The Associated Press is reporting that employees of the Clinton Foundation were told this afternoon that the foundation will no longer accept foreign and corporate donations if Hillary Clinton is elected president.
Bill Clinton reportedly said the foundation would hold a final Clinton Global Initiative meeting in September in New York regardless.
The foundation could continue to accept donations from U.S. citizens and independent charities, but the change in policy would have a dramatic impact based on past experience. The foreign contributions have been the source of intensive scrutiny both because of Hillary Clinton’s work as secretary of state and her potential election.
AP reported that Bill Clinton said the foundation would continue its work, but “refocus its efforts.” This seems likely to include a reduction in staff and programs. In Little Rock, the Foundation supports a variety of programs centered on the Clinton Presidential Center. It has a large staff in New York and elsewhere with wide-ranging programs around the world. (As I’ve written before, its employees include my daughter, who’s worked on sustainable agriculture and HIV programs in Africa.) Clinton reportedly said it would take about a year to shake out the shape of the foundation in the event of a Hillary Clinton win.
UPDATE: Further reporting indicated that the changes in the event of Hillary Clinton’s election include Bill Clinton’s plan to resign from the Foundation Board and renaming of the Foundation to simply the Clinton Foundation.