Donald Trump attacks the Clinton Foundation, questions its integrity and true mission
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump continues to throw shade at his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. On Tuesday, he again questioned the integrity of the Clinton Foundation, and what was done during Clinton’s stint as Secretary of State.
"It's impossible to figure out where the Clinton Foundation ends and the State Department begins," Trump said on Tuesday night. "It is now abundantly clear that the Clintons set up a business to profit from public office. They sold access and specific actions by and to them for money."
Naturally, Bill Clinton has come to the defence of his wife's foundation. The following day, Bill went on record to say that donors knew exactly what they were putting their money into. "If there's something wrong with creating jobs and saving lives, I don't know what it is... I have nothing to say about it except that I'm really proud."
The scandal comes from a report by the Associated Press. According to the publication, more than half of the non-governing people who donated money to the Clinton Foundation met with Hillary while she was secretary of state -- which are pretty alarming proportions.
The numbers in the report indicated that at least US$156 million (AU$205 million) was donated to the foundation by these individuals, excluding an additional US$170 million (AU$223 million) from 16 foreign governments.
As NPR adds, however, there is no direct money trail between the Clinton Foundation and the pockets of either Bill or Hillary. That is if their tax documents are anything to go by. Further still, it can be argued that the Clinton Foundation has done a lot to help citizens across the world.
Despite the confusion regarding its structure and rollercoaster growth, the Clinton Foundation is responsible for helping lower the cost of HIV/AIDS medication, bringing to light the issue of climate change, bettering the educational system in Haiti, and an annual conference where heads of state and world leaders make philanthropic promises.
The damage has likely been done, however, and questions have been raised. Right now, Clinton can now only ride on her claim that the report is "all smoke, no fire.”
