FBI Investigating Hillary Clinton for “Public Corruption” with Clinton Foundation

Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to the reporters at United Nations headquarters, Tuesday, March 10, 2015. Clinton conceded that she should have used a government email to conduct business as secretary of state, saying her decision was simply a matter of “convenience.” (Photo: AP/Seth Wenig)

DEVELOPING: PPD has confirmed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is expanding their investigation into Hillary Clinton to include “public corruption” with the Clinton Foundation during her tenure as secretary of state. The FBI had been previously investigating Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email server to conduct official State Department business, but now they have begun to scrutinize whether she inappropriately used her role to benefit the foundation.

Sources who were not authorized to speak on the record tell PPD the FBI investigation has begun to examine a potential quid pro quo, including but is not limited to using her influence at the State Department to garner speaking engagements for the former president and husband to the current Democratic frontrunner. The Bureau is also focused on donations to the foundation from foreign entities, temporarily assiging some 50 additional agents to the “A Team” to look into the potential connection.

While we could not confirm specific actors, we are told they include entities and countries widely believed to be hostile to the U.S. Quid pro quo questions began to surround the Clinton Foundation last year when journalist Peter Schweizer published Clinton Cash, which sought to reveal the connection between the Clinton’s personal fortune, the Clinton Foundation, foreign nations, and their various roles in government.

Until now, it was believed that the FBI was limiting the scope of the investigation to the email server that was turned over to the Bureau in August last year, after Mrs. Clinton was given what was characterized as a “soft ultimatum.” At that time, despite the narrative from the Clinton camp, a Justice Department source insisted the security investigation being conducted by the FBI was, in fact, a criminal investigation.

Now, the evidence is mounting and strong enough to spark a full-blown rebellion at the Bureau if Attorney General Loretta Lynch at the Justice Department refuses to indict. The investigation is also targeting Clinton’s longtime aides who worked at the State Department, as well as the company that helped set up and maintain the server. While the development alludes to Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, PPD could not confirm whether one or both of Clinton’s aides were indeed the targets.

According to sources, there are roughly a thousand emails the FBI has identified as problematic. Two specific emails were deemed top secret classified “at birth,” by the originating agencies, including a satellite image showing the movement of North Korean missiles and a top secret U.S. drone strike. The sources said that the dispute over whether the two emails were classified at the highest level at birth–which is Mrs. Clinton’s political defense–is a “settled matter.” Further, those with knowledge of the investigation who spoke with PPD were quick to point out that a political defense is not a criminal defense.

The agencies that owned and originated the intelligence–the CIA and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or NGA–reviewed the emails in December to determine how they should be properly stored. The sources, who were not authorized to speak on the record, said that not only were the emails marked “top secret” when they hit Clinton’s server, one of them remains “top secret” even to this day.

Worth noting, the State Department continues to challenge the intelligence community’s conclusions, though they are aware of the review of all the emails. Unfortunately for Mrs. Clinton, the State Department has no authority to change or challenge the classification because the emails and content in question did not originate at their agency.