Eleanor Finch
The Clinton Foundation is a public charity that conducts its own charitable activities and programs. It is not a private foundation, which typically acts as a pass-through for donations to other charitable organizations. The foundation has been criticized for accepting donations from foreign governments and politically sensitive donors, raising concerns about conflicts of interest and influence-peddling during Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State. Despite these controversies, the foundation has drawn bipartisan support and been praised by philanthropy experts. In this context, it is worth examining whether the Clinton Foundation could donate money to Hillary Clinton's political campaign.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of foundation | Public charity or "operating foundation" |
| Sources of donations | U.S. corporations, foreign governments and corporations, political donors, and various other groups and individuals |
| Total amount raised | $2 billion |
| Ethical concerns | Potential for undue influence on Hillary Clinton's actions as Secretary of State |
| Steps taken to address concerns | Hillary Clinton's resignation from the foundation's board before her 2016 presidential run, pledge to no longer accept foreign or corporate donations if elected |
| Notable donors | Haim and Cheryl Saban, Bernard L. Schwartz, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, Thomas Tull, Dustin Moskovitz |
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What You'll Learn
Donors to the Clinton Foundation
The Clinton Foundation is a public charity that conducts most of its charitable activities directly. It is not a private foundation, which typically acts as a pass-through for private donations to other charitable organizations. The foundation has been praised by philanthropy experts and has received bipartisan support, with members of the George W. Bush administration often participating in its programs. However, it has also been the subject of controversy due to its acceptance of funds from wealthy donors, including foreign governments.
In 2015, the Washington Post reported that the Clinton Foundation had resumed accepting donations from foreign governments once Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State had ended. This raised concerns as contributions from foreign donors are prohibited by law from contributing to political candidates in the United States. The Washington Post investigation revealed a "substantial overlap" between the Clinton political machinery and the foundation, with almost half of the major donors who supported Clinton's 2016 presidency bid also giving at least $10,000 to the foundation.
The Clinton Foundation's donors list included politically sensitive entities such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which donated between $10 million and $25 million, and Blackwater Worldwide. The foundation has also received donations from other Middle Eastern countries, as well as Australia, Germany, and a Canadian government agency. These donations sparked criticism as they came from countries with a record of oppressing women, despite Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign platform promising to break down barriers for women.
In response to the concerns, the Clinton Foundation stated that the disclosures would ensure that "not even the appearance of a conflict of interest" would exist during Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State. Additionally, in 2010, the Foundation reported on three consecutive IRS tax returns that it received no donations from foreign government sources, despite previous reports of such donations.
The Clinton Foundation's revenue took a hit after the 2016 presidential election, with Hillary Clinton starting her own venture in 2017, a nonprofit called Onward Together. Unlike the Clinton Foundation, which is legally prohibited from engaging in most political activities, Clinton's new nonprofit can spend unlimited sums on politics as long as it is not its primary purpose.
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Foreign donations and conflicts of interest
The Clinton Foundation has been criticised for accepting donations from foreign governments, including those with poor human rights records, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. These donations constitute a major portion of the foundation's income. During Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State, the foundation's acceptance of foreign donations led to concerns about conflicts of interest. There were reports of overlaps between Clinton Foundation donors and individuals with whom she had official meetings or phone calls. This fuelled perceptions that donations to the foundation granted special access to Clinton and could unduly influence her official actions.
The Emoluments Clause in the US Constitution prohibits government employees from accepting presents or compensation from foreign governments. While Hillary Clinton did not hold an official role in the foundation during her time as Secretary of State, critics argue that the foundation's acceptance of foreign donations violated the spirit of the Emoluments Clause. However, others point out that the clause does not explicitly address this scenario, and there is no proven evidence that Clinton personally solicited or received such gifts.
The Clinton Foundation has defended its acceptance of foreign donations, stating that the disclosures ensure transparency and that the donations are used for charitable work. The foundation has won accolades from philanthropy experts and has drawn bipartisan support. However, during Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, the foundation's acceptance of foreign donations became a contentious issue. There were calls for the foundation to cease accepting donations to avoid any perceived conflicts of interest. In response, the Clinton campaign denied any wrongdoing and announced that the foundation would no longer accept foreign or corporate donations if Clinton were elected president.
The controversy surrounding the Clinton Foundation highlights the challenges of separating political and philanthropic activities, especially when they involve foreign entities. The foundation's ties to foreign governments and the potential influence on Clinton's political decisions remain a subject of debate and scrutiny.
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Clinton Foundation's charitable activities
The Clinton Foundation, founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, is a non-profit organisation. It was renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation. The foundation is a public organisation, distinct from the Clinton Family Foundation, which is reserved for the Clinton family's private philanthropy. The foundation has raised an estimated $2 billion from various donors, including U.S. corporations, foreign governments and corporations, political donors, and other groups and individuals.
The Clinton Foundation's charitable activities include conducting its own humanitarian programs. It has 11 major programs focusing on agriculture in Africa, combating childhood obesity, economic development in South America, earthquake relief in Haiti, reducing the cost of AIDS drugs, and mitigating climate change. The foundation also operates the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual gathering of world leaders, business executives, non-profit officials, and celebrities to discuss and develop solutions to global challenges.
