JUST IN: Reporters Uncover Links Between The Clintons & The Panama Papers

http://bipartisanreport.com/2016/04/17/just-in-reporters-uncover-links-between-the-clintons-the-panama-papers/

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has barely scratched the surface of the 11.5 million documents in the Panama Papers and already the leak from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonesca has exposed the financial misdeeds of the very rich and been linked to more than a few heads of state, such as David Cameron and Vladimir Putin. But, the first true political casualty came when Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson was forced to resign over protests decrying his connection to offshore tax shelters. Now, the Panama Papers’ Clinton link just might prove a threat to Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid.

It’s difficult to tell what impact this is going to have on the Democratic nomination, but before things get to out of hand, it’s important to note the information so far does not show any wrongdoing or even legal-yet-questionable behavior on the part of the Clintons themselves. In short, it’s the fact that more than a few people very close to both Bill and Hillary used the law firm Mossack Fonseca to establish offshore companies to evade taxes. perhaps most notable among those named in the latest report are Gabrielle Fialkoff and Marc Rich.

Fialkoff served as Hillary Clinton’s finance director during her first Senate campaign, which is not only a little ironic, but may prove useful fodder for anyone wanting to link Clinton to wealth and corruption. As for Rich, he was pardoned in the final days of Bill Clinton’s presidency, a move that raised more than a few eyebrows. At the time, Rich was an international fugitive wanted for tax evasion, racketeering and busting sanctions with Iran. President Clinton’s connection to Rich and his reasons for granting the pardon have formerly been the source of a good deal of media speculation that’s now likely to get rehashed.

There are quite a few more associates on the list, but so far that’s all the Panama Papers have revealed about the Clintons. And that may be all there is to it, but in a campaign cycle such as the one in which Americans currently find themselves embroiled, you better believe Republicans and Democrats alike are going to have a lot to say about this revelation. You can look for Sanders to move on this right away, as his entire campaign rests on the idea that Americans are fed up with a system that favors the rights of the rich to get richer at everyone else’s expense.

In fact, even before the leak showed any connection to Clinton, both Democratic candidates had their shaped their approach to the issue. Sanders has said that Clinton’s support of the Panama Free Trade agreement enabled precisely the kind of tax shelters the Panama Papers have now revealed. Clinton, for her part, has condemned the practices detailed in the Panama Papers while speaking at a recent AFL-CIO event: