Clinton Foundation won't accept foreign, corporate donations if Hillary is elected
Foundation has raised more than $2B US but has come under fire for foreign, State Department ties
Hillary Clinton's family foundation will no longer accept foreign and corporate donations if she is elected president, and will bring an end to its annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting regardless of the outcome of the November election.
Former President Bill Clinton made the announcement at an afternoon meeting with foundation staff members, according to participants who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement.
Bill Clinton said the foundation plans to continue its work, but intends to refocus its efforts in a process that will take up to a year to complete. The former president, who turns 70 on Friday, said he will resign from the board, and the foundation will only accept contributions from U.S. citizens and independent charities.
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It will no longer take money from any foreign entity, government, foreign or domestic corporations, or corporate charities.
At the staff meeting, Clinton said he and his daughter, Chelsea, did not face any external pressure to make the changes, but wanted to avoid any potential issues or second guessing for Hillary Clinton should she move into the White House.
The future of the Clinton Foundation has been one of the overarching questions shadowing Clinton's campaign.
The sprawling charitable network, founded after Bill Clinton left office in 2001, has raised more than $2 billion US for initiatives focused on global health, climate change, economic development and increasing opportunities for women and girls.
While Hillary Clinton stepped down from its board after launching her 2016 campaign, her husband and daughter have remained in leadership roles, prompting questions about the ability of the organization to continue its work should Clinton win the White House.
Foreign donations first curbed in 2015
Some of the group's funding has come from foreign donations and political donors to the Clinton family. Money accepted from countries such as Saudi Arabia drew scrutiny from both Republicans and Democrats early in Clinton's presidential bid.
When Clinton served as secretary of state, the foundation reached an agreement with the Obama administration to prohibit, and in some cases curtail, foreign donations to its programs.
But questions persist about the level of influence foundation donors had at the State Department. That criticism intensified after emails from Clinton's time at the department were made public as part of a lawsuit.
After she left the State Department, the foundation resumed accepting donations from overseas. Bowing to pressure in April 2015, the group announced that it would restrict donations to only six Western nations and disclose its donors more frequently.
Members of the Clinton Foundation board met earlier in the day to ratify the changes.
In September, the former president will convene his 12th and final Clinton Global Initiative, an annual meeting that has included Obama, foreign heads of state, corporate leaders and celebrities to discuss commitments aimed at addressing poverty, health care, education, climate change and other topics. The foundation has estimated that commitments by its members have improved the lives of more than 430 million people in more than 180 countries.
Bill Clinton said that similar meetings like the Clinton Global Initiative America and CGI International will end with next month's meeting. He said he was hopeful that his organization could continue CGI University, an annual meeting of college students held on a college campus.