NY Post’s Bogus Report Insinuates Clinton Foundation “Gave” Money To Firm Owned By Rumored Clinton Mistress

Post: Clinton’s Foundation “Doled Out” $2 Million To Company Partly Owned By Woman Rumored To Be “Frequent Visitor To” Bill Clinton “Nicknamed ‘Energizer.’” In an article headlined “Clinton charity gave $2M to company owned by Bill’s ‘friend,’” the Post reported that the Clinton Global Initiative “doled out” the funds in question to Energy Pioneer Solutions, “a power company partly owned by a wealthy blond divorcée,” Julie Tauber McMahon, “about whom questions have been raised as to whether she is the frequent visitor to his home nicknamed ‘Energizer.’” The Post cites “rumor[s]” reported by the gossip site RadarOnline and Ronald Kessler’s book The First Family Detail. From the Post:

Bill Clinton’s foundation doled out $2 million to a power company partly owned by a wealthy blond divorcée about whom questions have been raised as to whether she is the frequent visitor to his home nicknamed “Energizer.”

The “commitment” to Julie Tauber McMahon’s firm from the Clinton Global Initiative was placed on its 2010 conference agenda at Clinton’s urging, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

[...]

McMahon owns 29 percent of Energy Pioneer Solutions, which was given the money to make people’s homes more energy efficient.

The fit, blond mother of three, who lives just minutes from Bill and Hillary Clinton’s home in Chappaqua, West­chester, is the daughter of Joel Tauber, a millionaire donor to the Democratic Party.

McMahon, 54, is rumored to be a woman dubbed “Energizer” by the Secret Service at the Clinton home because of her frequent visits, according to RadarOnline.

Secret Service agents were even given special instructions to abandon usual protocol when the woman came by, according to journalist Ronald Kessler’s tell-all book, “The First Family Detail.”

“You don’t stop her, you don’t approach her, you just let her go in,” says the book, based on agents’ accounts. [New York Post, 5/13/16]

Fox & Friends Highlights “Blond Bombshell” Story During Trump Interview. From the May 13 edition of Fox & Friends:

STEVE DOOCY: Donald Trump, Wall Street Journal did a story yesterday and it's the cover of the New York Post today where it talks about a “blond bombshell.” Apparently the Clinton charity has committed $2 million to Energy Pioneer Solutions, a company owned in part by this woman right here, a woman by the name of Julie McMahon, who describes herself as “a close personal friend of Bill Clinton,” lives in Chappaqua, not far from the Clintons, and apparently she has denied repeatedly being romantically involved, but she is the woman who has been rumored to have been dubbed the “Energizer bunny” by the Secret Service in Ron Kessler's book The First Family Detail. And he says, “You don't stop her, you don't approach her, you just let her go in” and apparently she has timed her arrivals and departures to Hillary's schedule. I'm wondering if you'd like to weigh in on this blond bombshell story.

DONALD TRUMP: Well, I know it's a rough story, and a lot of people know about it. People have been talking about it for a couple of years. And, you know, that's right next to my golf club, I have a great club up there, Trump national golf club, right literally a few minutes away. And people have been talking about that for years. I have no idea what went on. I certainly don't. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 5/13/16]

NBC’s Today Also Claimed Foundation “Doled Out $2 Million” To Company Co-Owned By Woman About Whom “The Journal Says Questions Have Been Raised.” NBC correspondent Peter Alexander reported that “former President Bill Clinton's foundation doled out $2 million to a power company that's partly owned by a wealthy divorcee, a woman by the name of Julie Tauber McMahon, about whom the [Wall Street] Journal says questions have been raised whether she's a frequent visitor to the Clinton's home.” From the May 13 edition of Today:

