Bill Clinton Defends Foreign Donations to Clinton Foundation Foundation
http://www.wsj.com/articles/bill-clinton-defends-foreign-donations-to-clinton-foundation-1425776901?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
He had agreed to limit these donations during Hillary Clinton’s term as secretary of state
Former President Bill Clinton defended his foundation’s decision to accept money from foreign governments in an appearance Saturday, saying the charity does good work and that people can judge for themselves since the contributions are disclosed.
“You got to decide when you do this work whether it will do more good than harm if someone helps you from another country,” he said at the closing session of a Clinton Global Initiative event at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. “My theory about all this is disclose everything and then let people make their judgments.”
Mr. Clinton made his remarks in an onstage interview with comedian Larry Wilmore, who asked about the matter at the top of the session but didn’t press him on it. Outside observers have questioned the practice, saying foreign governments could be making contributions in hopes of currying favor with Mrs. Clinton, who is widely expected to run for president in 2016.
Mr. Clinton didn’t address that point. Rather, he said that he doesn’t have to agree with every policy of a country to accept contributions.
“We do get money from other countries and some of them are in the Middle East,” he said. “For example, the U.A.E. gave us money. Do we agree with everything they do? No, but they are helping us fight ISIS, and they built a great university with NYU.” Similarly, he said, “Do I agree with all the foreign policy of Saudi Arabia? No.” But he said that country is making advances in education for women and girls.
He said the money will be used for an endowment to provide for the foundation’s future support. “The money that we raise for next couple years for an endowment so all these programs will run forever even when I get to the point when I can’t raise the money every year,” he said. Some of it, he added, is from “people who have helped us before.”
The Journal reported that the foundation has set a goal of establishing a $250 million endowment, aimed at decreasing reliance on the former president’s personal fundraising efforts.
On Saturday, Mr. Clinton said some of the criticism involved money from friendly countries such as the U.K., Norway and Sweden. He described a program Germany supported to improve agriculture in Malawi. “I think it’s worth getting support for that,” he said.
ENLARGE “I believe we’ve done a lot more good than harm. And I believe this is a good thing,” he said. “I’m going to tell you who gave us the money and you can make up your own decisions.”
The Clinton Foundation does disclose its donors, which isn’t required by law. But the disclosure is limited; dates and exact amount of the donations aren’t disclosed. Donations are listed in value ranges and updated annually with only the previous year’s donor getting an asterisk by his or her name.
Earlier in the program, Mrs. Clinton appeared with their daughter, Chelsea, to promote next week’s release of a report by a branch of the foundation called No Ceilings. They said the report—which measures the world-wide progress of women and girls in political, civil, economic, social and cultural life—would show progress has been made but much work remains.
Mrs. Clinton didn’t address the controversy that swirled over the last several days over her decision to use a personal email while she was secretary of state, run by a server she controlled.
Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short issued a statement Saturday evening saying that Mrs. Clinton “has spent a week hiding from the press and voters who have serious questions about her commitment to transparency, ethics and national security. It’s clear that Hillary Clinton feels the rules that every other American lives by don’t apply to her, and today’s failure to answer these questions did nothing to allay any of these concerns.”
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