Proof that the Clintons Think They Are above the Law

April 24, 2015

Morning Jolt

... with Jim Geraghty

The Clinton Foundation Is the Democratic Party . . . and Arguably, the U.S. Government As Well

Jonathan Chait comes to terms with the obvious:

When you are a power couple consisting of a former president and a current secretary of State and likely presidential candidate, you have the ability to raise a lot of money for charitable purposes that can do a lot of good. But some of the potential sources of donations will be looking to get something in return for their money other than moral satisfaction or the chance to hobnob with celebrities. Some of them want preferential treatment from the State Department, and others want access to a potential future Clinton administration. To run a private operation where Bill Clinton will deliver a speech for a (huge) fee and a charity that raises money from some of the same clients is a difficult situation to navigate. To overlay that fraught situation onto Hillary's ongoing and likely future government service makes it all much harder.

And yet the Clintons paid little to no attention to this problem . . .

The Obama administration wanted Hillary Clinton to use official government email. She didn't. The Obama administration also demanded that the Clinton Foundation disclose all its donors while she served as Secretary of State. It didn't comply with that request, either.

The Clintons' charitable initiatives were a kind of quasi-government run by themselves, which was staffed by their own loyalists and made up the rules as it went along.

This explains a bit about why the 2016 cycle could turn out to be another battle between a Clinton and a Bush. (For what it's worth, I don't think it will shake out this way.)
The presidency dominates American political life, making every ex-president the former boss of just about every middle-management or rising star figure in his party. If you're in politics, if you haven't worked for a president, chances are you're one degree of separation away from someone who worked for one.
(This was one of the things that made Barack Obama's win over Hillary in the 2008 primary so improbable -- she had all the veteran national-campaign staffers, pollsters, strategists, etc.)
George W. Bush casts a long shadow on the 2016 Republican field, far beyond his brother. Among those who worked for George W. Bush: Ted Cruz, who worked on the Bush 2000 campaign and in the Federal Trade Commission; Bobby Jindal, who was an assistant secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2003; Chris Christie, who Bush appointed U.S. Attorney for New Jersey; Rick Perry was Bush's lieutenant governor in 1999 and 2000; and arguably Carly Fiorina, who served on CIA and State Department advisory committees during the Bush years.
The Clintons, Inc., make up a big slice of the professional class of the Democratic party. And the Bush Family, Inc., makes up a big slice of the professional class of the Republican party.
And as we've seen . . . who in the party can tell a former president what he can and can't do? Who in the Democratic party was willing to put his foot down and tell the Clintons "no"?
There were people who were trying to say "no" . . .

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., where Uranium One's largest U.S. operation was, wrote to President Obama, saying the deal "would give the Russian government control over a sizable portion of America's uranium production capacity."

. . . but they were ignored.
Last night on Greta Van Susteren's program, Barrasso said, "We tried to throw the penalty flag early on . . . We were very concerned from the standpoint of energy security for our country, and national security. Now you see Vladimir Putin owning 20 percent of American uranium, controlling that and we know Russia sends uranium to countries that are not our friends, that are our enemies, including Iran."
He said he received a letter, three months later, from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that said the commission would keep an eye on the deal. He said that based on his discussions with "people on the ground," American uranium has left the country and gone overseas, without the company getting the necessary special permissions and permits.
Ferguson, Staten Island . . . Baltimore?
Keep an eye on Baltimore, Maryland, where we have another case of a black man dying after being in police custody, and a variety of unanswered questions:

Freddie Gray, a Baltimore man injured during an arrest by Baltimore police last week, died Sunday at Shock Trauma, prompting protests by city residents and out-of-town activists and promises from city officials for a thorough investigation.

Gray, 25, died a week after he suffered a broken vertabra after being arrested near Gilmor Homes in Sandtown-Winchester.

Police have not given a cause for Gray's injuries or specified why he was arrested, citing an investigation into the incident.

Here's an aspect that's different from Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York: Maryland has a Republican governor, Larry Hogan, who local Democrats would love to cast as a villain in any conflicts to come. Hogan is sending in Maryland State Police officers to assist the city police:

"There's raw emotions. People legitimately have concerns, and the community is out in force protesting," Hogan said. "I want to thank the folks involved in that. So far it has been peaceful. We want to try to keep things under control. The last thing we need is more violence in Baltimore City."

Hogan said city police will remain on the front lines as the demonstrations, which began Saturday and have been mostly peaceful, continue in city streets. The governor said the city has asked for help, and that he would continue to grant it whenever asked. "We don't want to interfere," he said.

Thirty-two troopers with expertise in crowd control arrived in Baltimore early Thursday afternoon, Maryland State Police spokesman Sgt. Marc Black said. The team will be in place for help whenever the Baltimore City Police department asks, he said.

During Ferguson and Staten Island, angry urban progressives kept looking for a Republican villain and failed; Missouri governor Jay Nixon, St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, and New York City police commissioner William Bratton are all Democrats.
Jesse Jackson is in town, doing what he does best:

Jackson said the public deserves answers in Gray's death. Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said he expects the investigation will take until May 1 to complete.

"The blood of the innocent continues to redeem and renew people's energy to fight for justice," he said. "The police wagon became a tomb in the case of Baltimore."

Chris Christie, America's 'Sit Down and Shut Up' Candidate
Chris Christie's appeal, and curse, in five words: "Sit down and shut up!"

When he's saying it to somebody you don't like -- like some heckler -- you love him! He can even joke about it on the Tonight Show.
When he's saying it to somebody you do like . . . it stops being quite so charmingly blunt, and he looks like a guy who really relishes his power and authority.
Second-term Obama might make Republican primary voters particularly wary of entrusting the presidency to a man who enjoys shouting down opponents.
ADDENDA: This week's pop-culture podcast was completed a day early. Join us as we chew over Ben Affleck's concern about his slave-owning ancestor; The Great Lilly Pulitzer Target Dress War of 2015; a discussion of just why football fans are willing to spend hours watching the NFL Draft, and wrapping up with a hard, argumentative look at the culture of favors and score-keeping.