Bill Clinton’s Use of Taxpayer Cash

Inspired by a J. Soden alert in comments

Hey you business people out there, what if you could use taxpayer funds to pay some of your business and employee costs? Neat trick huh? Imagine the money you’d save! According to The Hill, that’s exactly what former President Bill Clinton has been able to do:

Former President Bill Clinton’s staff spent taxpayer money subsidizing the Clinton Foundation, an associated business and Hillary Clinton’s private email server, according to a new report.

The funds supplemented the benefits and pay of several foundation aides and purchased some of the organization’s IT equipment, Politico said Thursday. …

… Politico said Bill Clinton’s staff directed the spending of tax dollars allocated by the GSA using the Former Presidents Act, which authorizes the GSA to provide funding for pensions, correspondence, support staff and travel for ex-presidents.

Politico’s analysis found that he drew more cash than any other former president, with representatives requesting allocations totaling $16 million.

The article maintains there is nothing illegal about this and other presidents have utilized these funds. But there may be differences in how and when taxpayer money was spent. In Bill Clinton’s case, there are crossover duties for employees doing work for the Clinton Foundation and for the private server Hillary used when she was Secretary of State. Ethical considerations might also be of concern given the purpose of the Former Presidents Act:

The Former Presidents Act (known also as FPA) (3 U.S.C. § 102) is a 1958 federal law that provides several lifetime benefits to former presidents of the United States. … By law, former presidents are entitled to a pension, staff and office expenses, medical care or health insurance, and Secret Service protection. … Transition funding for the expenses of leaving office is available for seven months. It covers office space, staff compensation, communications services, and printing and postage associated with the transition.

If I read that right the President is provided a pension, secret servce, healthcare, an office and staff. It says nothing about providing pensions for staff or about staff being free to do work for other entities while working for the ex-president. But as we are seeing, the Clinton’s are the epitome of entitlement, (white?) privilege, and corruption. They seem able to navigate the loopholes and nuances of regulations and remain just inside the parameters of legality. The mob did the same thing for years it didn’t mean they were upstanding citizens and squeaky clean. In my opinion this pair has used our government as an extension of their foundation which they see as a funding arm for an international governing body directed by them. The Global Initiative is described on their website: “The Clinton Global Initiative convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges”

Hillary and Bill should never step foot in the people’s House again.