Media Coverup: Giving Hillary A Pass

Ever utterance of Donald Trump has become fodder for a media thrashing.  To be fair, the Republican presidential candidate often has no one to blame but himself.  At the same time, his opponent Democrat Hillary Clinton may be the least scrutinized candidate since Barrack Obama in 2008.

While Mr. Trump mixes it up almost daily with an unfriendly press, the heavily scripted Ms. Clinton shuns the media.  She has not held a news conference in nearly 250 days.  Halley's Comet appears in the sky more often than Ms. Clinton takes questions from a gaggle of news reporters.

The liberal media has dug into Mr. Trump's business and personal life with a vengeance.  Unflattering stories have appeared in the usual Democrat-controlled media, including The New York Times and The Washington Post.  Meanwhile, there seems to be no journalistic interest in Ms. Clinton's past.

Certainly, there are a bushel of scandals for an enterprising media to investigate about Ms. Clinton. However, the mainstream moguls have sold their journalistic souls to the Democrat cause.  Big media has made no pretense about its support for Ms. Clinton and animosity toward Mr. Trump.

As a service to the faux journalists who populate today's media, here are five stories that are tailor made for an investigative team of reporters to examine:

Clinton Foundation

Three of the largest donations to the Clinton Foundation originated from Saudi Arabia, a country with some of the world's most repressive laws against women.  The Kingdom of Saudi Foundation has handed over $10-$20 million in cash.  Two of the wealthiest Saudi businessmen, Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi and Nasser Ibrahim Al-Rashid, have each contributed $1-$5 million.  This data comes from the Clinton Foundation, which only lists ranges of donations instead of the actual dollar amount. Why does Ms. Clinton's foundation accept millions from countries which oppress women?

Clinton Speeches

Ms. Clinton gave three speeches during a four month period to Goldman Sachs, the leading global investment, banking, securities and investment management firm.  She earned a staggering $675,000 for the private chats with Wall Street's elite bankers.  Other banking giants also paid to hear Ms. Clinton, including UBS, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Deutsche Bank.  Since 2013, Ms.Clinton has raked in $21 million in speaking fees.  Shouldn't Ms. Clinton be pressed by the media on her cozy relationship with the world's largest banks, especially since she has pledged to be tough on Wall Street's misdeeds?

State Department Email Probe

Mere days after the FBI and Justice Department whitewashed the investigation of Ms. Clinton's handling of classified material, the State Department announced it would resume its own probe of the same issue.  The department had shelved its investigation after the FBI announced it was conducting its examination.  State has promised to delve into whether Ms. Clinton and her staffers violated the department's rules for securing secret communications.  If the department finds sufficient evidence of violations, it has the authority to revoke Ms. Clinton's security clearance.  A vigilant media would be dogging the State Department for information about the investigation's progress because the president of the country must have access to classified information.  The outcome matters.

Tax Issue

When the Clinton Foundation was caught fiddling with its books, it was forced to admit last year that it needed to amend its tax filings for the years 2010 through 2013.  One of the egregious errors was the foundation's accounting of revenue for speeches given by Bill and Hillary Clinton.  The money paid to the Clinton's was reported as charitable contributions.  The fees should have been recognized as payments for services.  While the foundation was forced to restate its tax filings, Ms. Clinton should have been required to amend her own tax documents. Did Ms. Clinton also reconcile her tax filings for the years 2010-2013 to include the earnings from speeches previously unreported and has she paid additional taxes?

Clinton Connections to LaFarge

Most Americans have never heard of the French company LaFarge for good reasons.  The media has covered up allegations that Hillary Clinton's former employer LaFarge faces claims it channeled funds to ISIS.  Ms. Clinton once served as a director of Lafarge and has done legal work for the firm. LaFarge is an annual donor to the Clinton Foundation. During Ms. Clinton's service on the board, LaFarge was fined by the Environmental Protection Agency for pollution violations in Alabama and was embroiled in a flap over its us of hazard waste to fuel cement plants in the U.S.  Recently, LaFarge was implicated in negotiations with ISIS to allow the company to continue its operations in Syria.  Why would Ms. Clinton associate with a company with such a dubious environmental record? Did her foundation accept donations from LaFarge even after it became public the French firm was funneling cash to terrorists?

Of course, the media cabal will not even taken a whiff of these potential scandals.  Unfortunately, these are serious issues that matter about the integrity, honesty and qualifications of the nation's top officeholder. But a spat between Donald Trump and his latest victim is much more entertaining.

Hillary Clinton has already given the media its marching orders.  They are to destroy Mr. Trump's character and portray him as unfit for the office.  Don't expect the nation's press to deviate one iota from the Democrat candidate's script.