in a period during which , among other controversies , he again refused to release his taxes , insulted the family of a war hero , claimed that Russia had not invaded Ukraine – two years after it had , said his daughter should “ find another company ” if sexually harassed and briefly claimed to have seen a nonexistent video of cash shipments to Iran . Republicans have tried to tie Clinton ’s foreign policy to that money , $ 400 m owed to pre - revolutionary Iran for a failed arms deal in the 1970s , describing it as “ ransom ” for hostages who were freed in January , around the time of delivery and sanctions relief for a nuclear arms deal . Clinton began tentative nuclear talks with Iran but the money dispute predated her and was concluded by her successor as secretary of state , John Kerry , who also oversaw the hostage release .
The United States later vaulted past Russia to become the world ’s largest natural gas producer . As a result , prices dropped to record lows , and America began to wean itself from coal , along with oil and gas imports , which lessened its dependence on the Middle East . The surging global gas supply also helped shrink Russia ’s economic clout : profits for Russia ’s state - owned gas company , Gazprom , plummetedmovement.transportartifact.fallby more than 60 % between 2008 and 2009 alone . Clinton , who was sworn in as secretary of state in early 2009 , believed that shale gas could help rewrite global energy politics . “ This is a moment of profound change , ” she later told a crowd at Georgetown University .