Firms that paid for Clinton speeches have US gov't interests

Most companies and groups that paid Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to speak between 2013 and 2015 have lobbied federal agencies in recent years, and more than one-third are government contractors, an Associated Press review has found.

The AP's review of federal records, regulatory filings and correspondence showed that almost all the 82 corporations, trade associations and other groups that paid for or sponsored Clinton's speeches have actively sought to sway the government — lobbying, bidding for contracts, commenting on federal policy and in some cases contacting State Department officials or Clinton herself during her tenure as secretary of state.

Presidents are not generally bound by many of the ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations that apply to non-elected executive branch officials, although they are subject to laws covering related conduct, such as bribery and illegal gratuities.

Rival presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders and Republican critics have mocked Clinton over her closed-door talks to banks and investment firms, saying she is too closely aligned to Wall Street to curb its abuses.

"The problem is whether all these interests who paid her to appear before them will expect to have special access when they have an issue before the government," said Lawrence M. Noble, general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based election watchdog group.

Clinton's two-year speaking tour, which took place after she resigned as secretary of state, "puts her in the position of having to disavow that money is an influence on her while at the same time backing campaign reform based on the influence of money," said Noble, a former general counsel at the Federal Election Commission.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization, which represents biotech and pharmaceutical firms, spent between $7 million and $8.5 million annually on lobbying since 2008, including contacts with the State Department — during Clinton's tenure — on the agency's biotech discussions with foreign governments.

The company has won nearly $50 million in government work since 2008, including $1.7 million from the State Department for lab equipment and data processing during Clinton's tenure.

Clinton sought to defuse the issue of her Wall Street speeches during a February debate with Sanders by explaining that she "spoke to heart doctors, I spoke to the American Camping Association, I spoke to auto dealers, and, yes, I spoke to firms on Wall Street."