Sunday, February 22, 2015

NY Times editorial board urges Clinton to ban foundation's foreign donations

Dan Merica, CNN

Updated 8:24 AM ET, Fri February 20, 2015

Washington (CNN)The New York Times Editorial Board called on Hillary Clinton to ban all foreign donations to her family's charity in a editorial published Friday.

The call comes after a string of reports noting that the Clinton Foundation had begun to accept foreign donations after banning them for the four years Clinton served as secretary of state. The foundation has since defended donations from countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman as philanthropy, not influence peddling, but Democrats and Republicans have questioned the practice.

"All of which underlines the need for Hillary Rodham Clinton, in her all but certified role as a Democratic presidential candidate, to reinstate the foundation's ban against foreign contributors, who might have matters of concern to bring before a future Clinton administration," the editorial board wrote. "This was a restriction Mrs. Clinton worked out with the Obama administration to allay concerns of potential conflict of interest when she became secretary of state in 2009."

Clinton is the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and an all-but-certain candidate, despite not having announced a bid.

Foundation representatives have not directly outlined how the organization will respond to the likelihood that Hillary Clinton runs for president, but late on Thursday, the foundation posted a statement to their website that suggested if Clinton runs for president, they will reinstate the ban put in place during her time as American's top diplomat.

"Should Secretary Clinton decide to run for office," the unsigned statement read, "we will continue to ensure the foundation's policies and practices regarding support from international partners are appropriate, just as we did when she served as secretary of state."

The New York Times board, however, suggests the move should be made now, not once Clinton announces.

"Restoring the restrictions on foreign donors would be a good way to make this point as Mrs. Clinton's widely expected campaign moves forward," they write.