As second-time presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her staff attempt to deal with an on-rush of more information about the Clinton Foundation’s acceptance of foreign donations during her time as secretary of State, many are wondering how Clinton could have been blind to, or allowed herself to ignore, the possible conflicts of interest that can arise from foreign governments donating huge sums to the family foundation of America’s top diplomat.
The controversy seems to be one of Clinton’s own making. But at least some lawmakers, including current Secretary of State John Kerry, shouldn’t be suprised.
On Jan. 20, 2009, the U.S. Senate was poised to nominate then-Senator Clinton as secretary of State by a unanimous consent vote, but Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-Tex.) objected, temporarily thwarting Clinton’s nomination.
As The New York Times reported at the time, Cornyn “blocked a vote on Mrs. Clinton’s nomination, citing ethical questions arising from donors to her husband’s charitable foundation. … A spokesman for Mr. Cornyn, Kevin McLaughlin, said, ‘this is not an effort to scuttle or block the nomination, but a legitimate policy difference. Senator Cornyn’s goal is to create transparency on all levels of government.’”
Cornyn sent a letter to Clinton the week before, expressing that despite Clinton’s “demonstrated … command of the complex challenges we face abroad,” he worried “that America’s foreign policy and your diplomatic mission will be encumbered by the sweeping global activities of the Clinton Foundation … tighter foreign fundraising restrictions and transparency protocols are adopted by your husband’s organization.”
“Put simply,” Cornyn wrote, “the Foundation’s refusal of foreign-source donations while you serve as Secretary of State is in this nation’s interest.”
The Clinton family’s foundation is officially named the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation. But that name only came in 2013, shortly after Hillary Clinton left the State Department. Previously, it was called the William J. Clinton Foundation, established after President Clinton left office.
In order to be nominated secretary of State, Hillary Clinton promised president-elect Barack Obama the foundation would publish all their donors annually. Bill Clinton agreed as well. However, the Clinton Foundation stopped making the promised annual disclosure in 2010, Reuters found.
Today, the White House is dodging directly answering whether Clinton violated her promise to the Obama administration.
In 2009, Sen. Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, proposed that the foundation reject foreign contributions entirely.
“The core of the problem,” Lugar said in January 2009, “is that foreign governments and entities may perceive the Clinton Foundation as a means to gain favor with the secretary of state. Although neither Senator Clinton nor President Clinton has a personal financial stake in the foundation, obviously its work benefits their legacy and their public service priorities.”
But Hillary Clinton rejected Lugar’s proposal, stating that the foundation’s plan to disclose its list of donors already exceeded the legal requirements.
Even then-Senator John Kerry, who was the Democratic chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, admitted on Jan. 21, 2009, that he would have liked that donations to the Clinton Foundation to be disclosed more quickly than the agreement reached with the Obama administration allowed for, reported The New York Times at the time.
The Senate confirmed Clinton’s nomination on Jan. 21, 2009 with a vote of 94 to 2. Cornyn, Kerry and Lugar all voted in favor.
(h/t IJR)
