Mark Udall is so desperate to distance himself from the president’s failed policies – policies Udall has supported 97 percent of the time since being elected to the Senate – that he now won’t attend a closed-door fundraiser with the president. [Read more…]
Category: AR PAC
July 9, 2014 by
Yesterday, President Obama shot pool with the only Colorado Democrat who would risk even a private run-in with him, Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Of course, we all remember the last Democrat to shoot pool with Obama—West Virginia’s Nick Rahall, who is fighting for his political life to hold on to his Congressional seat.
Categories: AR PAC
July 9, 2014 by
Yesterday, The Associated Press reported that Mark Pryor (D-AR) lied to a tornado victim to gain access to his property to shoot an attack ad against Tom Cotton. [Read more…]
Categories: AR PAC
July 8, 2014 by
Kentucky Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes’ first attack ad is officially a flop. The Associated Press ran a fact check on Grimes’ claims and found the same lies about Medicare that Democrats have been peddling since 2012. [Read more…]
Categories: AR PAC
July 8, 2014 by
Obama will be in Denver on Wednesday – but he will be by himself. Obama’s Democratic allies in Colorado – Mark Udall, John Hickenlooper, and Andrew Romanoff – are all magically busy with other things while Obama is in town. [Read more…]
Categories: AR PAC
July 8, 2014 by
She just can’t help herself. In an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel, Hillary Clinton, who came under fire for saying her family was “dead broke” after leaving the White House and currently are unlike the “truly well off” because of their tax payments, lamented about how “we couldn’t even get a mortgage on a house by ourselves.”
SPIEGEL: Today, you are multimillionaires. Your husband has earned $104 million with his speeches since 2001.
Clinton: We are very grateful for where we are today. But if you were to go back and look at the amount of money that we owed, we couldn’t even get a mortgage on a house by ourselves. In our system he had to make double what he needed in order just to pay off the debt, and then to finance a house and continue to pay for our daughter’s education.
Clinton, who owns two multi-million dollar homes, received an $8 million book advance before Bill Clinton left office, has recently been criticized for receiving six-figure speaking fees from colleges and universities.
Categories: AR PAC
July 7, 2014 by
In response to Hillary Clinton’s announcement that her speaking fees from colleges and universities would be donated to her family’s foundation – The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation – America Rising PAC Executive Director Tim Miller called on the Foundation to release a series of records on its spending practices as well as a full accounting of which honoraria for paid speaking events are donated.
At minimum, the following information should be released regarding the Foundation’s expenditures in 2013 and 2014:
1. The Clinton Foundation’s form 990 for 2013 – which was required by law to be submitted to the IRS by 5/15.
2. Any financial audits from an audit committee that the foundation was advised to create following a 2011 internal review led by Simpson Thacher.
3. A full list of foundation staff or paid consultants who have previously worked as staff or paid consultants to the following staffs or organizations run by the Clintons or the Democratic party:
- The State Department from January 2009 to January 2013.
- The White House from January 2009 to present.
- The Obama for America 2012 campaign.
- The Democratic National Committee from January 1993 to present.
- Hillary Clinton’s Senate office from January 2001 to January 2009.
- Political staff at the White House and executive agencies from January 1993 to January 2001.
4. Total funds spent on entertainment, production and security-related vendors supporting CGI meetings in 2013-14.
5. Total funds spent on travel for donors or celebrities by the Clinton Foundation, including but not limited to CGI meetings for 2013-14.
6. All travel expenditures taken by Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton or Chelsea Clinton that were billed to the Clinton Foundation, including private air travel, lodging, ground travel, security, food and entertainment and other related expenses during 2013-14
7. A full accounting of which paid speaking engagements for which Hillary Clinton either directed the honoraria to go to the Clinton Foundation or personally donated the honoraria to the Clinton Foundation.
8. A full accounting of which paid speaking engagements, in 2013 and 2014, for which Bill Clinton either directed the honoraria to go to the Clinton Foundation or personally donated the honoraria to the Clinton Foundation.
Read the full release HERE
America Rising PAC Calls For Clinton Foundation Transparency by America Rising PAC
Categories: AR PAC
July 7, 2014 by
Bruce Braley just can’t help himself. At an Independence Day parade in Iowa Falls last weekend, Braley was walking down the streets of town, glad-handing parade watchers as his staffers chanted “Vote Bruce Braley!” instead of, say, anything patriotic. [Read more…]
Categories: AR PAC
July 7, 2014 by
CLICK to Demand Clinton Foundation Transparency!
