WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday sought to link Hillary Clinton’s vote, as Senator in 2008, for the India-US nuclear deal to donations to the Clinton Foundation by Samajwadi Party politician Amar Singh.
These donations, from $1 million to $5 million, and the “potential for appearances of conflict” were first reported by The New York Times in 2008 shortly after the deal was approved by the US Congress. A framework for the India-US civil nuclear agreement was signed by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W Bush in 2005, but the deal was concluded in 2008 after Senate ratification.
Clinton, who had co-founded the Senate India caucus, backed the deal, which passed by a 86-13 vote. In a 35-page note, “Top 50 Facts About Hillary Clinton,” the Trump campaign reproduced portions of the NYT report.
“The potential for appearances of conflict was illustrated by Amar Singh, a politician in India who gave $1 million to $5 million. Mr. Singh visited the US in September to lobby for a deal allowing India to obtain civilian nuclear technology even though it never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. He met with Mrs. Clinton, who he said assured him that Democrats would not block the deal. Congress approved it weeks later.”