A very, very bad sign for the Clintons

By Thomas Lifson

An insider with connections says that the Clintons’ Russian uranium deal was definitely hinky. Michael R. Caputo, writing in the PoliticsNY blog, says that he has in the past run public relations for Renaissance Capital, the Russian investment bank that paid Bill Clinton half a million bucks for a speech at the same time the State Department was tasked with approving or denying the acquisition of a substantial share of U.S. uranium production.

Even when I worked there, Renaissance Capital had close ties to the Kremlin - the relationship made Renaissance executives into oligarchs. By 2010, the firm had become a practical arm of Vladimir Putin. Nobody of sound mind would think otherwise.

Bill Clinton took that half million dollar payment as his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, served as a key member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). This inter-agency panel must approve foreign purchase of private American companies the government deems vital to our national interest.

Shortly after Bill Clinton delivered the highest paid speech of his life, CFIUS was to consider and approve the key Russian purchase.

But even more interesting is Mr. Caputo’s perspective in the CFIUS process at the very time the uranium deal was under consideration:

In 2010-2011, I ran acquisition communications for Safran Group, the French government-controlled defense contractor which bought the US biometrics company L-1. It took us almost two years to gain CFIUS approval for France, an historic ally, to purchase a biometrics firm, not even remotely a strategic asset. We were stymied at every turn by an endless stream of questions.

In contrast, the Rusatom acquisition of UraniumOne got CFIUS approval in four months - for control of 20 percent of America's strategic uranium.

These two CFIUS approvals were happening at precisely the same time. Safran couldn't buy a break and was questioned at ever turn. Somehow, Kremlin-controlled Rusatom's purchase sailed through on a cool breeze.

Any insider will tell you that, considering the vital nature of the CFIUS-UraniumOne proceedings, it is certain that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was directly involved. And Bill took $500,000 indirectly from the Kremlin at the same time.