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.
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The foundation is not required by law to disclose its donors, but it has published those names since Clinton was nominated to be secretary of state by President Obama. But Bill and Chelsea Clinton have remained in leadership roles.
The changes to the foundation come amid growing questions about how it would operate during a potential Hillary Clinton presidency.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager defended her commitment to transparency and trustworthiness Sunday amid continuing doubts about her honesty and integrity. The sending of this email did not violate any provision of the “ethical wall” agreement between the State Department and Ms. Clinton and the Clinton Foundation – nor was any such violated provision cited in the editorial.
Other critics have said the foundation’s reliance on millions of dollars from foreign governments created conflicts of interest for a would-be USA president.
Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and long time Clinton lawyer Bruce Lindsey sit on the board of directors for both CHAI and the Clinton Foundation.
Brian Fallon, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign, said the Clintons and the foundation had always been careful about donors.
“The real question here is has Secretary Clinton been taking questions from reporters – which she absolutely has”, Mook said.
Members of the Clinton Foundation board met earlier in the day to ratify the changes.
Ms. Clinton’s opponent, Donald Trump, could face his own complications if he becomes president, with investments overseas and hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate debt – financial positions that could be affected by moves he makes in the White House. Others have raised questions about undue foreign influence while Clinton was the nation’s top diplomat, with Trump alleging donations to the organization were evidence of pay-to-play politics.
The Republican National Committee called the move “too little too late”, echoing Trump Jr’s concerns.
“Even if they’ve done nothing illegal, the foundation will always look too much like a conflict of interest for comfort”, the newspaper said.
The Clinton Foundation did not immediately respond to CNN request for comment Monday. While the Clintons are now promising to build that firewall for themselves if they win the White House, this announcement does nothing to prevent foreign entities from splashing the foundation pot during the final months of the general election. And what the Washington Post last week called “the porous ethical wall” between the two institutions failed to prevent the collaboration President Barack Obama anxious about when he demanded, on naming her to his cabinet, that she report any hint of conflict.
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Former Gov. Ed Rendell (D-Pa.), a supporter of the Clintons, on Wednesday said the charitable organization should close up shop if Clinton wins.
