Chelsea Clinton Defends Family’s Foundation Against 'Clinton Cash' Book Allegations
— -- Chelsea Clinton defended her family’s charity today against allegations that foreign governments received favors in return for donations -- saying that despite all the questions, the Clinton Foundation does “important” work and is “among the most transparent” of foundations.
“What the Clinton Foundation has said is that we will be even more transparent, even though Transparency International and others have said we’re among the most transparent of foundations,” the former First Daughter and Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation said when asked during a panel on women in girls in New York City this morning about claims made in a new book "Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich."
"I very much believe that that is the right policy. That we’ll be even more transparent. That to eliminate any questions while we’re in this time, we won’t take new government funding, but that the work will continue as it is,” Clinton continued, referring to the foundation’s recent policy change to limit donations from foreign governments, like Saudi Arabia.
Chelsea Clinton’s comments come the same morning the New York Times and other media outlets, including ABC News, reported on the soon-to-be released book by Peter Schweizer, which asserts that foreign entities have received special favors from Bill and Hillary Clinton after donating to the Clinton Foundation, particularly during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State.
Many of Hillary Clinton’s likely Republican opponents have used the book as a way to attack the Democratic presidential candidate.
“The new revelations reported by the New York Times continue to raise serious questions about Hillary Clinton’s judgment and her handling of conflicts of interest surrounding the Clinton Foundation while serving as Secretary of State,” Allison Moore, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee said in a statement today.
In response to recent questions, the Clinton Foundation recently updated its policy to limit donations from most foreign governments, except to the charity’s health initiatives. Additionally, the foundation will still accept money from organizations with foreign influence.
The Clinton campaign has brushed off these allegations that any favors were done in exchange for the donations, saying in a statement released to ABC News earlier this week that the book is part of the Republicans’ “coordinated attack strategy” against the Clintons.
Hillary Clinton also dismissed the book’s claims, telling reporters at a campaign stop in New Hampshire this week that the allegations are simply a “distraction” from her presidential campaign.
Chelsea Clinton made her remarks during a panel on women and girls at the Council on Foreign Relations, moderated by ABC News’ JuJu Chang.
During the panel, Clinton also weighed in on Hillary Clinton’s recent presidential announcement, and hinted that her own role on the campaign trail -- at least for now -- will be more limited than in 2008 due to her responsibilities as a new mom.
“My life is very different now than it was in 2008,” Chelsea said. "I’m a mom and my first responsibility is to my daughter, and ensure that she feels the same way I always felt, that I was the most important person in the world to my parents.”
Chelsea added that “very much for this year” she will likely limit how much she travels, but that she is still very “committed” to helping her mom win in 2016.
“I think certainly all of us try to figure out how to balance roles in our lives,” she remarked. “How I’ll figure that out is an open question. But I’m committed to doing so, and all advice is very appreciated.”
