Republican presidential hopefuls demand Clinton Foundation to return donations

Home Top

Child star of Everybody Loves Raymond commits suicide at 19: Actor who played Ray Romano's twin son shoots himself dead
Was Baltimore suspect killed by deadly paddy wagon 'nickel ride'? Freddie Gray was NOT wearing a seatbelt and may have been tossed to death in abusive practice that's killed before
Apple smartwatch on sale from today... but not in stores: Customers will have to wait until June to get delivery after ordering online
Mystery of the passing out passengers remains unsolved: Investigation finds NOTHING wrong with plane which was forced to dive 30,000ft as people on board lost consciousness
The IKEA relationship curse! Experts warn trips to the store can spell doom for couples and say loved-up patrons must avoid hard-to-build item known as the 'Divorcemaker'
Woman who shot her lawyer boyfriend dead as he tried to split up with her before his date with beauty queen is guilty of murder
Our climate models are WRONG: Global warming has slowed - and recent changes are down to 'natural variability', says study
Why Lenin's corpse looks better with age: Scientists reveal experimental embalming methods used on the Soviet leader
Back to work! Disgraced ESPN sports reporter Britt McHenry returns to the sideline this weekend just a week after furore over vicious verbal attack on tow clerk
Judge who stunned the nation by saying a 14-year-old was partly responsible for her own RAPE receives a lifetime achievement award
Two extra bodies on drone cam were first sign that strike had gone terribly wrong: CIA officials tell of shocking realization that they might have killed innocent hostages
Wife of American in drone strike condemns the White House for treating her husband as an 'annoyance'
American jihadist killed in drone strike was former Little Leaguer who grew up to become Osama Bin Laden's spokesman
A hug from the executioner... then two gay men are stoned to death: ISIS murderers stage show of kindness for the cameras before brutal killing
'ISIS militant' from San Diego who was caught out by his AK-47 Facebook photos is charged with lying to the FBI
'We came to this country looking for peace': Families of Minnesota ISIS suspects accuse FBI of setting them up
Dzohokar Tsarnev's family - but not his mother - arrive in the US ahead of his defense testimony
Trial hears how Boston victim Martin Richard, 8, suffered 'visceral pain' before he died as jury decides if Dzohkar Tsarnaev should be executed
Male student sues Columbia over backlash he suffered after classmate carried a mattress around campus and accused him of raping her
EXCLUSIVE: Bill Cosby confidential: Disgraced comic files papers to prevent release of his sealed deposition in 2005 sexual assault lawsuit settled out of court
Three new women accuse Bill Cosby of sexual assault: Alleged victims say they were drugged by star in claims that bring total number of accusations to 38
WNBA star Brittney Griner, 6'8", arrested after argument with her 6'3" fiancee turned physical and relatives were unable to break them up
Dr. Oz comes out fighting! 'America's physician' says he's being hounded for speaking out against GM foods
'I was a survivor and I LOVED my life': Young mother, 44, writes heartbreaking obituary for herself before she passes away after long battle with cancer

Ted Cruz and Ben Carson want the charity to return every dollar its received from foreign governments since its launch in 2001
Bum rush came about after a report cast a new shadow over the charity's fundraising practices while Hillary Clinton was the country's chief diplomat
Cruz said: 'Having raised tens of millions of dollars from foreign nations presents a clear conflict of interest for anyone running for President'
Carson said they 'should they definitely give back the money and cease accepting foreign donations, but should also make every effort to find missing documents that would shed light if in fact they are innocent'
Carly Fiorina said, 'It's the Clinton way: raking in millions from foreign governments behind closed doors while making promises about transparency that they never intended to keep'

Published: 12:25 EST, 23 April 2015 | Updated: 18:56 EST, 23 April 2015

View
comments

Two GOP presidential hopefuls - Ted Cruz and Ben Carson - want the Clinton Foundation to return every dollar its received from foreign governments since it launched more than a decade ago.

The bum rush on the non-profit came about after a report cast a new shadow over the charity's fundraising practices while Hillary Clinton served as the United State's chief diplomat.

A Reuters investigation that revealed the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation had misreported millions of dollars in donations from foreign nations led the global charity to announce that it would refile more than five years of tax documents.

Scroll down for video

The discovery came as separate financial reviews found that previously unreported foreign businesses either donated money directly to the family foundation or paid Bill to speak while their countries were doing official business with the State Department during Hillary's tenure.

In one instance, Bill Clinton received one of his biggest paychecks in $500,000 for a June 2010 speech in Moscow funded by an investment bank with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Clinton Foundation was barred by an agreement from accepting money from foreign governments it wasn't already in business while Mrs. Clinton was in President Barack Obama's cabinet.