Last week Hillary Clinton was under fire for taking around $1.8 million in speaking fees from colleges – many of which were increasing tuition on students – since leaving the State Department. Over the holiday weekend Clinton tried to clean-up the PR mess by saying that those fees had been donated to a charity – her own, the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Given the foundations track record of lavish spending this raises some questions about just how the Clinton Foundation charity cash has been spent since Hillary left the White House.
1. Is the Foundation paying for Clinton’s political staff or being used as a holding ground for future Clinton Presidential staff?
In 2013, The New York Times reported that “the foundation could serve as a base…to build up a stable of trusted staff members who could form the core of a political campaign.” Among those on the payroll at the time were a handful of Clinton 2008 presidential campaign staff including Huma Abedin and Dennis Cheng, the finance director of her 08 campaign leading what some Clinton donors describe as a “dry run” for the 2016 campaign at the Foundation.
Its hard to argue that lavish speaking fees are going to a charity when that charity is paying for presidential campaign prep.
2. Do the college speaking fees help underwrite the CGI meetings?
According to a Clinton Foundation press release in 2013, CGI was reincorporated into the Clinton Foundation when Secretary Clinton left the State Department. That adds substantial overhead cost to the foundation that can’t be described as “charitable.”
For example: In 2012 the total CGI budget was $28 million. Of that, $25 million was spent on their annual meetings. According to the 990 CGI spent over $1 million of that on “production” vendors including stage crews and technical production.
Not your typical charity expenditures.
3. Is the Foundation still footing the bill for the Clintons ostentatious travel?
A 2013 report by the New York Post found that the Clinton Foundation spent $60 million on travel from 2003-2012. When combined with their other initiatives that number ballooned past $85 million.
If the universities fees are being used so that the Clintons can fly around on private jets and stay in luxurious presidential suites, is that really a charitable contribution?
4. What about travel for celebrities?
Clinton Foundation events are often replete with celebrity star power. In one instance, Natalie Portman was given a first class ticket for her and her Yorkie to an event in Austin.
I’m sure the students paying a higher tuition next Spring would be happy to hear that the university cash went to pay for celebrity dog travel.
5. Is the Clinton Foundation still paying Teneo a 7 figure consulting fee?
Founded by former top Clinton aides, Teneo has been a preferred consulting firm for the Clintons. Previous reports indicated that they made $250k per month from the Clinton Foundation, which is approximately what Hillary was making from each college speech.
This just scratches the surface of what we don’t know about the Clinton Foundation finances. As POLITICO reporter Ben White noted, until we do saying that she donated speaking fees to charity isn’t much of an answer.
Until we have clear view into Clinton Foundation finances I don’t think “I gave it to the Foundation” is much of an answer.
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) July 6, 2014
Categories: AR PAC
July 3, 2014 by
Students across the country are facing skyrocketing tuition. The student loan debt burden is increasing at an alarming rate. But this cash crunch facing students hasn’t stopped Hillary Clinton from cashing in at their universities.
The Washington Post has a detailed story on Hillary Clinton earning six-figure speaking fees at colleges – many raising tuition rates. This comes on the heels of Nevada political reporter Jon Ralston interviewing UNLV students complaining about her “outrageous” speaking fee there.
With MSNBC running headlines like “College Students Blast Hillary For Six-Figure Speaking Fee” and everyone from Politico to local Buffalo’s WGRZ getting in on the action, Clinton is facing a nationwide backlash from college students and negative press all across the country.
Just some of the headlines Hillary Clinton’s speaking fees on the backs of cash-strapped students have earned:
The Washington Post: “At Time Of Austerity, 8 Universities Spent Top Dollar On Hillary Rodham Clinton Speeches”
Politico: “Hillary Clinton’s Money Problem”
WGRZ: “UB Won’t Release Info. On Fee for Clinton Speech”
Breitbart: “Hillary Takes Six-Figure Speaking Fees From Universities Raising Student Tuition”
The Washington Post: “Hillary Clinton’s Woes Continue”
The Wall Street Journal: “Hillary Clinton Faces Heat Over Paid Speeches”
Newsmax: “Hillary Still Drawing Fire Over Costly College Speech Fee”
Categories: AR PAC