So what connects Clinton to Saudi Arabia and Weapon's Manufactures?
Her Campaign Chairman, John Podesta.
The Podesta Group is a lobbying and public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1988 by brothers John Podesta and Tony Podesta and has previously been known as Podesta Associates, podesta.com and PodestaMattoon.
The firm reported earning $27.4 million in lobbying fees in 2011. In 2007, Chairman Tony Podesta was ranked by his peers as the third most influential lobbyist in Washington.
So John co-owns it with his brother, who is known as a super-lobbyist.
Their client list includes:
Wal-Mart, BP and Lockheed Martin." Other clients include Abdisalam Omer, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, Amgen, Bank Of America, Cherokee Nation (Casinos), Cintas, Covidien, Duke Energy, Egypt, Genentech,General Dynamics, Harrah's Entertainment, Heineken, Merck, Michelin, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), National Public Radio (NPR), Nestle, Novartis, Orange County, Florida, Raytheon, Reed Elsevier, Republic of Albania, Republic of Georgia, Sallie Mae, Sunoco, Synthetic Genomics, TJX Companies, Tyco Electronics, Republic of Kenya and United Technologies.
In addition, the Podesta Group acts as a lobbyist for Egypt on U.S. policies of concern, activities in Congress and the Executive branch, and developments on the U.S. political scene generally,' according to forms filed with the Justice Department in 2009."
They also received revenue of $900,000 over the last two years from the "European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, a Brussels-based organization sympathetic to Yanukovich and his political party".
The Podesta Group also carries out public relations work for the government of Azerbaijan for a monthly fee of USD 60,000 plus expenses. According to human rights watchdog organizations, the government of Azerbaijan in mid-2014 has "intensified its already authoritarian crackdown on independent political and other public voices" and has imprisoned at least 40 political activists, human rights defenders, journalists and others "on various trumped-up charges, including drug possession, tax evasion, and even treason".
They also represent Saudi Arabia.
"U.S. lobbying, PR firms give human rights abusers a friendly face"
www.publicintegrity.org/...
From Azerbaijan to Saudi Arabia, countries with poor human rights records spend millions to polish public image
www.publicintegrity.org/...
Hillary moneyman highlights new Saudi connection
"The Saudi government, under increasing criticism over civilian casualties from its airstrikes in Yemen and a harsh crackdown on political dissidents at home, has just hired a powerhouse Washington, D.C., lobbying firm headed by a top Hillary Clinton fundraiser — an arrangement that critics charge raises fresh questions about the influence that foreign government lobbyists could have on her campaign."
mikeisikoffyahoo.tumblr.com/...
And Iraq:
The Iraqi government hires the Podesta Group to lobby for it in DC
Whenever you think DC sleaze has reached its low point, it always manages to prove you wrong. Politico's Byron Taub and Anna Palmer this afternoon report that the authoritarian, human-rights-abusing government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malki is about to hire The Podesta Group as its first lobbying firm.
Here's just the most recent sale from Lockhead Martin to SA.
"Lockheed Martin Corp. said Tuesday that it could seal a $11.25 billion deal to sell naval ships to Saudi Arabia as early as next year, countering the likely impact on domestic orders if the Pentagon is pressed into a prolonged stopgap budget."
www.wsj.com/...
General Dynamics:
"$15-billion deal ... under which ... General Dynamics Land Systems will sell armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia."
www.cbc.ca/...
Raytheon:
"The US Department of Defense announced on 24 July that it had awarded a USD180 million contract to Raytheon's Missile Systems division to produce 355 AGM-154C-1 Joint Stand-Off Weapons (JSOWs) for Saudi Arabia and another 200 for the US Navy."
www.janes.com/...
Tell me more you say?
"A dozen lobbyists bundled $882,000 for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the first quarter, records show, while one organization bundled $18,500 for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Top lobbyist bundlers for the DSCC this year include Democratic super lobbyist Tony Podesta of the Podesta Group ($145,000),"
That's John Brother, donating 145,000 to the DSCC:
www.publicintegrity.org/...
Podesta has also lobbied for Mubarak (Hillary’s “family friend” of 20+ years):
www.salon.com/...
And what was John doing BEFORE he was the Chairman of Hillary's campaign? Well... this is the part that has made me very wary about posting this... you see: Podesta is one of the most common faces in the Democratic Party and has been for decade.
He was:
Counsellor to President Obama Head of the Obama/Biden transition team
Chief of staff, twice for Bill clinton
Counselor to Democratic Leader Senator Thomas Daschle
Podesta founded and is currently Chair of the Center for American Progress
"The president and chief executive officer of CAP is Neera Tanden, who worked for the Obama and Clinton administrations and for Hillary Clinton’s campaigns."
en.wikipedia.org/...
And it runs in the family.
This is Heather Podesta:
In the 2012 federal election cycle, Podesta and her colleagues bundled more than $300,000 on behalf of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Senate Majority PAC, and individual Democratic candidates. The National Journal ranked Podesta as one of “Washington’s Most Influential Women,” GQ named her one of the “50 Most Powerful People in Washington,” and The Hill has repeatedly named her one of its “Top Lobbyists.” In 2010, the National Law Journal ranked Podesta as one of “Washington's Most Influential Women Lawyers.”
en.wikipedia.org/...
This article I just noticed has a pretty good overview of the direct relationship between Hillary and Saudi Arabia:
Under Hillary Clinton, the State Department approved $165 billion worth of commercial arms sales to 20 nations whose governments had given millions to the Clinton Foundation.
Israeli officials were agitated, reportedly complaining to the Obama administration that this substantial enhancement to Saudi air power risked disrupting the region's fragile balance of power. The deal appeared to collide with the State Department’s documented concerns about the repressive policies of the Saudi royal family.
But now, in late 2011, Hillary Clinton’s State Department was formally clearing the sale, asserting that it was in the national interest. At a press conference in Washington to announce the department’s approval, an assistant secretary of state, Andrew Shapiro, declared that the deal had been “a top priority” for Clinton personally.Shapiro, a longtime aide to Clinton since her Senate days, added that the “U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army have excellent relationships in Saudi Arabia.”
These were not the only relationships bridging leaders of the two nations. In the years before Hillary Clinton became secretary of state, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia contributed at least $10 million to the Clinton Foundation, the philanthropic enterprise she has overseen with her husband, former president Bill Clinton. Just two months before the deal was finalized, Boeing -- the defense contractor that manufactures one of the fighter jets the Saudis were especially keen to acquire, the F-15 -- contributed $900,000 to the Clinton Foundation, according to a company press release.
The Saudi deal was one of dozens of arms sales approved by Hillary Clinton’s State Department that placed weapons in the hands of governments that had also donated money to the Clinton family philanthropic empire, an International Business Times investigation has found.
Under Clinton's leadership, the State Department approved $165 billion worth of commercial arms sales to 20 nations whose governments have given money to the Clinton Foundation, according to an IBTimes analysis of State Department and foundation data. That figure -- derived from the three full fiscal years of Clinton’s term as Secretary of State (from October 2010 to September 2012) -- represented nearly double the value of American arms sales made to the those countries and approved by the State Department during the same period of President George W. Bush’s second term.
The State Department formally approved these arms sales even as many of the deals enhanced the military power of countries ruled by authoritarian regimes whose human rights abuses had been criticized by the department. Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar all donated to the Clinton Foundation and also gained State Department clearance to buy caches of American-made weapons even as the department singled them out for a range of alleged ills, from corruption to restrictions on civil liberties to violent crackdowns against political opponents.
www.ibtimes.com/...