The White House on Monday refused to even acknowledge accusations that donors to the Clinton Foundation received preferential treatment from the Obama administration while Hillary Rodham Clinton ran the State Department.
Dismissing such claims, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the proper steps were taken to ensure all ethical guidelines were followed with regard to Mrs. Clinton and her family foundation.
“There have been a lot of accusations that have been lobbed in the context of a just-starting presidential campaign and those accusations have not been accompanied by much evidence. I’m not going to stand here and respond to accusations,” Mr. Earnest said, refusing to offer a blanket denial that donors received favorable treatment from the administration.
When Mrs. Clinton took over the State Department in 2009, the administration and the Clinton Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding requiring the foundation to publish a list of all donors, to undertake an ethics review of any new government wishing to donate to the foundation and to take other steps.
The Republican National Committee, among others, has raised questions about whether donors to the Clinton Foundation may have received special treatment from the Obama White House and whether the memorandum of understanding was enough to prevent ethics breaches.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.