The Chief Financial Officer
of the Clinton Foundation,
thinking he was
"meeting an old
professional acquaintance,"
admitted to investigators
that the charity
had widespread problems
with governance,
accounting and
conflicts of interest,
and that Bill Clinton
has been commingling
business and
personal expenses
for a long time,
reports The Hill's
John Solomon.
Clinton Foundation CFO
Andrew Kessel made
the admissions to
investigators from
MDA Analytics LLC
- a firm run by
"accomplished ex-federal
criminal investigators."
Kessel told MDA
"There is no
controlling Bill Clinton.
He does
whatever he wants
and runs up
incredible expenses
with foundation funds,
according to
MDA's account
of the interview.
"Bill Clinton mixes and matches
his personal business with that
of the foundation.
Many people
within the foundation
have tried to caution him
about this but he does not listen,
and there really is
no talking to him."
MDA compiled
Kessel's statements,
and over 6,000 pages
of other evidence
from a whistleblower
they had been working
with separately, which they
secretly filed with the FBI
and IRS over a year ago.
MDA has alleged
the Clinton Foundation
may owe millions
in unpaid taxes
and penalties.
Llast week, a federal prosecutor
suddenly asked for documents
from MDA's private investigation.
CFO Kessel confirmed
private lawyers reviewed
the foundation’s in 2008
and in 2011 — finding
widespread problems
with governance,
accounting and
conflicts of interest.
The Little Rock FBI field office
has been leading an investigation
into pay-for-play schemes
and tax code violations.
The probe may also examine
whether any tax-exempt assets
were converted for personal
or political use and
whether the Foundation
complied with applicable
tax laws, the officials said.
"Mr. Kessel believed
he was meeting an old
professional acquaintance
who was looking for business
from the Foundation,"
A Clinton Foundation
press release claimed.
MDA was specifically created
to investigate 501c3 charities,
and researched
the Clinton Foundation
at its own expense
in the hope that
the whistleblower submission
they compiled might result in
a government reward
if the IRS was able to
corroborate wrongdoing
and recover tax dollars.
CFO Kessel's
inadvertent admissions
track closely with comments
made in 2008 written by
a private lawyer
named Kumiki Gibson
- who the Clinton Foundation
hired to study its governance.
Gibson had flagged concerns
over improper commingling
of charitable and private business.
