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After the Clinton Foundation announced it would reconsider its acceptance of contributions from international governments only if Hillary Clinton runs for president, the The New York Times editorial board urged Clinton not to wait.

The editorial, published Friday, suggested that reinstating the foundation's 2009 ban on donations from international governments would "reassure the public that the foundation will not become a vehicle for insiders' favoritism, should she run for and win the White House," given the "substantial overlap" between foundation contributors and Clinton campaign bundlers and donors. At this point, there has been no allegation of a conflict of interest between the foundation and the as yet undeclared Clinton campaign.

The editorial was a response to the Clinton Foundation's statement Thursday, which read, "Should Secretary Clinton decide to run for office, we will continue to ensure the Foundation's policies and practices regarding support from international partners are appropriate, just as we did when she served as Secretary of State."

While Clinton served as secretary of state, starting in 2009, the foundation had imposed restrictions on raising new money from international governments, in order to address potential conflicts of interest between the foundation and the Obama administration. But the Wall Street Journal reported this week that the foundation had lifted those self-imposed restrictions and that governments like Saudi Arabia and Oman had contributed millions to the foundation. This raised concerns about conflicts of interest, given Clinton's expressed interest in another presidential bid.

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Following the Journal's report, Republican groups questioned the ethics of accepting the foreign donations and called on the foundation to return them. "The for sale sign is still up, and as long as the Clinton Foundation continues to take foreign money, Hillary's conflict-of-interest problem is just going to keep getting bigger," argued a blog post on the website of the Republican National Committee.

The Clinton Foundation has been accepting money from several foreign nations since 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal. Foundation Spokesman Craig Minassian defended the organization's acceptance of foreign donations, and said to the Journal in a statement, "The Clinton Foundation is a philanthropy, period." He added that the foundation has "strong donor integrity and transparency practices," which include disclosing all donations on its website.

The Washington Post reports that the Clinton Foundation has raised almost $2 billion since 2001, for philanthropic programs to empower women and girls, fight disease, and address other global needs.

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Clinton Foundation defends foreign fundraising

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HILLARY CLINTONS COMPLEX CORPORATE TIES: Among recent secretaries of state, Hillary Clinton was one of the most aggressive global cheerleaders for American companies, pushing governments to sign deals and change policies to the advantage of corporate giants such as General Electric, Exxon Mobil, Microsoft and Boeing. At the same time, those companies were among the many that gave to the Clinton familys global foundation set up by her husband, former President Bill Clinton. At least 60 companies that lobbied the State Department during her tenure donated a total of more than $26 million to the Clinton Foundation, according to a Journal analysis of public and foundation disclosures.

As Mrs. Clinton prepares to embark on a race for the presidency, she has a web of connections to big corporations unique in American politicsties forged both as secretary of state and by her familys charitable interests. Those relationships are emerging as an issue for Mrs. Clintons expected presidential campaign as income disparity and other populist themes gain early attention. James V. Grimaldi and Rebecca Ballhaus report.

Plus: The Clinton Foundation said that if Hillary Clinton runs for president, it will consider whether to continue accepting contributions from foreign governments, a step that would be aimed at avoiding the appearance of conflicts of interest.

Compiled by Rebecca Ballhaus

NEIL KING JR.S EARLY HIT: WHITE HOUSE ISNT SHY ABOUT ITS OWN DYNAMIC SCORING The president delivered a lot of good newsnumber of jobs up, unemployment and deficits downin his annual (and bulky) Economic Report of the President, which he sent to Congress Thursday.The report, a tradition going back to 1947 under Harry Truman, also contained a fair dollop of wishful thinkingor what some might call the administrations own dynamic scoring.Read Neil King Jr.s full post on Washington Wire.

STORIES YOU SHOULDNT MISS THREE MONTHS LATER, STATE DEPARTMENT HASNT ROOTED OUT HACKERS: Three months after the State Department confirmed hackers breached its unclassified email system, the government still hasnt been able to evict them from the departments network. Government officials, assisted by outside contractors and the National Security Agency, have repeatedly scanned the network and taken some systems offline. But investigators see signs of the hackers on State Department computers, and each time investigators find a hacker tool and block it, the intruders tweak it slightly to attempt to sneak past defenses. It isnt clear how much data the hackers have taken. Danny Yadron reports.

OBAMA: ISLAMIC STATE DEFEAT HINGES ON STABLE SYRIA: President Obama suggested that U.S. and international efforts to degrade and ultimately destroy Islamic State may only be achieved after a political transition in Syria. Mr. Obama said the civil war in Syria gave rise to the militant group and charged President Bashar al-Assad with stoking sectarian tensions. Mr. Obama also said the lack of inclusion in Iraqs previous government helped boost Islamic State militants there. The administration, however, has already succeeded in facilitating a government transition in Iraq. Carol E. Lee, Felicia Schwartz and Byron Tau report.Plus: The U.S. estimates it will take as many as 25,000 Iraqis to dislodge up to 2,000 Islamic State fighters from Mosul The West is rebuffing Egypts proposals for military intervention in Libya Yemens political factions agreed to a new legislative setup Friday after United Nations-brokered talks.

