Toner said the State Department believed there was “no impropriety” in foundation officials seeking to meet Clinton, saying any secretary of state or aides get such requests from a wide range of people.
Advertisement
It was not clear whether Trump was commenting on this particular investigation or on the latest batch of emails released Monday, which raised questions about whether Clinton’s advisor Huma Abedin had provided foundation donors with special access to the secretary of state.
“No matter how this group tries to mischaracterize these documents, the fact remains that Hillary Clinton never took action as Secretary of State because of donations to the Clinton Foundation”, he said.
Five House committees and two Senate committees have investigated the Benghazi incident and Ms. Clinton’s responsibility and responses, including her use of an unauthorized private email server, a decision she has said was wrong and one she regrets.
The State Department previously agreed voluntarily to hand over emails to or from Clinton in her official capacity as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013.
“I think that the announcement that the foundation has made really reflects its desire to continue as much of its important work as possible, but to do it in a way that provides great disclosure”, Clinton explained.
The Trump campaign is making the case that the Clinton Foundation pledge not to accept foreign and corporate donations if Hillary Clinton is elected president doesn’t go far enough – since related charities could still take that money.
Comey announced that day that the Federal Bureau of Investigation would not recommend that criminal charges be filed against Clinton or any State Department staffers for mishandling classified information. In all, the department revealed 52,000 emails to the public.
In addition, after struggling to obtain some of Clinton’s calendar entries, The Associated Press reported this week that more than half the meetings she had as secretary of state with non-government individuals were donors to her family’s foundation: “It’s an extraordinary proportion”, the AP story began.
But the only way to eliminate the odor surrounding the foundation is to wind it down and put it in mothballs, starting today, and transfer its important charitable work to another large American charity such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
What they say: Republicans want a special prosecutor to weigh corruption charges over the Clinton Foundation.
Trump also suggested that Clinton intentionally deleted emails to “cover up her crimes”.
While Comey called the mishandling of classified information “extremely careless”, he maintained Clinton did not willfully intend to violate any laws through the use of the unauthorized email server that was located in the basement of her home in NY. FILE – In this June 10, 2015 file photo, former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks at annual gathering of the Clinton Global Initiative America, which is a part of The Clinton Foundation, in Denver. The “favors done” – the supposed quo for the Clinton Foundation quid – appear pretty meager.
Numerous foundation’s programs would become separate non-governmental organizations “without us participating in the governance obviously”, Shalala said.
Advertisement
“He did write former Secretary Clinton an email memo describing his use of his personal AOL email account for unclassified messages and how it vastly improved communications within the State Department”, his office told NBC on Friday. In the midst of a presidential campaign, they say foundation donations can benefit the family. “Unless it really gets to affecting public business, you know, it’s not nice to look at and the donors shouldn’t do it”, he said.
