As Hillary Clinton was celebrating her party’s nomination Tuesday evening, the IRS quietly announced that it would begin an investigation in to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, according to the Daily Caller.
The investigation comes in response to “multiple requests” filed with the FBI, the IRS, and the FTC over the Foundation’s habit of taking money from individuals — and often countries whose interests are at odds with American interests — with business before the federal government.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn has been leading a Congressional investigation — the same one responsible for the letter, signed by 64 Republican congressmen, that apparently triggered the IRS to take action. The letter, which called the foundation a “lawless pay-to-play” operation, accused the Foundation of operating under a “cloak of philanthropy,” funneling money from dangerous regimes into Clinton coffers.
The Congressional investigators sent their letter only a week ago. In this case, the IRS moved fast, forwarding the investigation on to its Dallas office, which handles questions of how tax exempt organizations and non-profits operate. If the process sounds familiar, it’s because the same office was used by Lois Lerner to investigate conservative organizations declaring 501(c)(4) protected status.
According to the Caller, the investigation will focus on two corporations, Laureate Education and Uranium One. Laureate gave generously to the Clinton Foundation and even hired Bill for a few side jobs. They also, completely conincidentally, earned a $55 million grant from the US Department of State during Hillary Clinton’s tenure.
Uranium One is a project of longtime Clinton crony Frank Giustra, who gave enough to the Foundation to have his name on a Foundation project, and then got swift approval from the State Department to sell part of his uranium business to the Russians.
It’s also not clear whether the Clinton Foundation adequately described its mission on its founding submission to the IRS. It was supposed to be a fund for the Clinton library — not a multi-national aid organization serving as a way to help the Clinton’s recover from post-White House hardships.
The IRS may not have as difficult a time investigating this as the FBI has. According to Julian Assange of Wikileaks, some of the hacked emails he’s still planning to release through the Wikileaks website may involve Clinton Foundation dealings.
Both Chelsea Clinton and Hillary Clinton herself are scheduled to speak tomorrow night at the Democratic National Convention.
