Not quite a week ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation dropped their ban against accepting donations from foreign governments. That has sparked a sharp rebuke from a few surprising places, including editorial boards across the country.
Below is a round-up of a few of those editorials:
New York Times: “Separate Philanthropy From Political Clout”
“Substantial overlap was found between foundation contributors and familiar Clinton campaign donors and money bundlers. Considering the Clintons’ popularity and influence in their party, this is no surprise. But it does make it important that Mrs. Clinton, in defending the family’s efforts on behalf of the world’s needy, reassure the public that the foundation will not become a vehicle for insiders’ favoritism, should she run for and win the White House. Restoring the restrictions on foreign donors would be a good way to make this point as Mrs. Clinton’s widely expected campaign moves forward.” 2/20/15
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Hillary’s ethics: Clinton foundation should return foreign gifts”
“[W]hen the number of foreign governments donating to a potential presidential candidate’s foundation doubles as the U.S. primary season approaches, the good that the organization does can be obscured by the frantically waving red flags that the Clintons pretend not to see. That lousy vision is troubling in itself.” 2/23/15
Nashua Telegraph: “Hillary and the Clinton Foundation”
“This latest controversy also begs the question: All those smart people in the Clinton camp and nobody saw this coming as an ethical issue before the foundation lifted the ban on accepting foreign money? It’s likely they saw it and decided that the ends justified the means, so long as the checks didn’t bounce. That’s unfortunate, because even the appearance of a link between donations to the foundation and Mrs. Clinton’s political ambitions taints both.” 2/23/15
Raleigh News & Observer: “The Clintons raise conflicts with foundation donations”
“In addition to questions about whether she’ll have the financial interests of average folks in mind when it comes to regulating the Wall Street donors to her campaign, Hillary Clinton also is going to have to answer some tough questions about whether the foreign interests who’ve been so generous with the Clintons’ foundation would have additional influence in a Clinton White House.” 2/22/15
Toledo Blade: “Mrs. Clinton’s Ethics”
“But just because something is legal, that doesn’t make it right. Mrs. Clinton is treading close to a dangerous line if she intends to run.” 2/24/15