Did Hillary Clinton change her stance on Indian nukes for donations?

Clinton campaign calls allegations ‘conspiracy theory’; points out contradictions in authors claims

Hillary Clinton changed her stance on a 2008 nuclear agreement between India and the United States after Indian business and government interests supplied various Clinton enterprises with cash, a new book alleges.

To be launched on May 5, the book – Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Help Make Bill and Hillary Rich – will look at financial arrangements between the Clintons and foreign entities, focusing on the $2 billion Clinton Foundation and Hillary’s years as the secretary of state.

“[I’ll be] subjected to all kinds of distractions and attacks, and I’m ready for that. I know that that comes, unfortunately, with the territory,” Hillary told reporters last month, addressing the controversy surrounding the book.

Clinton’s team has also responded to various reports about the book’s content.

‘Indian Nukes’

A chapter obtained by the media, “Indian Nukes: How to Win a Medal by Changing Hillary’s Mind,” highlights the case of an Indian-American donor hotel tycoon Sant Singh Chatwal who pleaded guilty in April 2014 to illegal contributions during Clinton’s 2008 campaign. The donor received an award from the Indian government for making efforts to secure the agreement.

Hillary Clinton with hotel tycoon Sant Singh Chatwal. PHOTO COURTESY: CAPITOL HILL BLUE

The chapter lists a series of donations to the Clintons from Indians who supported the nuclear deal.

“In 1998 the Indian government conducted nuclear tests, Bill Clinton imposed restrictions on the export of US nuclear technology, because this violated the non-proliferation treaty — Hillary Clinton supported that position,” the author of the book Peter Schweizer said on MSNBC earlier this week. “After 2005, a number of Indian interests, including an Indian politician that admits now that his donation to the Clinton Foundation wasn’t even his money, those donations flowed. In 2008, she reverses course and supports the export of US nuclear technology.”

‘Conspiracy theory’

“Clinton Cash is attempting to rewrite history to fit a predetermined partisan narrative,” Clinton campaign spokesperson Josh Schwerin told POLITICO. “It only takes a quick look at Hillary’s actual voting record and statements to see that this conspiracy theory doesn't even come close to passing the smell test.”

While Schweizer writes that “Hillary was still a reluctant and questionable supporter of the bill” in 2006, in June of the same year Clinton, a founding member of the Senate India caucus, issued a press release announcing her intention to vote for the legislation.

“As India continues to grow stronger and to shoulder more of the responsibilities that come with being a leading nation in the world, we must continue to work towards greater cooperation with our Indian friends to deal with our common challenges in security, energy, economics and health,” she wrote. “I hope that this agreement is just the first step on that journey that our countries, and our people, will take together.”