NEW YORK: Bill Clinton delivered an emotional defense of his family’s charitable foundation Wednesday, applauding contributors for having “validated hope and possibilities.”
The former president spoke at the close of the final meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, an arm of the broader Clinton Foundation. The annual CGI gathering in New York has brought together an unusual blend of political leaders, philanthropists and celebrities, with participants expected to make specific commitments for projects worldwide.
The event was held under a cloud of election year questions fueled by Donald Trump, who is locked in a close race against Hillary Clinton. The Republican has accused the Clintons of using their charity to enrich themselves and to give foundation donors greater access to Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.
Bill Clinton did not address those accusations Wednesday, but aides said he viewed his address touting CGI’s work as an implicit rebuke to critics. He said the initiative had helped 435 million people in 180 countries.
Clinton has pledged to step down from the foundation’s board if his wife is elected president.
Trump’s campaign renewed its criticism ahead of the speech, saying the Clinton Foundation presents “an unprecedented conflict of interest that would badly compromise a Hillary Clinton White House.”
The Associated Press found that more than half the people outside the government who met or spoke by telephone with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state had given money — either personally or through companies or groups — to the Clinton Foundation.
Trump’s own charitable foundation has also faced scrutiny. The Washington Post reported this week that Trump spent more than a quarter-million dollars from the foundation to settle lawsuits that involved his for-profit businesses.