Clinton family foundation may pose political risk for campaign
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks on Smart Power: Security Through Inclusive Leadership at Georgetown University in Washington Dec. 3, 2014. Family foundation may pose a threat to her anticipated 2016 presidential campaign. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS.
WASHINGTON The foundation launched by former President Bill Clinton more than a decade ago has battled HIV and AIDS in Africa, educated millions of children and fed the poor and hungry around the globe. It also has the potential to become a political risk for Hillary Rodham Clinton as she moves toward a second presidential campaign.
The former secretary of state has struggled with some recent bad headlines over large donations given to the foundation by foreign governments in the past two years, and the $200 million-plus the organization has raised since 2013, ahead of her anticipated White House campaign.
Republicans contend that foreign governments donating to a foundation led by a potential U.S. president creates unacceptable conflicts of interests. Also, the involvement of big money reinforces a long-standing narrative pushed by the GOP of the Clintons as a couple who frequently mix business and politics.
Unless Hillary Clinton immediately reinstates the ban on foreign countries giving to her foundation and returns the millions of dollars these governments have already donated, shes setting an incredibly dangerous precedent, said the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus. The American people are not about to elect a president in Hillary Clinton who could expose them to the demands of foreign governments because they dumped massive sums of cash into her foundation.
The foundation, which is scheduled to hold events in Morocco and Greece this spring, defended its financial support and addressed how it might function if Clinton runs for president. If she seeks office again, something taken as a given by most, the foundation said it would ensure its policies and practices are appropriate, just as we did when she served as secretary of state.
In 2009, when Clinton became President Barack Obamas chief diplomat, the foundation stopped raising money from foreign governments. The fundraising involving non-U.S. entities resumed in 2013, after she left the his administration.
The Wall Street Journal last week reported the foundation had received money in 2014 from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman and others. The Washington Post reported the charity has raised nearly $2 billion since the former president started it in 2001. About one-third of its donations of $1 million or more come from foreign governments or non-U.S. entities, the newspaper found.
Democrats say the Clintons can defend their work at the foundation because of its track record and history of tackling some of the worlds biggest problems, from AIDS and clean water to hunger, educational opportunities and the protection of endangered wildlife.
They also note that the foundation voluntarily discloses its donors nonprofits are not required to do and say there is no evidence the Clintons have used it to enrich themselves. Nearly 90 percent of the foundations money goes toward its programming.
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Clinton family foundation may pose political risk for campaign