I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy…he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.
– Donald Trump, on his good friend Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein would later be convicted of abusing underage girls.
Hillary Clinton opened up a new line of attack against Republican front-runner Donald Trump over the weekend, asking her supporters to judge the New York real estate investor by “the company he keeps.”
Clinton’s “expose” trotted out high-visibility Trump supporters like Sarah Palin and Ann Coulter as “proof” of Trump’s “extremists beliefs,” and she accurately managed quoted some of Trump’s many unsavory supporters—David Duke among them. However, endorsements aren’t “friendships’. It was noted, though, how Trump refused to condemn Duke and the KKK when asked to by Jake Tapper at CNN.
More importantly, though, Clinton may have opened up a very effective line of criticism—but against herself. Judge a candidate by the company they keep? Hillary Clinton has plenty of questionable friendships too.
Foreign Governments With Terror Ties
While Hillary Clinton was at the State Department, plenty of foreign governments gave money to the Clinton Family Foundation and, coincidentally, received some well-timed deals from the U.S. government. Donations poured in to the “philanthropic” Clinton entity from places like Algeria, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, none of which are remarkably friendly to the United States. American frenemy Saudi Arabia got a massive weapons deal after contributing close to $1 million to Bill and Hillary Clinton’s legacy organization.
Lots of those countries (plus a few notable others—including Morocco) also made large contributions to the Clinton Foundation in the week before Hillary Clinton officially launched her presidential campaign. But probably just out of the goodness of their hearts, of course.
Buddies With Big Lobbyists
Hillary Clinton gave lots of paid speeches to companies like Goldman Sachs that also often lobbied the federal government for favorable treatment. According to a report from the Associated Press, 60 firms and organizations that paid Clinton to speak at their events also lobbied the Obama Administration—and they’d likely ask their favorite orator for a few favors once she’s in the Oval Office.
There’s nothing illegal about lobbying the government, but Hillary Clinton seems to have cultivated a very close relationship with key influence peddlers a bit early.
Sidney Blumenthal
Sidney Blumenthal has been a fixture of the Clinton crowd for decades, but his relationship with Hillary Clinton, especially during her State Department years, may have had a dramatic impact on how the United States approached Middle East policy. Blumenthal earned $10K a month advising the State Department while also working with the Clinton Foundation and also pursuing his own business ventures in Libya.
The House Committee on Benghazi—the attack on an American consulate that left four people dead, including the U.S. Ambassador—questioned Blumenthal’s role in suggesting the U.S. become entangled in Libyan politics.
The Kardashians
If Hillary Clinton considers endorsements “friendships,” she might want to reconsider embracing some of her celebrity supporters. She is the Kandidate of Khoice for the Kardashians, everyone’s least favorite human beings.
Michael Moore
The documentary filmmaker who once said, “I don’t ‘support the troops’ or any of those other hollow and hypocritical platitudes uttered by Republicans and frightened Democrats,” says that he’ll support Hillary Clinton if and when she becomes the Democratic nominee. No wonder Clinton is trailing Trump by double digits among active duty military personnel.
Anita Alvarez
The Cook County States Attorney Anita Alvarez endorsed Hillary Clinton at a rally in October, right before her office was forced to acknowledge that they’d failed to take action in the police shooting death of 16-year old Laquan McDonald. Anita Alvarez shouldered much of the blame for Chicago’s failure to act against the police officer who shot the unarmed McDonald 16 times; disgraced, she lost her primary in March.
Jeffrey Epstein – the one guy who may bring them both down
There are certainly many shady Clinton ties, but no list can leave out serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose friendship with Bill Clinton went beyond most acceptable (and international) boundaries. According to a report released on Friday, Bill Clinton took 26 trips on Epstein’s private jet, called the “Lolita Express,” including some “extended junkets.” Epstein reportedly brought girls as young as 12 on his plane trips, where he, the girls and high-level guests would engage in group sex.
However, Epstein is Trump’s problem too. A Vice News report released late Sunday night detailed Trump’s many associations with Epstein, his friendship and endorsement of the paedophile – although it cannot be proved Trump knew that Epstein’s victims were underage, it was icky to see that Trump noted in public how young Epstein’s girls were:
The crucial detail in the Vice piece that may sink Trump in November is this exchange, taken from an Epstein deposition, where Jeffrey Epstein invokes the Fifth when asked if he was ever with underage girls in the presence of Donald Trump:
In 2010, Epstein pled the Fifth when asked by a lawyer representing one of Epstein’s victims about his relationship with Trump:
…
Q. Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18?
A: Though I’d like to answer that question, at least today I’m going to have to assert my Fifth, Sixth, and 14th Amendment rights, sir.