“FBI Corruption …. Decades in a Nutshell’ Commentary on Clinton Foundation-Misleading!
Summary of eRumor:
A commentary titled “FBI Corruption … Decades in a Nutshell” draws links between the Clinton Foundation, Robert Mueller, James Comes and the ongoing investigation of the Trump campaign.
The Truth:
The “FBI Corruption … Decades in a Nutshell” is at least rooted in truth. But facts and details are intentionally misrepresented to advance of FBI corruption. For that reason, we’re calling the commentary “misleading.”
It’s not clear exactly where the “FBI Corruption … Decades in a Nutshell” commentary came from. One of the earliest versions we could find appeared on April 4 at a discussion forum called Investor Village under the headline “Incest, it’s Incestuous.” Since, different versions have appeared on social media.
“FBI Corruption … Decades in a Nutshell” is a commentary that misrepresents facts to paint a picture of FBI corruption.The commentary opens by claiming that the Clinton Foundation was under investigation from 2001 to 2005. Supposedly, foreign governments had made donations, and the Clinton Foundation failed to declare them. That, the story goes, led to a grand jury investigation led by former FBI Director James Comey.
However, those few opening remarks deviate from the truth. There was an investigation of the Clinton Foundation from 2001 to 2005. The focus wasn’t into contributions made by foreign governments, however. It was about Bill Clinton’s 11th-hour pardon of March Rich, an international businessman who fled the country in 1983 amid charges that he owed $48 million in back taxes. Rich reportedly “steered millions of dollars” to causes championed by the Clintons and fellow Democrats. That led to accusations from an unidentified information that Clinton pardoned Rich in exchange for financial support.
The FBI file on the 2001-2005 Clinton Foundation investigation is available online, but it’s heavily redacted. We do know, however, that the case was referred to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York sometime in 2004. And here, again, the “FBI Corruption … Decades in a Nutshell” commentary jumps the rails by claiming that James Comey was in charge. James Comey served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2002-2003. David N Kelley was in charge at the time. And a November 2004 document in the FBI file indicates that a “declination of prosecution” would be handed down in the “near future.” That means the decision was made nearly two years after Comey left the office:
While some evidence has been obtained to support (a redacted source’s) theory of contributions from Rich in exchange for the pardon, the investigation, at this present time, is expected to receive a declination of prosecution from the Southern District of New York in the near future.
All of those misstatements and misrepresentations appeared in just the first few sentences of the “FBI Corruption … Decades in a Nutshell” commentary. It’s clear that its claims are misleading, and in some cases outright false. We’re not going to bother fact-checking the rest of it. Given that many of the details are rooted in fact but are presented inaccurately, we’re calling this commentary “misleading.”