American Crossroads, the super PAC founded in part by longtime Republican political operative Karl Rove, took aim at former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in a new online ad released Monday that makes use of the words of Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
“Powerful interests have tried to capture Washington and rig the system in their favor,” Ms. Warren says in a voice-over as a picture of Mrs. Clinton is shown along with the words “The Clintons’ foundation took millions from foreign governments.”
The Wall Street Journal recently reported on discomfort among some Democrats about the Clinton Foundation’s recently accepting donations from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other nations after it had largely banned foreign contributions during Mrs. Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state to avoid conflicts of interest.
The ad not only re-introduces the specific issue of the foreign donations, but also employs the voice of Ms. Warren, who has repeatedly rejected pleas from liberal activists who want to see her enter the 2016 presidential contest flanking Mrs. Clinton, the undisputed front-runner for the Democratic nomination, from the left.
“The power of well-funded special interests tilts our democracy away from the people and toward the powerful,” Ms. Warren continues, accompanied by dollar figures given to the foundation by countries like Saudi Arabia, again citing the Journal.
In a statement, the foundation said last week it has a record of transparency that goes above what is required of U.S. charities and that if Mrs. Clinton decides to run for office, “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.”
“Action is required to defend our great democracy against those who would see it perverted into one more rigged game where the rich and the powerful always win,” Ms. Warren continues in the ad.
It concludes with the following words displayed onscreen: “Powerful Foreign Governments are Ready for Hillary. Are We?”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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