WHITE HOUSE SEES WORKFORCE AS BEST BET TO TACKLE DEFICITS: The White House has a new tack for dealing with rising deficits: try to boost the workforce and its productivity in the hopes of muddling through the surge of retirees that will strain the social safety net for the next 20 years. Rather than seek to balance the budget and sharply reduce the debt, President Obamas economic advisers now say the focus should be to stabilize the debt through the aging of the baby boomers. That argument is aimed at blunting criticism that the White House has recoiled from the kind of unpopular entitlement curbs both parties have said will be needed to cut deficits. Nick Timiraos reports.Plus: The White Houses growth proposals at a glance The economy according to the White House, in 10 charts.

ALSO IN THE NEWS: The FDA issued a warning for a type of endoscope widely used in hospitals that has been linked to an outbreak of a drug-resistant bacterial disease and may have contributed to two deaths and the possible infection of as many as 179 others in Los Angeles A panel of nutrition experts that will issue thenext set of U.S. dietary guidelinessaid the government should consider the environment when deciding what people should eat. The focus on sustainable diets is angering the meat industry New research is adding to scrutiny of a surgical tool called the laparoscopic power morcellator that the FDA has warned against using in a vast majority of cases The crude-oil train that derailed and exploded in West Virginia was traveling well below the tracks speed limit Wal-Marts move to boost pay for its U.S. employees to at least $10 an hour by next year could signal a turning point for what have been stubbornly stagnant wages since the recession ended almost six years ago The Federal Trade Commission sued to block Sysco Corp.s planned acquisition of rival US Foods Inc. An influential Florida state senator who supports Jeb Bushs likely presidential bid is recommending a primary on March 15 President Obama returned to Chicago to try to inject some last-minute momentum into Rahm Emanuels re-election bid President Obama tapped State Department spokeswomanJennifer Psaki to head the White House communications operation The American Postal Workers Union is making a big ask as part of contract talks with the U.S. Postal Service: It wants the post office to expand customer offerings to include financial services European leaders stood by the cease-fire they brokered a week ago for Ukraine, even as the U.S. said Russian equipment and troops continued to flow into the country Meanwhile, as retreating Ukrainian troops pour into the city of Artemivsk, residents fear fighting will follow.

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Capital Journal Daybreak: Hillary Clintons Complex Corporate Ties | White Houses Dynamic Scoring | The State ...

The negative headlines for Hillary Clinton have come fast and furious in recent weeks: Public in-fighting at her affiliated PACs. Trouble with fundraising targets. Donations from foreign governments.

But count the most committed Democratic party officials as unperturbed by and in many cases unaware of the fallout.

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At the Democratic National Committees winter meeting on Thursday, attendees unanimously expressed indifference to the spate of bad news. Instead, the only point of disagreement was whether a competitive presidential primary was desirable for the party, though attendees expressed confidence that Clinton would be prepared regardless, drawing on circus metaphors to describe the boisterous Republican field vying to take on the former secretary of state.

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported on a fundraiser for pro-Clinton organizations that charges a commission, a controversial practice in politics. Last week, Clinton loyalist David Brock resigned from the board of Priorities USA, a pro-Clinton super PAC, saying its leaders had planted the Times story to undermine his pro-Clinton groups. Then, POLITICO reported that Priorities was having trouble meeting fundraising goals, in part because other Clinton groups were tapping out donors. Finally, this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Clinton Foundation had ended its policy of declining to accept gifts from foreign governments, raising questions about the appearance of undue influence on Clinton.

But the stories have apparently done little to penetrate Democratic leaders confidence. Even among the group of people who are prone to anxiety attacks, I have not been getting phone calls, said Roy Temple, chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party. I pay a lot more attention to the fundamentals than I do to day-to-day dramas.

Things that are happening today are going to have no impact in November 2016, said Alan Clendenin, vice chair of the Florida Democratic Party, who sported a Clinton pin on his lapel.

We listen to that chatter, but we dont necessarily let it drive the long-term decision-making, said Jaxon Ravens, chair of the Washington Democratic Party.

Raymond Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party and vice chair of the DNC, said recent headlines are small potatoes compared to the controversies Clinton has ridden out in the past. Theyve thrown everything and the kitchen sink at her in the last 20 years, and she has survived and thrived, he said.

Several attendees said any controversy about funding for the Clinton Foundation would be outweighed by the worked it conducted around the world. Its beloved, Jaime Harrison, chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said of the foundation.

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DNC members unfazed by Clinton stories

Benghazi Committee: Trey Gowdy Says Hillary Clinton #39;Needs To Be Talked To #39;
Jan. 27, 2015 Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, said he still intended to summon former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton...

By: American Born Republic

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Benghazi Committee: Trey Gowdy Says Hillary Clinton 'Needs To Be Talked To' - Video

Casey Wilson: Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton?
Find out if Casey likes Big or Aidan, New York or LA, Bill or Hillary, and more when she plays a game of #39;This or That #39; with us. Want to see more EW videos? ...

By: Entertainment Weekly

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Casey Wilson: Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton? - Video