Report: State Department Ethics Reviews Gave Bill Clinton Frequent Green Lights

The Department, which had agreed to examine Bill's business dealings during Hillary's tenure, almost always gave approval.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and husband Former U.S. President Bill Clinton attend the Closing Plenary Session: 'Aiming for the Moon and Beyond' during the fourth day of the Clinton Global Initiative's 10th Annual Meeting at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers on September 24, 2014 in New York City.
Photographer: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

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By Ben Brody

February 25, 2015 at 1:36 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

During Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state, ethics monitors at the State Department almost always approved lucrative speeches and long-term consulting jobs for Bill Clinton with few questions, even though they sometimes struggled to determine basic facts about the arrangements, according to a new report in Politico.

The report, based on government responses to Freedom of Information Act requests, cites one of the few proposals that was scuttled: a videotaped speech for a gala that appeared to be funded by a Chinese sports foundation. The proposal raised flags at the Department because of the foundation's links to the Chinese government.