How $37 Million from the Clinton Foundation Disappeared in Baltimore
A grant went to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, but the group had an office address in Washington, D.C. What happened to the cash?
lifezette.com
By Charles Ortel | Friday, April 6, 2018
Here’s a question for which Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, special counsel Robert Mueller, and former FBI Director James Comey may well know the answer to — but aren’t likely to want to talk about in public, under oath:
Why did the Clinton Foundation send a $37 million grant for the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund in 2010 to a Baltimore post office box when the CBHF told federal tax authorities that its only office that year was in Washington, D.C.?
For the rest of us, the answers to that and many other questions posed by those who wonder why investigations into obvious and rampant frauds involving Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton and their purported foundation never go anywhere are complex. But they’re worth following if you care about combating charitable fraud.
Be prepared, because the answers also make clear that too many powerful people were and are covering up an odious set of scandals that implicate Establishment Republicans and Democrats alike.
So let’s get started, shall we?
Origins of the Clinton Foundation frauds. From Oct. 23, 1997, until Jan. 20, 2001, President Bill Clinton had the power to ensure that no prosecutions might move forward in the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, an entity that still has never bothered to file a mandatory federal income tax return for Oct. 23, 1997, through Dec. 31, 1997.
Though there is abundant evidence in the public domain of defective filings made under oath, across state lines, using the mails, Clinton likely felt secure that government officials, even in states controlled by Republicans, would never bring solicitation fraud prosecutions against his nascent “charity.”
0.5x1x1.25x1.5x2x
Auto 406p1080p720p406p270p180p
More from LifeZetteThen, as it became clear that former Republican Texas Gov. George W. Bush would be inaugurated as his successor in the Oval Office, Clinton and others took steps to ensure that allies would occupy key roles inside the IRS, DOJ and elsewhere in the federal Establishment.
Enter Rosenstein, Mueller and Comey. According to his official biography, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “from 2001 to 2005 … served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He supervised the division’s criminal sections and coordinated the tax enforcement activities of the Tax Division, the U.S. attorney’s offices and the Internal Revenue Service.”
Records available through the FBI vault confirm that the FBI and DOJ attorneys conducted investigations, empaneled grand juries, and issued subpoenas, yet they were unable to bring indictments or gain convictions against the many individuals and entities linked to the Clinton charity, which clearly engaged in a raft of frauds, across state lines, and in numerous nations.
These FBI records, many of which are heavily redacted even now, clearly show that former FBI Director James Comey played “leadership” roles in these epic failures and that Comey’s predecessor as FBI chief, Robert Mueller, was personally aware of the course of these ineffective efforts after he assumed his duties in September 2001.
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund Psa
0.5x1x1.25x1.5x2x
To see how badly Rosenstein, Mueller and Comey flubbed the Clinton Foundation “investigation,” visit the organization’s website and try to find audits for 1998 through 2004. You will not find them there, but you will find noncompliant accounting work product for 2000 through 2004 here, here, here, and here.
You will never notice charity fraud when you refuse to look at key evidence including fake audits that ineffectively mask the brazen theft of at least $64 million.
Recent years that matter: 2009 forward. The Clinton Foundation filed an amended federal tax return for 2010 on Nov. 16, 2015. The largest single expense declared for 2010 is a grant of more than $37 million to the CBHF at a post office box in Baltimore, Maryland.
This recent — within the statute of limitations — declaration on page 36 of the amended return is boldly incorrect. Sworn declarations made using the U.S. mails across state lines to New York and Minnesota declared that the only office and mailing address that CBHF had during the year in question was in Washington, D.C.
So why was the $37 million sent to a Baltimore post office address? Who retrieved the check from the P.O. box? What happened to the $37 million thereafter?
Moreover, it is mathematically impossible to reconcile declarations made in these key states to regulators that are public records with federal tax filings for CBHF. Here’s why: In total, CBHF declared nearly $49 million in grants and contributions for the entire year 2010.
In a CBHF state filing received in New York on June 29, 2010, Anita Bhatt, the fund’s chief financial officer, declared: “Because the [CBHF] did not receive its 501(c)(3) status until April 2010, the Clinton Foundation and the Communities Foundation of Texas solicited funds on behalf of CBHF at the request of former President George W. Bush.”
In a filing received July 21, 2010, Bhatt declared that contributions and grants through May 31, 2010, totaled $34.1 million, reiterated that she was in charge of CBHF funds and repeated that CBHF had only one office in Washington, D.C.
This means that if the Clinton Foundation actually sent more than $37 million to a Baltimore address, it must have done so after May 31, 2010, which would mean that CBHF collected more than $71 million during a year when it ultimately declared just under $49 million in total revenues.
Claims by the Clinton Foundation concerning its supposed grant to CBHF do not and cannot be squared with CBHF filings. Someone here is lying and many people are doing their best to cover up what looks like a crystal-clear instance of charity fraud and other serious crimes.
How much money did the Clinton Foundation actually receive during 2010, while soliciting to help poor Haitians after their devastating earthquake? More important, where did the money raised for Haiti by Clinton, Bush, and their associates actually go? And remember, 2010 was a key election year, with much at stake for Democrats.
The same accounting firm — BKD LLP — that rendered opinions to the Clinton Foundation during its early years continued as its auditor during and after 2010.
We certainly will never know the answer to that question if we must rely on Rosenstein, Mueller and Comey, who, it must be remembered, were failing to catch obvious frauds during those early years.
And one more thing: The same accounting firm — BKD LLP — that rendered opinions to the Clinton Foundation during its early years continued as its auditor during and after 2010.
President Donald Trump has been too patient with too many powerful swamp creatures. Americans deserve a real, empowered investigation into Clinton charity and allied frauds, and it should be convened as soon as possible.
Charles Ortel, a retired investment banker, concentrates on exposing complex frauds in his new career as an investigator, writer and commentator. Since August 2017, he has been hosting the “Sunday with Charles” podcast and covering the Clinton Foundation case in depth, using publicly available source materials.? See his previous LifeZette contributions.? |
