Clinton Foundation called to task for lack of transaprency

Responding to concerns about possible spill overs from the Clinton Foundation to her work as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton pledged transparency to protect against conflicts of interest involving corporations and foreign countries. Jonathan Swan, The Hill, August 27, 2016, documents seven ways the foundation failed to fulfill its promises: the Clinton Health Access Initiative didn’t disclose its donors annually; the Clinton Health Access Initiative didn’t submit foreign government donations to State Department ethics officials for review; the Clinton Foundation didn’t disclose a new $500,000 donation in 2010 from the Algerian government; the Clinton Foundation didn’t disclose $2.35 million of donations from a family foundation linked to a company with business before Clinton’s State Department; the Clinton Foundation was late in disclosing millions of dollars in speaking fees; the Clinton Foundation hasn’t revealed all of the sources of money transferred from a Canadian charity; and exact donation amounts and dates are unknown.

Peter Overby and Domenico Montanaro, National Public Radio, April 27, 2016, found that Bill Clinton’s claim that the Clinton Foundation was the most transparent of all foundations “oversimplifies.” The reporters admitted that the foundation lists all of its donors but pointed to press reports that the foundation had admitted errors in its reporting.