HFA Statement on Trump’s Reported Violation of the US Embargo Against Cuba

Following revelations that Donald Trump may have illegally conducted business in Cuba during the embargo, Hillary for America  senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan released the following statement.

“Trump’s business with Cuba appears to have broken the law, flouted U.S. foreign policy, and is in complete contradiction to Trump’s own repeated, public statements that he had been offered opportunities to invest in Cuba but passed them up. This latest report shows once again that Trump will always put his own business interest ahead of the national interest – and has no trouble lying about it.”

The Trump campaign this morning:

Kellyanne Conway Was Asked Whether She Denied That Trump’s Company Spent Money In Cuba And Said “I Think They Paid Money, As I Understand From The Story, They Paid Money In 1998.” HOST: Are you denying that his company spent any money in Cuba? KELLYANNE CONWAY: I think they paid money, as I understand from the story, they paid money in 1998 – I know we’re not supposed to talk about years ago when it comes to the Clintons, but with Trump there is no statute of limitations.

Some of Trump’s comments on Cuba:

Trump Said European Investors “Have Asked Me To Take The ‘Trump Magic’ To Cuba.” “In a June 27 article in El Nuevo Herald (the Spanish-language version of the Miami Herald), New Jersey casino operator Trump revealed European investors ‘have asked me to take the “Trump Magic” to Cuba’ and build casino-hotels in Havana.” [New York Post, 7/11/99]

Trump Said He Would Earn Millions Of Dollars By Doing Business In Cuba But Would Lose His Self-Respect. “If he were to bypass the U.S. embargo this way, Trump said, ‘I could earn millions of dollars in Cuba. But I prefer to lose those millions than to lose my self-respect.’” [New York Post, 7/11/99]

1999: Trump Said He Would “Immediately Reverse The Move To Normalize Relations” With Fidel Castro And That “Normalization Is Pure Lunacy.” “I would also immediately reverse the move to normalize relations with the most abnormal political figure in our hemisphere: Fidel Castro. We have pushed him to the precipice with our embargo, helped of course by the withdrawal of Soviet backing. Now comes a movement, backed by State Department bureaucrats, to rescue Mr. Castro with U.S. dollars. The striped-pants set won’t like hearing this, but normalization is pure lunacy. If a right-wing dictator like Augusto Pinochet can be extradited and tried for his crimes against humanity, the same treatment is due Mr. Castro.” [Donald Trump, Wall Street Journal, 9/30/99]

2000: Trump On The Cuban Embargo: Cuba Will Be Freed By Ideas, Not By “Rapacious Businessmen Lining Castro’s Pockets And Propping Up His Oppressive Regime.” “Cuba will be freed by ideas, not by rapacious businessmen lining Castro’s pockets and propping up his oppressive regime.” [Donald Trump, The America We Deserve, 1/15/00]

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News Source: Newsweek, The Washington Post

Hillary Takes Part in Equal Pay Roundtable, Celebrates First Year of Campaign

Tuesday was Equal Pay Day and Hillary Clinton attended a round table event at Glassdoor where she outlined her plan to raise the wages of women across the country. She called for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act which would make it illegal for an employer to fire someone for finding out how much a co-worker makes. Clinton also said she would require every company to review its compensation and evaluate whether women are paid equally. She also vowed to work with states to ensure current equal pay statutes across the country are still being followed. Clinton called for more transparency saying, “There’s not enough transparency, and we don’t know exactly what the pay gaps are in many settings, predominantly in the private sector. We need to use the federal government, the Department of Labor and others, to really encourage more transparency, to get more public information.”

The conversation included: World Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Megan Rapinoe; Glassdoor CEO Robert Hohman; Make It Work Co-founder & Co-executive Director Tracey Sturdivant; Clayman Institute for Gender Research Executive Director Lori Nishiura MacKenzie; Gap Foundation President and Gap Sustainability Vice President Dan Henkle and award-winning journalist Diane Brady. A full video of the roundtable event is below and a transcript of Clinton’s remarks is available HERE.

Clinton then traveled to Florida where she attended three fundraisers. The first event was in Manalapan where she attended an event at the home of Marsha and Henry Laufer. Clinton’s second event was in Miami Beach and included a conversation with Congressman Joaquín Castro, Kristin Davis, and Raúl De Molina. Singer Carole King also performed at the event. The final event of the day was held at the Miami Beach home of Tiffany and Alex Heckler. Congressman Castro also attended the event with Hillary.

Today also marks one year since Clinton announced her plans to run for president. Since April 2015, Clinton has received millions in donations, leads in the race for the Democratic nomination, and has rolled out an comprehensive platform. To celebrate the occasion, Hillary for America has put together a fact page with information about the campaign and the donors. In fact, you can type in your name and see how many other donors share your first name! A lot has been accomplished in the last year, but it is a long road to November.

For all the latest, follow our revamped Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: Think Progress

Clinton Releases Cuba Statement

Today, President Barack Obama announced that the United States and Cuba would begin to exchange in normal diplomatic relations and that he would push for further reform of the US-Cuba policy. With the news came the release of prisoners in Cuba and the return of prisoners to Cuba. This included the release of Alan Gross, who had been imprisoned for five years.

While this move has been met with with some criticism, it is something that Hillary Rodham Clinton has called for. In her book, Hard Choices, Clinton called for an updated strategy in regard to Cuba. She released a statement tonight supporting this move stating:

“I am deeply relieved by Alan Gross’s safe return to the United States, and I support President Obama’s decision to change course on Cuba policy, while keeping the focus on our principal objective — supporting the aspirations of the Cuban people for freedom. It is great news that Alan is finally home with his family, where he belongs.

As secretary of state, I pushed for his release, stayed in touch with Alan’s wife, Judy, and their daughters, and called for a new direction in Cuba. Despite good intentions, our decades-long policy of isolation has only strengthened the Castro regime’s grip on power.

As I have said, the best way to bring change to Cuba is to expose its people to the values, information, and material comforts of the outside world. The goal of increased U.S. engagement in the days and years ahead should be to encourage real and lasting reforms for the Cuban people. And the other nations of the Americas should join us in this effort.”

News and Image Source: Politico

Council on Foreign Relations

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Hillary Rodham Clinton made an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. At the event, the primary topic was Cuba. Clinton spoke about ending the embargo on Cuba that has been in place since 1962. She said, “I think we should advocate for the end of the embargo. We should advocate for normalizing relations and see what they (Cuban officials) do.”

No video is currently available for this event, but one will be posted when/if available.

News Source: The Wall Street Journal