This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Dennis Wright ("Russian connections," May 31) may think he's making valid points about Donald Trump's dealings vs. the Clintons' dealings with the Russians, but his arguments are specious. I started my research on his letter by Googling "U.S. politicians' paid speeches in Russia." The first page that came up was an opinion piece from "fair and balanced" Fox News and contained every talking point that Wright made in his letter.
Yes, Bill Clinton received $500,000 dollars for speaking in Moscow. He has received that hefty fee for talks in many places, as well as $750,000 for a speech in Hong Kong. But that is insignificant compared to the $1.5 million-per-speech that Forbes magazine reports Donald Trump received for a series of real estate seminars.
In reading about the nondisclosure of donors to the Clinton Foundation I find nothing to be alarmed about, especially when considering that the Clinton Foundation has a four-star rating from Charity Navigator and much of the donations to the Trump Foundation went into Trump's own pockets.
After examination of the facts, one can find that John Podesta was working on the board of Joule Unlimited Technologies. That company received a $35 million investment from a Russian company well before he joined the Obama administration and the Clinton campaign. This transaction was not illegal and Podesta certainly did not personally receive the $35 million.
The supposed scandal about Hillary Clinton's uranium deal has been blown all out of proportion by the far right. In 2010 Rostatom, Russia's nuclear agency bought 51 percent stake in Uranium One. The deal needed permission from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, on which Clinton sat. Here's a quote from Newsweek (March 28): "Clinton had no power of veto or approval over the deal. She was one of nine members of the committee, and in any case, only the president has veto power. Second, the vast bulk of the donations the Clinton Foundation allegedly received came from a man called Frank Giustra, the company's founder. But Giustra sold off his stake in the company in 2007, before the deal went through and before Clinton became secretary of state."
I do not trust news sources that manufacture fake news and self-serving opinions. Fact check both far right and far left "experts." Try doing your research from trustworthy sources.
Charlotte Andersen
Taylorsville