Fact Checker: Did the Clinton Foundation pay for Chelsea's wedding? [View all]

By Glenn Kessler January 4 at 3:00 AM

“Clinton aide says Foundation paid for Chelsea’s wedding.”
–Fox News headline, Nov. 6, 2016

The 2016 presidential election is over, but two readers separately sent The Fact Checker a query about a news report that apparently swayed some voters at the last minute.

“I was a Hillary Clinton supporter, but since the election have heard from several people who voted for Donald Trump that the final straw for them were the news reports that Hillary Clinton was taking money directly for her personal use out of the Clinton Foundation and that the foundation paid for Chelsea Clinton’s wedding and virtually financially supported her. I follow news very closely and was not aware of either of these specific charges. … I know the election is over, but I would love to know the real facts.”

“I recently visited friends in upstate NY and, as everywhere nowadays, the dinner conversation turned to the 2016 presidential election. Our upstate hosts and all but one of the upstate guests relayed ‘facts’ they had read about in the media that supported their decision not to vote for Hillary Clinton and to vote instead for Donald Trump. These Trump supporters were a lawyer and his girlfriend, a judge, and a CPA. They asserted that their support for Trump was buttressed by media reports they had read that the Clinton Foundation had paid for all or part of Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. What can you tell me and your readers about assertions that the Clinton Foundation paid for all or part of Chelsea Clinton’s wedding?”

The Facts

This allegation first emerged in a tweet by WikiLeaks, which highlighted a 2012 email from a former Bill Clinton aide to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. “Chelsea Clinton used Clinton Foundation resources for her wedding,” the group tweeted the Sunday morning before election day.

-snip-

Intelligence agencies have identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Podesta. WikiLeaks had been doling out leaks for weeks but presumably held on to this one for maximum impact just before Election Day.

The only U.S. newspaper that reported the story was the New York Post, which ran this print-edition headline: “Bridal $weet for Chelsea; Foundation cash for nups.”

-snip-

The Pinocchio Test

It’s important to remember that Band’s email was sent privately, with little expectation it would be aired publicly. On the one hand, that might indicate he would be more open about possible conflicts. But he was also feuding with Chelsea Clinton and so might have been inclined to exaggerate or embellish his concerns.

Even the email, at face value, does not justify the hyperbolic news coverage. There was no reference to foundation monies, just “resources.”

At the same time, the foundation, the family and the wedding planner deny the claim made in the email. This was a major social event with 450 guests, something that has to run on clockwork — at great cost. The wedding planner paid the bills and submitted one bill to the Clinton family.

We can’t really award Pinocchios here, since no specific person repeated this allegation. But we can fault the news reporting — and label this as a claim lacking any evidence. Readers (or their friends) who viewed this as the “last straw” about Clinton corruption need to be more careful consumers of the news.

No Evidence

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/04/did-the-clinton-foundation-pay-for-chelseas-wedding/?utm_term=.f3abae578bd9&wpisrc=nl_politics&wpmm=1