PETER ALEXANDER (CORRESPONDENT): Also this morning, The Wall Street Journal is just now reporting that former President Bill Clinton's foundation doled out $2 million to a power company that's partly owned by a wealthy divorcee, a woman by the name of Julie Tauber McMahon, about whom the Journal says questions have been raised whether she's a frequent visitor to the Clintons’ home. The paper says McMahon has denied having any intimate relationship with Clinton, says they are simply family friends. And Clinton, according to the Journal, says that there are many foundation participants who he considers friends. Secretary Clinton did not respond to the Journal's request for any comment. [NBC, Today, 5/13/16, via Media Matters]

Fox's Eric Bolling: “It's Not My Headline, It's This ‘Blond Bombshell’ Who Lives Near Bill Clinton.” The Five co-host Eric Bolling claimed that the Clinton Foundation gave out a “$2 million Clinton grant” to three owners of a company, one of whom he claimed “happens to be a neighbor of Bill Clinton in Chappaqua” while holding up the cover of The New York Post. Bolling added, “It’s not my headline, it’s this ‘blond bombshell’ who lives near Bill Clinton.” From the May 13 edition of Fox News’ The Five:

ERIC BOLLING (CO-HOST): But the problem comes in when this Andrew Tobias, OK? Andrew Tobias was one of three owners of the company that got the $2 million Clinton grant. But don't forget, there's also a federal grant associated with it too. So there was some money that came with the feds.Your tax dollars went to  this group. Tobias is a third of the owner,  29 percent or so. Julie, this girl who happens to be a neighbor of Bill Clinton in Chappaqua. was another owner of this as well --

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE (CO-HOST): That's a nice way of putting it --

BOLLING: Listen, it's not my headline, it's this “blond bombshell” who lives near Bill Clinton --

GUILFOYLE: Love thy neighbor, Bolling --

BOLLING: $2 million from Clinton, also somewhere around another million or $800,000 million federal grant. That just drips of crony capitalism and possibly, possibly corruption, and I think the federal part of it is the one that's going to get them hooked on this one. And I think that's -- just again, I've been saying this time and time again, this is just the tip of the iceberg with the Clinton Foundation and the Clintons. I think there's a lot of these pay-to-plays and a lot of favors being granted. [Fox News, The Five, 5/13/16]

Fox’s Geraldo Rivera Questions “The Personal Relationship Between The President And The 'Blond Bombshell.'” Fox News senior correspondent Geraldo Rivera claimed that according to The New York Post, “The other equal 29 percent owner of the energy power solutions company is that 'blond bombshell.'" He added, “She's kind of a bleach blond busty woman seen frequently at the Chappaqua estate." From the May 13 edition of Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor:

GERALDO RIVERA: That's The Wall Street Journal version of the story.  What makes it more of the -- show the tabloid headline of our colleagues at The New York Post. What gives it that spin is that the other equal 29 percent owner of the energy power solutions company is that “blond bombshell,” Julie Tauber McMahon, her dad a big donor, big Democratic donor. She’s kind of a bleach blond busty woman seen frequently at the Chappaqua estate, we are told by, you know, the book Kessler wrote about the Secret Service. She had the code name “Energizer.” So, the implication is that she is visiting the Chappaqua home. Is the First Lady, Secretary Of State, Senator Clinton home or not? I don't know the answer to that. I don't know if the personal relationship between the president and the “blond bombshell” had anything to do with the fact that the foundation has been giving money to the company that she owned almost a third of. But I can tell you this, that over $2 billion -- the big picture and the much more important story going forward toward the November election -- is that over $2 billion has been raised by the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative. Where has it gone? Is it mostly like this to cronies? Is there, you know, some aspects of it that will not withstand legal scrutiny? So far they say they’ve diligently vetted every one of their recipients. Every one of their beneficiaries. I think that needs to be tested.  [Fox News, The O’Reilly Factor, 5/13/16]

