The AP's Big Expose on Hillary Meeting With Clinton Foundation Donors Is a Mess VOX

The media would like you to believe that the Clinton-Trump campaign has hit rock bottom but they can hold their heads high as ethical professionals just trying to promote truth.

No, dear media. You're in the cellar along with DC in terms of being loathed by Americans of all political persuasions. You will sugarcoat the truth, saying that your neutrality will always have people angry at you. But as VOX points out, the AP hit piece on Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation is a new low in journalism. At least Maureen Dowd's anti-Hillary diatribes are marketed as opinion.

The specific hit piece on the granting of favors between then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and donors to the Clinton Foundation has hit a new low for 'credentialed' media. I would expect it from Breitbart.

Nobel winner and founder of women's microfinance Muhammad Yunus receives 11 paragraphs in the AP story. I've met Dr. Yunus in conjunction with a Clinton Global Initiative event and have followed him for years. Many of us were concerned that Dr. Yunus would be imprisoned or worse yet -- executed -- when a new prime minister decided to take him on for trying to liberate' women in Bangladesh through his highly-acclaimed microfinance program. The highly decorated leader was accused of irregularity at Grameen Bank, not only for his efforts on behalf of women but over fears that he would start his own political party to try to clean up Bangladesh's government. The prime minister accused Dr. Yunus and his microlenders as being "bloodsuckers of the poor". Sounds like Trump, right?

NONE of this background is detailed in AP story, and only a few Americans would know the facts. Presumably, writers Stephen Braun and Eileen Sullivan have done no homework on why Dr. Yunus was reaching out to the Clintons for help OR the reality that they have been friends since Arkansas days.

Bill & Hillary Clinton brought Yunus to Arkansas in 1983 to learn more about how microfinance could be used in the state, and Bill Clinton talked about his work during his 1992 presidential campaign.

The vast majority -- if not all the money -- reported as donations by Yunus to CGI represent substantial membership fees that are paid to be a member of CGI.

Yesterday the authors threw their hands up in the air, saying they were only writing facts and not drawing any conclusions in their hit piece.

There may be NOWHERE else in the world with the caliber of professionals from business, education, philanthropy and activism who have gathered in New York every September for CHI meetings. I am furious with the AP story and all its insinuations -- and this is just one example. Melinda Gates, another of my heroes, was also hit.

These same media personalities then tee up the question for Hillary Clinton: why do voters think there's a perception problem with the Clinton Foundation?

You tell me, dear media. Why do you think??? ~ Anne

Quote from VOX: "More than a year ago, Jon Allen wrote for Vox about the special "Clinton Rules" that have governed much reporting on Bill and Hillary Clinton over the past 25 years. On the list are the notions that even the most ridiculous charges are worthy of massive investigation, that the Clintons’ bad faith will always be presumed, and that actions that would normally be deemed banal are newsworthy simply because the Clintons are involved.

The blockbuster AP story released Tuesday afternoon fits the model to a T."

Muhammad Yunus Is A Decades-Long Clinton Friend A Nobel Prize Winner. Donations Aren't Why She Met With Him Media Matters

Clinton Campaign Blasts 'Massive Misrepresentations' in AP Story Politico

No friend to Hillary Clinton, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell also cautioned yesterday on how to interpret the AP story regarding people who support the Clinton Foundation seeking meetings or a phone call with Hillary Clinton. Those two orbits intersect every day of the week and not for nefarious reasons. On CNN Wednesday morning, the Clinton campaign responded to CNN's Chris Cuomo:

As far as Donald Trump is concerned, Benenson made note of the Republican nominee's past $100,000 contribution to the foundation, sarcastically asking if he was "paying for play," as it has been suggested of the other donors.

"People give donations to this foundation because they believe in the work of this foundation," Benenson said. "And to say that meeting with 84 [sic] people out of 3,000 people over the span of your tenure says something you know, even inappropriate is going on I think is a completely flawed premise. And that's the problem with the AP report looking at this data, lumping together 85 people out of 3,000 that she met with, including people like a Nobel prize winner who's been awarded by the president and Congress for his work in the developing world, helping entrepreneurs start businesses and improve their lives. If that's wrong, then Donald Trump's living on another planet, which he may be anyway."

Hillary Clinton Leads Donald Trump by 12 Points in New Poll Huffington Post

Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 12 percentage points among likely voters, her strongest showing this month, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday.

The Aug. 18-22 poll results have 45% of voters supporting Clinton, while 33% back Trump ahead of the Nov. 8 election."

Trump Faces Hurdle With Minority Voters as Clinton Maintains Lead, Poll Shows NBC News

Hillary Clinton continues to hold a large national lead over Donald Trump, 50 percent to 42 percent, weeks after the Democratic National Convention.

Clinton's 8-pt advantage is in a steady state, virtually unchanged from her 9-point lead last week, in line with similar margins since the end of July. The latest NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking Poll among registered voters. The gender gap remains with Trump leading among men by 6 pts 49 pts to 43 pts and Clinton ahead among women by 21 pts -- 56 pts to 35 pts. Clinton's clear dominance among minority voters remains unchanged.