Hillary Clinton changed mind on Colombian trade deal after the Clinton Foundation received millions from oil company

 In addition to the email scandal which has rocked Hillary Clinton in recent weeks there is also the reports of foreign governments donating millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation. This calls into question the prospect of political favors, or a pay to play scheme if–gasp–Hillary Clinton does indeed become the next President of the United States.

  While I have focused on the email scandal I have not written about possible Clinton Foundation scandal however when I read this story I decided it was time to delve into it just a little bit.

At the same time that Clinton’s State Department was lauding Colombia’s human rights record, her family was forging a financial relationship with Pacific Rubiales, the sprawling Canadian petroleum company at the center of Colombia’s labor strife. The Clintons were also developing commercial ties with the oil giant’s founder, Canadian financier Frank Giustra, who now occupies a seat on the board of the Clinton Foundation, the family’s global philanthropic empire.

The details of these financial dealings remain murky, but this much is clear: After millions of dollars were pledged by the oil company to the Clinton Foundation — supplemented by millions more from Giustra himself — Secretary Clinton abruptly changed her position on the controversial U.S.-Colombia trade pact. Having opposed the deal as a bad one for labor rights back when she was a presidential candidate in 2008, she now promoted it, calling it “strongly in the interests of both Colombia and the United States.” The change of heart by Clinton and other Democratic leaders enabled congressional passage of a Colombia trade deal that experts say delivered big benefits to foreign investors like Giustra.

  What a coincidence! Isn’t it interesting how she just happened to change her mind after The Clinton Foundation received millions of dollars in “donations” from an oil company with ties to Colombia? And it is even more remarkable how the founder of Pacific Rubiales, Frank Giustra, now sits on the Board of Directors of The Clinton Foundation.

  A cynic, such as myself, would claim that is sure looks like pay to play rewarded Pacific Rubiales, Frank Guistra, and Colombia quite well and calls into question how many foreign governments Hillary Clinton will owe favors to if she becomes President, however I am sure the former Secretary of State would say “what difference at this point does it make” when she changed her mind about the trade deal or how it came to be that Frank Giustra ended up on the Board of Directors of The Clinton Foundation.

  Move along, nothing to see here…

Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium