Hot Air is reporting today that an Associated Press review of speaking fees paid to Hillary Clinton showed that almost all of the companies that paid large fees had lobbied either the Obama Administration or the State Department.

The article reports:

Part of the premise of the AP’s research seems to be that people paying Clinton $200k plus per speech assumed her career in politics was not over when she left the State Department. As the AP puts it, “Their interests would follow Clinton to the White House should she win election this fall.”

Clinton has been under pressure to release transcripts of some of her speeches, especially by Bernie Sanders who has made it a regular part of his stump speech. Politico reported in February that Clinton’s speeches to Wall Street firms were nothing unusual but were very positive in a way that might not play well in a Democratic primary.

There is nothing wrong with being well paid for making speeches. However, buying influence is a different matter. I suspect Hillary Clinton is not the only Washington politician guilty of accepting large speaking fees from individuals or corporations attempting to influence policy. However, voters need to ask themselves whether they want to elect someone to the White House who has so obviously abused the system. The Clintons seem to have had the ability to leave the White House ‘broke’ and suddenly have a net worth that should make any Democrat blush. It really is time for them to ride quietly into the sunset.