Nonprofit Think Tank Finances Hillary’s Travel

Hillary Clinton’s duties as an east coast senator were often disrupted to visit the Midwest city vying to host next year’s Democratic convention and a liberal nonprofit, headed by her husband’s former deputy secretary of state, financed most of the trips.

The city most visited by Clinton and her staff was Denver Colorado, potential host of the 2008 Democratic convention, and the Washington D.C.-based think tank, Brookings Institution is the special interest that provided most of the cash for her lavish travel arrangements.

Newly released travel disclosures for the 2006 cycle reveal that Clinton and her staff took a total of 35 trips at a cost of $77,526.95, including a single jaunt to an undisclosed city for a whopping $11,215.00. The Brookings Institution provided a total of $45,508.00 during the cycle.

Known for its Iraq index (a tally of deaths in Iraq), the Brookings Institution bills itself as an independent research and policy organization financed through an endowment and the support of philanthropic foundations, corporations and private donors. Although it gave Clinton nearly $50,000, the nonprofit claims that all funds are devoted to carrying out its research and educational activities.

A few years ago, Strobe Talbott, Bill Clinton’s longtime friend and Deputy Secretary of State, became president of the Brookings Institution. Talbott, a former magazine journalist who was tight with a top KGB agent, was heavily criticized for creating a “Cub Scout” policy toward Russia when that country was still a threat to the United States.