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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton violated federal criminal statutes governingethical conduct by showing preferential treatment to political campaign donorsand Clinton Foundation financial supporters, according to a formal complaint filedby a watchdog group obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The nonprofit Foundation for !ccountability " Civic Trust filed a complaint on#anuary $ formally as%ing the &ffice of 'overnment (thics to conduct a )fullinvestigation* into Clinton+s )apparent breach of ethics rules,* according to thedocument.

The organiation charges Clinton gave )preferential treatment to individuals withwhich she had financial ties* and )regularly granted access* to billionaire donors,celebrities, and even powerful foreign nationals.

F!CT+s complaint comes in the wa%e of the State Department+s release ofthousands of Clinton emails that were on her private server and provide the first

public glimpse of how as Secretary of State mi-ed government business with anetwor% of rich and politically powerful donors.

F!CT, founded by former .S. !ttorney /atthew 0hita%er, charges Clinton withviolations of Title 1 of the .S. Code that governs the ethical conduct set forfederal officials.

Clinton was )allowing insider access, paytoplay politics where donors to theClinton Foundation got access to the Secretary of State,* said 0hita%er in aninterview with TheDCNF.

)There+s a growing narrative surrounding her in the way in which she doesbusiness,* he said. )(ssentially if someone wants to have access to her, theyneed to be a significant donor to her political campaigns or to her philanthropicendeavors.*

2ronically, Title 1 was codified from an (-ecutive &rder into federal law by herhusband, 3ill Clinton. The regulation became effective on February 4, 5664 andwas codified in 1 CF7, part 8941, the provision was invo%ed by F!CT in itscomplaint.

The law directs &'( to establish a clear set of e-ecutive branch standards for

ethical conduct and refer any criminal violation to the Department of #ustice.

Subpart 3 of the law cited by the organiation prohibits employees )fromsoliciting or accepting gifts from prohibited sources or gifts given because of theirofficial position,* according to the &'(+s website.

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)The term :prohibited source+ includes anyone see%ing business with or officialaction by an employee+s agency and anyone substantially affected by theperformance of the employee+s duties,* according to &'(.

)0hen ethics officials find evidence that an employee has violated an ethics

criminal statute or regulation, they must refer the that evidence to the appropriateauthority for action,* according to the law.

The names of the rich and powerful come up repeatedly in the thousands ofemails released by the State Department under a Freedom of 2nformation !ctre;uest by #udicial 0atch.

Clinton granted access to such people as billionaire 'eorge Soros,philanthropists 3ill and /elinda 'ates, designer Diane von Furstenberg and herhusband 3arry Diller, retired Citigroup Chairman Sanford 0eil, real estatemagnate 0alter Shorenstein, former !Cs supporting Clinton, according to the0ashington >ost.

)'eorg Soros is an-ious to see you before he leaves for (urope ne-t Tuesday,*an aide wrote to Clinton. )Could 2 fit him in for tomorrow,* the aide as%ed. )?es,*Clinton replied.

/elanne @erveer, a top Clinton aide who followed her from the 0hite House tothe State Department passed on to the Secretary the views of @ictor >inchu%, a%rainian &ligarch who married the daughter of former %rainian Communistpresident inchu% have personally met >inchu%, even attending his8B5 annualconference the he hosts at alace, the last 7ussian car+ssummer retreat on the 3lac% Sea. He has given at least =54 million to theClinton Foundation, according to the New ?or% Times.

Civic reform groups widely criticied Auchma+s presidency as riddled withcorruption and nepotism. The former communist leader was tainted withallegations by a %rainian prosecutor that he was tied to the grisly murder of aprominent antigovernment ournalist whose headless and mutilated body wasfound in 8BBB.

F!CT charges Clinton+s contacts with the rich and powerful with were not a singleevent, )but rather Clinton Foundation and political donors were regularly granted

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access to Secretary Clinton or one of her aides to discuss issues before theState Department.*

)The ethics laws re;uire that all citiens be treated e;ually and fairly bygovernment officials and that )citiens are confident in the impartiality and

integrity of the government,* F!CT states in their letter to &'(.

)The donors were able to meet with highran%ing State Department officials,voice their opinions, and advocate for certain government opinions,* the groupasserts.

(ven the mainstream media has reported on Clinton+s mi-ing of StateDepartment business with political donors.

)3ecause she and her family have raised so much money over the years fromwealthy individuals and maor corporations,* reported 0ashington >ost reporter

Tom Hamburger about Secretary Clinton in &ctober, 1 of last year, )her publicbusiness as secretary inevitably brought her in contact with private interests thathelped boost her family+s philanthropy and income.*