the CGSGI are eventually sent to the Clinton Foundation but no financial disclosures are made by CGSGI. What are the funding sources for CGSGI and how many foreign governments send donations to CGSGI?” (p. 22)
The FBI under the administration of President Barack Obama — who had appointed Clinton as secretary of state in December 2008 after defeating her in the presidential primary — never followed these leads.
“We were trying to explore the Foundation, and we were told ‘NO’ by FBI HQ,” an Eastern District of New York assistant U.S. attorney told colleagues three years later, in 2019. “Field agents were frustrated. But HQ would not let it go forward.” (p. 39)
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