Ericsson Pays Bill Clinton $750,000 for Speech, Wins Iran Sanctions Exemption

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Obama administration excluded the telecom giant Ericsson from sanctions against Iran after Ericsson paid former US President Bill Clinton $750,000 for a speech, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told supporters at a campaign rally in Wilmington, Ohio on Thursday.

"I wonder why?" Trump asked, albeit without directly accusing rival candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of any impropriety.

Instead, Trump said the Ericsson connection is but one example of corruption when Clinton served as the top US diplomat from 2009 to 2013.

"No issue better illustrates how corrupt my opponent is than her pay-for-play scandals as secretary of state," Trump said.

According to Trump, in June 2011, the State Department began compiling a list of items to be included in a list of proposed anti-terror sanctions against Iran — the period in which Bill Clinton received the speaking fee.

In April of the following year, President Barack Obama issued an executive order banning telecom equipment sales to Syria and Iran, exempting Ericsson’s work in Iran, Trump noted.

Trump has made official corruption a centerpiece of his campaign appearances, drawing on press reports of links between the Clinton State Department, the Clinton Foundation and in this case, a paid speech to Bill Clinton.

Hillary Clinton has denied any connection between her work as secretary of state and US government policies that ultimately benefitted big-ticket donors connected to her family’s foundation.