Despite Evidence, Clinton Strategist Insists Clinton Foundation was Transparent About Donors
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s chief strategist asserted the Clinton Foundation publicly discloses all its donors to Fox News’ host Chris Wallace Sunday.
Wallace asked Joel Benenson, chief strategist for the Clinton campaign, what his opinion was regarding pay to play allegations surrounding Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. There were reportedly 85 out of 154 private meetings where then-Secretary of State Clinton met with nongovernmental people. These individuals later became donors to the foundation.
Benenson responded to Wallace’s question saying, “No, No. 85 people out of over 2,000 people.”
WATCH:
The Associated Press findings are starkly different to Benenson’s claim. AP did a thorough review of Clinton’s calendar while she was acting secretary of state, and first reported that at least 85 out of 154 people from private interests donated to the family charity or pledged money to its programming following a meeting or phone conversation with Clinton.
Wallace attempted to steer Benenson back to the reported figures, saying “No, 85 out of 150.” Benenson stood firm, however, and said that “they only looked at a small sliver of the nongovernmental people she met with.” “The fact is the Clinton donation discloses all their donors,” Benenson concluded.
Whether or not the number of meetings he reports is true, his conclusion that the Foundation and its offshoots disclose all donors is incorrect.
Despite publicly claiming that the Foundation would annually disclose all donors in 2008 while she was acting secretary of state, its health initiative stopped making annual disclosures in 2010, Reuters reports.
The Clinton Health Access Initiative has failed to publicly report donors since 2010. While the initiative broke off as a separate entity in 2010, Clinton Foundation officials’ acknowledged it still remains subject to the same disclosure agreement, according to Reuters.
In May of 2015, the Foundation disclosed that it received in excess of $26 million in previously undisclosed speaking fees, The Washington Post reports. The payments came from previously undisclosed major corporations, universities, foreign investors, and other groups.
Donations surrounding the Uranium One deal remain undisclosed on the Foundation’s website. House Republicans reported in July that millions were funneled into the Clinton Foundation coffers by Uranium One when the company was attempting to secure oil rights in the Middle East and parts of the US. Bill and Hillary Clinton were integral players in Uranium One acquiring those rights.
The Clinton Foundation also goes so far as to conceal donor occupation and nationality, and makes it incredibly difficult to track trends in donations over time.
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