Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said Friday she’s “sure” there are no forthcoming emails or ties to foreign entities related to the Clinton Foundation that could imperil her presidential prospects.
“I am sure because I have a very strong foundation of understanding about the foundation,” Mrs. Clinton said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“That the kind of work that the foundation has done, which attracted donors from around the world is work that went right into providing services to people,” she said.
“As we have said before, neither my husband, my daughter, nor I have ever taken a penny of salary from the foundation,” she said. “My work as secretary of state was not influenced by any outside forces.”
The Associated Press reported this week that of a set of 154 private individuals who met with or had phone calls scheduled with Mrs. Clinton as secretary of state, at least 85 donated to the Clinton Foundation or pledged commitments to its international programs.
Recent emails unearthed by Judicial Watch also showed Clinton aide Huma Abedin acting as a go-between when the foundation wanted to get in touch with the State Department.
“I made policy decisions based on what I thought was right to keep [Americans] safe and protect our interests abroad,” Mrs. Clinton said Friday. “I believe my aides also acted appropriately.
“And we have gone above and beyond most of the charities that I understand, beyond the legal requirements, beyond standards, to voluntarily disclose donors, and also to reduce sources of funding that raised any questions,” she said.
“Not that we thought that they were necessarily legitimate, but to avoid those questions,” she said.
The Clinton Foundation now says it will wind down foreign and corporate contributions if Mrs. Clinton is elected president, but Republicans say it should be shut down immediately.
“We’re going to go at this, I believe, in the right way of trying to make sure the good work continues as we wind it down,” she said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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