AP Review: Companies that paid Hillary for speeches have government business

The Associated Press has done a review of the groups and companies that paid Hillary Clinton (often lavishly) for speeches.

Federal records show almost all the 82 corporations, trade associations and other groups that paid for or sponsored Clinton’s speeches have sought to influence the government — lobbying, bidding for contracts, commenting on federal policy or contacting State Department officials or Clinton herself when she was secretary of state.

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The AP adds that of the groups that paid for speeches 60 had lobbied the Obama administration and 22 directly lobbied the State Department. The big money speeches took place after she left the State Department in early 2013.

Part of the premise of the AP’s research seems to be that people paying Clinton $200k plus per speech assumed her career in politics was not over when she left the State Department. As the AP puts it, “Their interests would follow Clinton to the White House should she win election this fall.”

Clinton has been under pressure to release transcripts of some of her speeches, especially by Bernie Sanders who has made it a regular part of his stump speech. Politico reported in February that Clinton’s speeches to Wall Street firms were nothing unusual but were very positive in a way that might not play well in a Democratic primary:

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“It was pretty glowing about us,” one person who watched the event said. “It’s so far from what she sounds like as a candidate now. It was like a rah-rah speech. She sounded more like a Goldman Sachs managing director.”

Clinton has refused to release transcripts or tapes saying she shouldn’t be asked for those while Bernie Sanders has yet to release his full tax returns.

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