‘Newsweek’ Bombshell: Largest Clinton Foundation Donor Violated Iranian Sanctions

KELLY: “Breaking tonight, a big story involving Hillary Clinton and a powerful businessman who was funneling millions in donations to her family foundation while possibly violating the U.S. sanctions on Iran, sanctions Mrs. Clinton was supposed to enforce. Welcome to The Kelly File, everyone, I’m Megyn Kelly. There are serious new questions tonight involving Hillary Clinton and the man seen here. Victor Pinchuk. Mr. Pinchuk is the fourth richest man in Ukraine, the owner of a massive pipeline company and, reportedly, the man who gave more to the Clinton’s family foundation than any other individual. A report now released by Newsweek magazine, alleges that Mr. Pinchuk’s company may have violated U.S. sanctions on Iran, done business with Iran in 2012 and possibly beyond that year by delivering nearly $2 million worth of steel pipes to Iran for pipelines. That’s a no-no. Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State at that time and happened to be the person charged withholding foreign entities responsible for violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. During that same time, between 2009 and 2013, the Clinton Foundation received at least $8.6 million from the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and Pinchuk has pledged more than 20 million more and hasn’t been charged with violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. We have a big lineup tonight on this. Howard Kurtz is here on the media’s handling of this story, it’s been ignored, entirely. Chris Stirewalt on the possible political follow up of Mrs. Clinton. And the Wall Street journalist Bret Stephens is here. But we begin with Trace Gallagher, who has more on Mr. Pinchuk and this story. Trace?”
GALLAGHER: “The Interpipe Group is a major player when it comes to manufacturing steel pipes, including those used in gas and oil distribution. The company, as you said, owned by 54-year-old Victor Pinchuk, the fourth-richest man in Ukraine, the largest individual donor to the Clinton Foundation. Pinchuk has known the Clinton’s for nine years and had reportedly become very close friends with Bill Clinton. Victor Pinchuk is also the son-in-law of a former Ukrainian president who The New York Times says was accused of corruption, nepotism, and murdering journalists. The former president also sold a state-owned steel company to his son-in-law for what critics say was pennies on the dollar. Now, back in November, former Congressman Republican Steve Stockman raised a red flag with the U.S. Treasury Department over Interpipe’s dealings with Iran. Stockman was concerned that Interpipe was circumventing U.S. sanctions the prohibit any single invoice of more than $1 million to Iran’s oil and gas industry. Newsweek now claims it has documentation that confirms a series of shipments from Interpipe to Iran in 2011 and 2012 with invoices totaling millions of dollars. Now, some argue the U.S. sanctions laws not well defined and Interpipe may not be in violation, but Interpipe also have a subsidiary right here in the U.S. and that alone might qualify the company for crippling penalties like denying it access to the U.S. market and U.S. banks. Back in 2012, a Chinese oil company with no U.S. base of operations was penalized for ignoring U.S. foreign policy. Of course, the State Department is in charge of policing the list of foreign companies and, at the time, the head of the State Department was, of course, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Interpipe has responded to Newsweek’s story, calling it inaccurate and potentially libelous, saying, quoting here, ‘Interpipe has...complied with the sanctions to the letter. Any allegation to the contrary is completely wrong...The alleged ‘evidence’ of alleged violations, is either falsified, or the authors have been misled in the interpretation.’ Experts say, violation or not, this is why even some Clinton supporters believe taking donations from foreign companies is a bad idea.”