A group of big and small donors to the Clinton Foundation are accompanying Bill and Chelsea Clinton to Kenya on a trip for the charity despite the storm of criticism that has surrounded its activities since Hillary Clinton announced her presidential campaign.
But the size of the donations that earned the 20 donors an invitation on Bill and Chelsea’s jaunt varied significantly, with some giving as much as $10 million and others as little as $5,000.
One couple, Tanya Taylor and Michael Pratte, were brought along for the trip — which began last week and will wrap up Thursday — even though they don’t appear to have been donors to the foundation.
However, Taylor — an influential fashion designer — is an open supporter of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Many of the foundation donors who accompanied Bill and Chelsea Clinton on the charity’s nine-day trip to Africa were also financial supporters of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, according to a list obtained by Politico.
Among the travelers was Jay Jacobs, a deep-pocketed CEO who has donated between $500,000 and $1 million to the Clinton Foundation, donor records show.
Jacobs blasted the media Saturday for its negative coverage of foundation donors.
“Press reports on how much we donate embarrass me,” Jacobs tweeted. “We have NOT GIVEN nearly ENOUGH to #ClintonFoundation. Glad we came to Africa to see.”
Jacobs also gave $5,000 to Ready for Hillary PAC and is a prolific donor to the Democratic National Committee, according to OpenSecrets.org.
Another donor to join the Clinton Foundation trip was Marcy Simon, who served as an adviser to Bill Clinton.
In 2009, Simon landed a job at Burson-Marsteller, a consulting firm founded by former Hillary Clinton campaign strategist Mark Penn.
Campaign finance records show Simon has been a frequent supporter of Hillary Clinton’s political campaigns.
Simon also answered the call of Huma Abedin, a consummate Hillary Clinton insider, to funnel money into her husband Anthony Weiner’s campaign for mayor of New York City, Capital New York reported in 2013.
Liz Robbins, a lobbyist whose clients have included a number of fellow foundation donors, traveled with the foundation.
Robbins has also been a heavy supporter of both Bill and Hillary Clinton’s campaigns, financial records dating back to 1991 show.
The trip preceded a high-profile event in Marrakech, Morocco, where the Clinton Global Initiative is hosting a lavish conference funded in large part by a state-owned exporter.
Hillary Clinton was reportedly slated to appear alongside her husband and daughter at the conference, which begins Tuesday, but her name was quietly removed from the schedule amid a barrage of criticism over foreign foundation donations.
The Marrakech conference highlights a seeming shift in Hillary Clinton’s stance on Morocco, a country whose government she criticized while secretary of state, only to praise it as a “vital hub for economic and cultural exchange” when announcing the event.
Critics have questioned the Clintons’ close ties to countries and organizations that promote causes they publicly oppose.
“As Mrs. Clinton commemorates her 1995 women’s rights speech in Beijing in back-to-back events in New York, she finds herself under attack for her family foundation’s acceptance of millions of dollars in donations from Middle Eastern countries known for violence against women and for denying them many basic freedoms,” the New York Times reported in March.
Bill and Chelsea Clinton met with President Uhuru Kenyatta Friday to discuss conservation and Clinton Foundation projects in the country.
The meeting came two days before Kenyatta’s deputy president, William Ruto, said there is “no room” for homosexuality in his country as Secretary of State John Kerry touched down to initiate a dialogue with Kenyan leaders.
Hillary Clinton has embraced same-sex marriage rights even as her family’s foundation personally meets with leaders that block gay rights in their own countries.
The former president referenced the foundation controversy in a statement on the charity’s website in which he encouraged supporters to discount attacks on the foundation.
“Underneath the headlines, the trend lines are going in our direction,” Clinton said. “You must not be discouraged by the fact that doing good is not often considered good news.”
The Clintons wrapped up their foundation travel the day Kerry arrived to conduct talks with leaders in the country about conservation, among other subjects.
Kerry visited an elephant sanctuary Sunday, just as Bill and Chelsea Clinton did during their swing through the country on foundation business.
