http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/dem-primaries/242291-clintons-made-more-than-25-million-in-speaking-fees-sinceBill and Hillary Clinton have made more than $25 million in speaking fees since the start of 2014, The Hill has confirmed.
Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, filed a financial disclosure report to the Federal Election Commission on Friday detailing the earnings. The figures come from that report, which was reported on by multiple publications before being released publicly and was confirmed by a Clinton spokesman.
Those speaking fees came from around 100 speeches since 2014. Hillary Clinton also made $5 million or more from her book, “Hard Choices,” during the same time period.
The Clintons’ effective tax rate in 2014 was over 30 percent, according to Bloomberg, and the couple did not have any capital gains on their investments.
The Clintons’ finances have been a source of significant scrutiny since Hillary Clinton’s last bid for the White House in 2008, as both have been in high demand on the lavish speaking circuit.
She's filed personal financial disclosure forms throughout her Senate career, as well as others during her previous bid for president and as secretary of State.
Hillary Clinton stopped giving paid speeches as she neared her presidential announcement. But Bill Clinton defended his decision to continue on the speaking circuit during his wife’s candidacy in an interview this month with NBC News.
“I got to pay our bills,” he said when asked why he wants to continue taking paid speaking roles. Clinton also noted he gives about 10 percent of his yearly revenue to the Clinton Foundation.
"The Clintons' claim that staggering amounts of income from paid speaking fees that raise ethical questions and potential conflicts of interest is simply to 'pay our bills' shows how out-of-touch they've truly become,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement Friday evening.