The foundation has been praised for its work by philanthropy experts and has received bipartisan support, with members of different political administrations participating in its programs. Charity Navigator, a charity watchdog group, gave the foundation its highest rating of four out of four stars in 2016 after reviewing its financial records and tax statements. Another charity monitor, CharityWatch, gave the foundation an "A" rating for 2016, finding that 88% of its money goes toward its charitable mission.
Despite the positive accolades, the Clinton Foundation has also faced controversy and criticism. There have been concerns about the potential influence of donors on political decisions, particularly during Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State. The foundation has been scrutinised for accepting donations from foreign governments and politically sensitive donors, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has been criticised for its oppression of women. In 2015, an investigation by The Washington Post revealed a substantial overlap between the foundation's donors and those backing Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, raising questions about the potential influence of donations on political access and decision-making.
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Clinton's campaign fundraising
The Clinton Foundation is a public charity that conducts most of its charitable activities directly. It is not a private foundation, which typically acts as a pass-through for private donations to other charitable organisations. The foundation has raised an estimated $2 billion from US corporations, foreign governments and corporations, political donors, and various other groups and individuals. It has been praised by philanthropy experts and has received bipartisan support. However, it has also been criticised for the source of some of its donations, particularly from foreign governments that are seen to oppress women, such as Saudi Arabia, which donated between $10 million and $25 million.
The acceptance of funds from foreign donors, which are prohibited by US law from contributing to political candidates, has led to concerns about conflicts of interest and undue influence on Clinton's official actions when she was Secretary of State. The Clinton Foundation came under scrutiny during the 2016 US presidential election campaign, with some alleging that donors to the foundation were given special access to Clinton and undue influence over her decisions as Secretary of State. These allegations were denied by the Clinton campaign, and Clinton herself pledged that the foundation would no longer take money from foreign governments if she were elected president.
Despite the controversy, the Clinton Foundation has continued to receive support from donors, with some donating to pro-Clinton political action committees (PACs) and super PACs. These PACs and super PACs played a significant role in fundraising for Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, with her official campaign committee, Hillary for America, raising $460 million. Major contributors to Clinton's campaign included Dustin Moskovitz, Donald Sussman, and Jay Robert Pritzker. Moskovitz donated a total of $20 million to pro-Clinton organisations, including super PACs and nonpartisan voter registration efforts. Haim Saban, a long-time friend of Clinton and vocal opponent of Trump, donated over $9.52 million to the PUA super PAC and $25,000 to the Ready super PAC.
In addition to the Clinton Foundation and super PACs, Clinton has also established other ventures to support her political activities. In 2017, she started a 501(c)(4) nonprofit called Onward Together, which can spend unlimited sums on politics as long as it is not its primary purpose. This organisation has not disclosed its donors, but it is known that $800,000 of its funds came from leftover campaign money from Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.
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The Clinton Foundation's response to criticism
The Clinton Foundation has been the subject of various allegations and scrutiny from the media and political opponents. The Foundation has responded to these criticisms in several ways.
Firstly, the Foundation has emphasised its status as a public charity or "operating foundation", which primarily conducts its own charitable activities directly, rather than a private foundation that acts as a pass-through for donations to other charitable organisations. This distinction is important because it means that the Clinton Foundation has more control over how its funds are used and can directly carry out its own humanitarian programs. The Foundation has also stated that neither Bill Clinton nor his daughter, Chelsea Clinton, who are both members of the governing board, draw any salary or receive any income from the organisation.
In response to allegations of conflicts of interest, the Foundation has asserted that there is no overlap between political interests and philanthropic work. They argue that it is inaccurate to assume that all money spent on travel and salaries does not contribute to charitable causes. The Foundation has also clarified that, despite media reports, the Charity Navigator placed them on a "watch list" due to questions about foreign donations and potential quid pro quo, not because of concerns about insufficient funds going towards charity.
The Clinton Foundation has also addressed specific allegations regarding foreign donations. After Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State, she pledged that the Foundation would no longer accept donations from foreign governments, and this was reflected in three consecutive IRS tax returns starting in 2010. However, the Foundation has defended its acceptance of foreign donations before and after this period, stating that these donations do not influence its operations or represent a conflict of interest.
In response to the book "Clinton Cash" by Peter Schweizer, which alleged a connection between Clinton Foundation donations and favourable State Department actions, the Clinton campaign has pointed out that the State Department was not the only government agency involved in the decisions and that there is no evidence of a direct link between donations and policy decisions.
Finally, the Foundation has taken some concrete steps to address concerns. In August 2016, Mr Clinton announced that the Foundation would no longer accept foreign or corporate donations if Mrs Clinton were to become president. This was a significant move to demonstrate transparency and address the criticisms surrounding foreign donations.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the Clinton Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organisation, which is legally prohibited from engaging in any political activity outside of voter registration and engagement activities.
No, the Clinton Foundation is a public charity and not a private foundation, which means it primarily conducts its own charitable activities and is legally prohibited from donating to political campaigns.
The Clinton Foundation came under scrutiny during Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign due to its acceptance of donations from foreign governments, which are prohibited by law from contributing to political candidates in the US. This raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest and undue influence on Clinton's official actions.
No, Hillary Clinton resigned from the Clinton Foundation's board before announcing her run for president in the 2016 election. She has stated that her family "doesn't earn anything from this work."
