http://freebeacon.com/issues/hillary-rak...employees/
Hillary Rakes in Nearly $75,000 From Justice Department Employees
Calls continue for appointment of a special counsel
Hillary Clinton has received nearly $75,000 in political contributions from employees at the Department of Justice, the agency that would decide whether or not to act if the FBI recommended charges against Clinton or her aides following its investigation into her private email server.
Justice Department employees have given Clinton far more money than her rivals, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Donald Trump, according to a review of federal campaign contributions for the 2016 presidential cycle.
Clinton collected $73,437 from individuals who listed the “Department of Justice” as their employer. Twelve of the 228 contributions were for $2,700, the maximum individual amount allowed by law.
The fundraising haul marks a dramatic increase over Clinton’s unsuccessful presidential run in 2008, when she took in 23 contributions totaling $15,930 from employees at the agency, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Trump, by comparison, has received little help from Justice Department employees, recording just two contributions for a total of $381.
Sanders has taken 51 donations totaling $8,900 from Justice Department employees.
David Bossie, president of the watchdog group Citizens United, told the Washington Free Beacon he is not surprised by the donations, and renewed his call for Attorney General Loretta Lynch to appoint a special counsel to handle Clinton’s case.
“I’m not surprised in the least to see more evidence that shows the politicization of the Justice Department,” Bossie said in a statement to the Free Beacon. “How can Democrat political appointees fairly investigate someone who is about to become their nominee for president? That’s why last July I called on Attorney General Lynch to appoint an impartial special counsel to investigate the private Clinton email server.”
“Today, I renew my call that Attorney General Lynch must appoint a special counsel to determine if Hillary Clinton or her agents broke the law and compromised our national security,” he continued. “This investigation needs to be conducted free of political influence once and for all.”
Bossie has questioned whether Lynch could remain impartial due to her past political donations. Lynch gave $10,700 in contributions to Democratic candidates between 2004 and 2008.
Howard Krongard, who was inspector general for the State Department from 2005 to 2008, predicted earlier this year that even if the FBI referred Clinton’s case to the Justice Department for prosecution it would “never get to an indictment.”
Krongard said the case would have to go through “four loyal Democratic women,” including Lynch, top White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, and Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell, who heads the department’s criminal division.
The FBI is expected to interview Clinton in the coming weeks about her email practices. Clinton maintains that she has not been contacted by the FBI about an interview. However, the FBI has interviewed Clinton’s aides, including top adviser Huma Abedin.
The Justice Department did not return a request for comment.
Update 05/10/16: After publication, former U.S. Attorney Matthew Whitaker, who directs the watchdog group Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, called for a special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton.
“The report out today that Hillary Clinton received almost $75,000 in political contributions from Justice Department employees is yet another reason why the Justice Department cannot and should not decide whether to bring a case against Hillary Clinton for her reckless handling of classified information while Secretary of State,” Whitaker said in a statement. “The decision of whether or not to bring a case against Clinton will be a difficult one for Attorney General Loretta Lynch, as I don’t believe she has the fortitude to oppose President Obama, who has publicly said Clinton’s behavior didn’t put our national security at risk. Since this Administration has shown no ability to be impartial, looking the other way at every turn of this investigation, I’m renewing an urgent call for the appointment of a special counsel in this case.”
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http://thehill.com/policy/technology/279...-donations
Clinton is largest beneficiary of Facebook donations
Facebook employees as individuals have donated more than $114,000 to Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton this election cycle, by far the most of any presidential candidate.
That is nearly $100,000 more than they donated to Marco Rubio, who had the second-most donations from employees of the social media giant. The Republican brought in $16,604 from Facebook employees before dropping out of the race in March.
The numbers are based on itemized contributions that candidates report to the Federal Election Commission.
The tally only reflects itemized contributions, so it is not a perfect reflection of the number of Facebook employees who donated. Candidates are not required to give information about contributions less than $200. For example, Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders has raised more than $182 million, but only about $66 million of those donations include information about the people who donated.
The Hill’s tally comes as Facebook battles accusations from some former contractors that the company suppressed conservative news on its “trending” feature that has prime placement on its many platforms. The company said it takes the charges seriously but “found no evidence that the anonymous allegations are true.”
The Hill’s review found that about 78 employees who work on engineering, communications, public policy, strategy, marketing, human resources and other areas have donated to Clinton.
That includes at least seven vice presidents at the company, including Tom Stocky, whose team is in charge of the trending feature. The company has about 13,600 employees.
“We are proud that, in 2015, the US election was the most talked-about subject on Facebook, and we want to encourage that robust political discussion from all sides,” Stocky wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday defending the trending feature.
The allegations in a Gizmodo story this week about Facebook curation were made by former contractors who worked for the company to help run the trending feature.
There is nothing nefarious about political donations to a candidate. Presidential candidates in both parties have raised tens of millions of dollars from employees at major companies across every industry.
But Facebook has become an important place for voters to get news. And as it continues to be a major driver of news traffic, the political leanings of its management will likely come under greater scrutiny.
“With 167 million US Facebook users reading stories highlighted in the trending section, Facebook has the power to greatly influence the presidential election,” the Republican National Committee wrote in a petition on Monday.
The Hill’s review also found that Sanders recorded at least $12,000 in donations from Facebook employees. Before dropping out of the GOP race, Jeb Bush listed $3,225, Rand Paul listed $3,150, John Kasich listed $2,700, and Ben Carson listed $250.
Niether presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump nor Ted Cruz, who dropped out of the GOP race recently, listed any donations from Facebook employees in their filings.
Combined, the company and its employees donated far more to Democrats than Republicans in the 2012 presidential cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That has carried over to 2016.
During the midterm election cycle for 2014, donations from Facebook were about even for both parties.