To The Editor:

The Daily Freeman-Journal editorial concerning ethics in the Dec. 23, 2016 edition contains untruths about Hillary Clinton. According to FactCheck.org Hillary did not violate any ethics laws while Secretary of State. While some contributors to the Clinton Foundation may have requested a meeting with Secretary Clinton, access was controlled by the State Department. After investigating allegations, it was found there were no meetings with contributors who did not have legitimate reasons to speak with her. Many were turned away.

If you recall Republican strategist Lee Atwater and his philosophy that the way to run a campaign is to spread a rumor about an opponent, even if not true, and the opponent has to spend most of his/her time defending himself/herself against the lie. Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy admitted to reporters before the start of the last Benghazi investigation the purpose was to destroy Secretary Clinton’s reputation, thus making her a weaker Presidential candidate. He was next in line to replace John Boehner as Speaker of the House. After his honest admission he lost the chance to advance because Republicans refused to back him. It appears this strategy worked because so many Americans voted against Hillary, saying their reasons are Benghazi and emails. Ask these folks just what it is about these issues that bother them and they have nothing to back up this mantra of lies spread by Republican candidates. To be a responsible voter, please find out the details about issues.

As far as the Trump Foundation, the accountants who completed the tax returns for this organization, openly admitted on the form money was spent for items not allowed by the law. It’s proven Trump donated $25,000 from the foundation to the Florida Attorney General who was starting an investigation into Trump University. After receiving the campaign contribution she dropped the investigation. Trump has paid fines due to illegal contributions from his foundation. Also, he has not donated any money to his own foundation for 8 years, so he is spending donations from others to buy paintings of himself and make illegal contributions.

On his tax return that was disclosed, news organizations are focused on reporting his large business loss deduction, but just as significant is only $6,000 was shown as his income for that year. This was before his reality show started.

Linda Warren

Des Moines