Report: Bill Clinton Pays Aides With Taxpayer Money

But so do the other ex-presidents
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 1, 2016 1:16 PM CDT
Report Digs Into Bill Clinton's Use of Taxpayer Money
Former President Bill Clinton waves to members of the public after participating in a meeting about economic issues last month in Salt Lake City.   (Chris Detrick/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

Bill Clinton used taxpayer money to pay the partial salaries of 10 of his aides, including one who helped set up Hillary Clinton's infamous private email server, according to a Politico investigation into thousands of pages of documents. The money comes from the General Services Administration through the 1958 Former Presidents Act, and Clinton also used it to get government benefits for some of his staff and to buy IT equipment. While the investigation didn't turn up anything illegal, it did show "how the Clintons blurred the line between their non-profit foundation, Hillary Clinton’s State Department, and the business dealings of Bill Clinton and the couple’s aides."

Since leaving the White House, Bill Clinton has requested $16 million through the Former Presidents Act, more than any of the other three ex-presidents during that time. He used some of that money to give about $10,000 per year to 10 aides for their work for him in his capacity as ex-president. The Clinton Foundation states no taxpayer money was used to pay aides for their work for the foundation. A Clinton aide says this is entirely in line with the intended use of the Former Presidents Act, which allows for the funding of staff, travel, correspondence, and more. A GSA rep says ex-presidents are given $96,600 per year for staff; it's up to them how they distribute it. But the GSA has turned down some requests from Clinton that appeared to be too tied in with the work of the Clinton Foundation. Read the full piece here. (More Bill Clinton stories.)

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