Hillary's foundation staffers are laying political groundwork for 2016 presidential race, claims conservative PAC
- The Clinton Foundation website lists the names and biographies of 19 staffers on the its leadership team, of whom half acknowledge their political backgrounds
- An opposition research PAC is pressuring the foundation to show it's not helping to lay the groundwork for Hillary's presumed 2016 presidential run
- Former secretary of state says her university speaking fees are donated to the foundation, opening her to questions about how that money is spent
Hillary
Clinton does not draw a salary for her work at the Clinton Foundation,
'a source close to Clinton' divulged yesterday, nor does the
organization pay the salaries of Hillary's entourage.
The disclosure comes as a Republican
opposition research outfit pressures the Clinton Foundation to provide
assurances that it is not directly or indirectly helping to lay the
groundwork for Hillary's presumed 2016 presidential run.
Hillary's
staff consists of approximately seven aides, including Huma Abedin –
disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner's wife – who are reportedly
responsible for managing her paid speaking
gigs and helping her promote her memoir Hard Choices, which
came out last month.
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'Cui bono?': It's unclear whether Hillary's
nascent presidential campaign benefits from the speaking feed donated to
her family foundation when she and daughter Chelsea make public
appearances
Huma Abedin, a longtime Hillary aide who worked
with her at the State Department and is now her closest confidante at
the Clinton Foundation, is a likely campaign spokeswoman if and when
Clinton runs for president
Though they
work out of Hillary's office at the Clinton Foundation, they are not
employed by the nonprofit, an anonymous source reportedly told Business Insider.
'The Secretary's personal staff is paid for by her personally,' the source said.
It's
common practice for campaign aides to be rewarded with government
positions after a job well done. And it's no surprise the Clintons would
hire trusted aides to manage their nonprofit organization.
But
Republican political groups like America Rising PAC and the Republican
National Committee are questioning the whether foundation staff are
gearing up to join Hillary's 2016 presidential campaign.
The
Clinton Foundation website lists the names and biographies of 19
staffers on the foundation's leadership team, of whom half acknowledge
their political backgrounds.
In
their bios, five members of the leadership team mention working on
Hillary's failed presidential campaign, three others say they've worked
for Hillary or Bill in some other capacity when the Clintons served as
elected officials and another employee acknowledges working for Obama.
America
Rising wants the Clinton Foundation to make public a full list of staff
or paid consultants who worked for the Clinton in the past or have
worked for Obama or the Democratic Party and for both Hillary and Bill
to come clean about which speaking fees they've donated to the Clinton
Foundation in 2013 and 2014.
Hillary
recently said she donates all the money given to her by universities
for appearances but has provided no proof to substantiate her claim.
America
Rising also requested a list of travel expenses for Bill, Hillary and
Chelsea and a document outlining the costs for the Clinton Global
Initiative.
A 2013 review of the Clinton Foundation's
ax documents completed by the New York Post found that the organization
spent $50 million throughout the previous decade on travel, and America
Rising is curious to know how much of that went toward personal travel
for the Clinton family.
In an email to reporters on Monday,
America Rising PAC Executive Director Tim Miller said Hillary's
assertion that she passes on checks from universities to the foundation
opened 'the door to questions about just how that foundation is spending
money.'
Clinton will need as much staff support as she
can get if she runs for president, in part to deflect and diffuse
controversies -- like the 2012 Benghazi terror attack -- that continue
to dog her
'In the past, the Clinton Foundation has spent millions on opulent travel and lodging for her family, financed glitzy, celebrity-fueled donor events and paid key Democratic aides who would likely play key roles in her presidential campaign,' he said.
'For Americans to credibly believe these speaking
fees are being donated to charitable endeavors, the foundation must be
transparent about how and where it has spent its millions since Hillary
Clinton joined last year.'
America
Rising's concerns that the Clinton Foundation may be serving as the
unofficial home for Hillary's unannounced presidential campaign stem
from a 2011 internal review of the foundation that cited concerns about
perceived and real conflicts of interest within the organization's
hierarchy.
The Republican PAC also points to the review and a 2013 article from the New York Times that suggested that foundation could 'serve as a base for [Hillary] to home in on issues and to build up a stable
of trusted staff members who could form the core of a political
campaign' as evidence that its charges are not unfounded.
The
same New York Times article notes that Hillary brought a staff of
approximately seven people with her to the foundation when she left the
State Department last year, including Abedin, who has been spotted with
Hillary frequently throughout her Hard Choices book tour.
A
spokesman for Chelsea Clinton confirmed to the New York Times on
Wednesday that the former first daughter is not paid by the Clinton
Foundation either, despite holding the role of Vice Chair and
contributing a significant amount of time to helping manage her family's
charity.
Bill
Clinton is yet to disclose personally or through a representative
whether he receives a paycheck from the organization on top of the
millions he earns annually in speaking fees.
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