Newly released FBI documents show that the bureau intercepted communications involving Hillary Clinton discussing donations with Indian hotel magnate Sant Singh Chatwal, a convicted felon.
The revelations, detailed in documents provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee and published on December 15, expose concerns over foreign bribery, pay-to-play schemes, and the potential misuse of the Clinton Foundation as a personal and campaign slush fund during Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State.
The documents stem from the FBI’s “Cracked Foundation” investigation, which began probing the Clinton Foundation’s activities as early as 2010.
At that time, The Daily Caller found the FBI recorded Chatwal discussing illegal straw donations to Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Chatwal, a longtime Clinton family friend, Clinton Foundation trustee, and key fundraiser, pled guilty in 2014 to laundering those donations through straw contributors and forfeited $1 million as part of a deal with the Department of Justice.
In a chilling quote captured by an FBI informant, Chatwal admitted, “That’s the only way to buy them, get into the system,” referring to his efforts to influence politicians through illicit contributions.
By the spring of 2016, as Hillary Clinton was on the verge of securing the Democratic presidential nomination, FBI field officers in New York, led by Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez, urged headquarters in Washington, D.C., to interrogate Clinton about these foreign donations.
The agents prepared a series of pointed questions that highlighted red flags uncovered in the investigation, including evidence that the FBI had been “intercepting individuals associated with the Clinton Foundation.”
One of the most damning pieces of evidence was a recorded conversation between Clinton and Chatwal, where they discussed settling her lingering 2008 campaign debt.
According to the documents, Clinton reportedly told Chatwal he could no longer donate directly to her campaign but should instead funnel money to the Clinton Foundation.
Agents wanted to ask Clinton directly, “Based on information derived from a recorded conversation, you (HC) and Mr. Chatwal had a conversation regarding settling debt. You indicated to Mr. Chatwal that he could no longer donate to your campaign but he should instead donate to the Clinton Foundation. Were donations made to the Clinton Foundation used for personal use and/or to settle campaign debt?”
This exchange raises serious questions about whether the Clinton Foundation, ostensibly a global charity, was being exploited as a backdoor mechanism to pay off political debts or fund personal expenses, circumventing campaign finance laws.
State Department documents, first revealed through WikiLeaks in 2011, confirmed Chatwal’s role in helping settle Clinton’s 2008 campaign debt, further fueling suspicions of impropriety.
Hellbound and Down 