Clinton’s Foundation Did Not Give Any Money To McMahon’s Company

Wall Street Journal: $2 Million “Commitment” From Private Investor To Firm Was Announced At Clinton Global Initiative Event. A $2 million “commitment” from Canadian businesswoman Kim Samuel to invest in Energy Pioneer Solutions was announced during the Clinton Global Initiative’s 2010 annual conference, where the foundation announces “monetary commitments from corporations, individuals or nonprofit organizations to address global challenges,” according to the Wall Street Journal article cited by the Post. As the Journal indicates, no money from CGI itself went to the company. From the Journal:

The Clinton Global Initiative, at a Sept. 23, 2010, gathering in New York, announced a $2 million commitment to Energy Pioneer Solutions from Kim Samuel, a Canadian academic, philanthropist and a director and owner of the Samuel Group of Companies, which includes steel businesses. She appeared on stage. [The Wall Street Journal, 5/12/16]

Mistress “Rumor[s]” Based On Single Anonymous Source Reported By National Enquirer

Post Story Cites RadarOnline, Which Cites National Enquirer Story That Was Based On A Single Unnamed “Insider.” The Post reported that McMahon “is rumored to be a woman dubbed “Energizer” by the Secret Service at the Clinton home because of her frequent visits, according to RadarOnline.” The RadarOnline article that was cited aggregates a National Enquirer story saying that an unnamed McMahon family member told the tabloid that McMahon had a sexual relationship with Clinton. From RadarOnline:

In a shocking new tell-all The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents, author Ronald Kessler alleges that Bill Clinton is cheating on believed 2016 presidential hopeful wife Hillary with “a buxom blonde mistress” his Secret Service detail calls “the Energizer” — and now The National ENQUIRER can exclusively reveal her identity.

According to The Enquirer, Clinton, 67, has been sneaking trysts with wealthy divorcee Julie Tauber McMahon for years.

[...]

Though the 54-year-old mother of three has denied having a sexual relationship with Clinton, a family member claimed the rumors were true. [RadarOnline, 7/30/14]

“Energizer” Story Came From Discredited Trump Proponent Ron Kessler

Kessler Insinuated An Unnamed Woman Who Makes Frequent Visits To Clinton’s Home Is His Mistress, Citing Anonymous Secret Service Agents. As the Post noted, Kessler claimed in his book that a woman the Secret Service nicknamed “The Energizer” made frequent visits to Clinton’s Chappaqua, NY, home while Hillary Clinton was out of town. Kessler sourced his claim to an indeterminate number of anonymous Secret Service agents. [Ronald Kessler, The First Family Detail, pages 3-4, 2014]

Kessler’s Books Were Criticized as “National Enquirer-Style Gossip.” Reviewers have noted that Kessler’s books contain “National Enquirer-style gossip,” are “speculation-filled,” and “rel[y] too heavily on speculation, gossip, innuendo, and secondary sources.” His own publisher has hyped the “Page Six tidbits” in his work. [Media Matters, 7/31/14]

Kessler Was Chief Washington Correspondent For Right-Wing Conspiracy Website NewsMax. Kessler was once an investigative reporter at The Washington Post, but in 2006 he became chief Washington correspondent for the right-wing website NewsMax, which was founded by the chief proponent of conspiracy theories related to the suicide of Clinton White House aide Vince Foster. (Kessler himself has blamed Hillary Clinton for driving Foster to suicide.) During his tenure, NewsMax frequently promoted a wide variety of conspiracy theories, including that there were questions about President Obama's birth certificate. [Media Matters, 7/31/14]

Kessler Was Major Proponent Of A 2012 Donald Trump Presidential Run. Newsmax was an early and enthusiastic promoter of Trump's presidential ambitions, with Kessler playing a leading role in that effort. In early 2011, as Trump sought to promote a potential run for office as well as his belief that President Obama's birth certificate might be a forgery, Kessler produced articles with headlines including “Trump Says He Will Run For President,” “Don't Underestimate Donald Trump for President,” and “Trump to Announce His Run for President” (Trump ultimately decided not to run for president). [Media Matters, 7/31/14]