“There was no quid pro quo or anything like that here”, said Robbie Mook on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday addressing newly released emails that critics say raise questions about the ties between the Clintons’ family foundation and their work in government.
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“The Clinton Foundation is clearly a liability for Hillary Clinton as she seeks the presidency”.
Mook repeatedly called the foundation’s decisions on separating its work from the political careers of the Clintons “unprecedented”.
“The foundation is doing an enormous amount of work, and it takes time when you’re in a number of countries around the world to retool, refocus the mission, and adapt”, Mook said, noting the foundation’s work includes fighting AIDS and malaria.
Mook neglected to mention that Clinton has likewise faced scrutiny for ethically suspect ties to Russian Federation through her family’s foundation.
When Mook was asked directly whether the level of transparency with the Clinton Foundation was what could be expected of a Clinton stint in the Oval Office, Mook replied that “at every juncture, the foundation has gone above and beyond what is usually in place in terms of ethics and rules for a foundation like this”.
Even if those steps will eventually prove necessary to avoid actual or apparent conflicts of interest, he suggested the foundation isn’t going further unless Clinton became president. “We now need Donald Trump to explain to us the extent to which the hand of the Kremlin is at the core of his own campaign”.
Mook pointed out that when President George W. Bush came into office, “you never heard people asking questions about his family’s foundation, which was a very similar situation, and members of his family remained on the board of his foundation while he remained president”.
The foundation said Thursday it would not accept corporate or foreign donations were Hillary Clinton elected, and former President Bill Clinton will also stop giving paid speeches. “This was someone who had a relationship with the Clintons long before Hillary Clinton became secretary of state”.
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The email in question from Doug Band was coming from his private email account. or his Clinton.com email account.