But that didn't stop it from doing so anyway. It fessed up in February to accepting a $500,000 donation from Algeria in 2010 without telling the State Department.

And the agreement is not known to have put restraints on Mr. Clinton's ability to collect paychecks from foreign actors.

Taking aim at Hillary Clinton, Cruz said in a Wednesday evening Facebook, 'Having raised tens of millions of dollars from foreign nations presents a clear conflict of interest for anyone running for President of the United States.'

'Add your name if you agree Hillary Clinton should return all money raised from foreign nations!' the Texas senator added, soliciting names for a petition urging the non-profit to give back the funds.

Carson told Daily Mail Online today that he, too, believes the charity cough up the cash.

'It is my strong belief that not only should they definitely give back the money and cease accepting foreign donations, but should also make every effort to find missing documents that would shed light if in fact they are innocent,' he said..

Two GOP presidential hopefuls - Ted Cruz, left, and Ben Carson, right - want the Clinton Foundation to return every dollar its received from foreign governments since it launched more than a decade ago

'It's the Clinton way: raking in millions from foreign governments behind closed doors while making promises about transparency that they never intended to keep,' former business executive Carly Fiorina wrote on Facebook. 'Now they're scrambling to refile their taxes and account for her decisions as Secretary of State.'

After Clinton made official her candidacy for the Oval Office, the foundation said it would impose a moratorium on checks from foreign governments that it's not already partnered with - but it still plans to take money from governments it has recently done work with.

Carson, who is expected to jump into the 2016 race on May 4, said in his statement that 'one of the things that has become clear' in his travels across the country 'is that the American people are sick of corruption and dishonesty within the government.'

'Doublespeak and redefining terms to fit a narrative is truly unacceptable and misleading. The Clinton Foundation and the appearance of wrongdoing reinforces these feelings,' the retired neurosurgeon and tea party icon said.

'Anyone who contemplates a leadership position in our great nation should thoroughly examine their motives to determine if they are simply interested in enriching themselves and enhancing their own power versus strengthening America and passing it on to the next generation in an improved and ethical condition,' he posited.

'Add your name if you agree Hillary Clinton should return all money raised from foreign nations!' Ted Cruz said in a Facebook post soliciting names for a petition urging the non-profit to give back the funds

Former business executive Carly Fiorina, who will reportedly announce her own candidacy the same day as Carson via social media, stopped short of demanding that the Clinton Foundation start writing checks for money it likely doesn't have in the bank if they were cashed.

She did use the opportunity to levy an attack on Clinton, however, whom she's positioned herself next to in the field as an alternative to for voters looking to break the glass ceiling by electing a woman president.

'It's the Clinton way: raking in millions from foreign governments behind closed doors while making promises about transparency that they never intended to keep,' Fiorina wrote on Facebook. 'Now they're scrambling to refile their taxes and account for her decisions as Secretary of State.'

'The American people will have a choice. Are we going to demand trust and transparency from our leaders? Have we had enough of a ruling political class that doles out favors to the wealthy and well connected few?' she said, previewing her stump speech.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who is testing the waters for a 2016 campaign, said, 'These stories today raise some very serious questions about the donations and relationships around the Clintons and their foundation.'

'I believe Secretary Clinton owes the public some answers about any potential impropriety,' he told Daily Mail Online.

COZY: Bill Clinton is seen here shaking the hand the then Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin, now the president of the country who the U.S. has a complicated relationship with, June 29, 2010. The former U.S. president received one of his biggest paychecks in $500,000 for a speech in Moscow that took place during this trip and was funded by an investment bank with ties to Putin

A new book that Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul promises will shed additional light on the non-profit's fundraising practices has had the entire 2016 field ready to pounce on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton for weeks.

Paul told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Tuesday evening that the expose's author, Peter Schweizer, had briefed him 'and the facts are going to be alarming. They're going to be mind-boggling.'

The Kentucky senator said he was bound to secrecy on the contents of the 186-page investigative book, Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich.'

'But I think people are going to be blown away by the details in this book and how they link the Clintons into this enormous exchange of money from foreign countries, from donors to companies, and then it's all swirling around,' he told Hannity.

'And I don't think it would happen if you didn't have somebody who was a secretary of state and a former president, and they seem to be capitalizing on their service in government,' he contended.

Continuing, Paul implied that the Clintons were 'using the system to enrich themselves,' and said, 'I think it looks unseemly. And I think a lot of Americans are going to agree with me.'

Questions over Clinton Foundation donations (archive)