Bill Clinton Will Disclose List of Donors

According to several news sources, former President Bill Clinton will attempt to clear the way for Senator Hillary Clinton to be nominated as secretary of state by disclosing the names of over 200,000 donors to his foundation.

The International Herald Tribune writes today that two unnamed advisers and two Democrats “who are close to the process” say that Senator Hillary Clinton will be nominated as secretary of state on Monday. As permitted by law, Clinton’s contributor list has been kept secret. The release of the names of contributors will be completed in December to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. Future donors will be disclosed as long as Hillary is in the Cabinet. Bill Clinton’s business and charitable activities have involved world travel and the collection of “six-figure speaking fees from foreign organizations,” which could interfere with the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. The International Herald Tribune reports that Bill Clinton signed off on nine conditions set by Obama “which go beyond the requirements of law. “ Only a few of those conditions are known at this time.

Among other things, he also agreed to incorporate his Clinton Global Initiative separately from the foundation so that he had less direct involvement. The initiative would no longer hold annual meetings outside the United States or accept any foreign government contributions.

Bill Clinton will have to submit his speeches and business activities for review by the State Department and “if necessary, to the White House counsel's office.” Additionally, the Clinton-Global Initiative, which is part of the William J. Clinton Foundation, will be “incorporated separately to establish some distance from the former president in its day-to-day activities,” and “Clinton will not solicit sponsorship contributions.”

Photo by Nrbelex

Hillary Clinton.

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According to the International Herald Tribune the Clinton and Obama lawyers have spent a great deal of time crafting the agreement and Obama’s team is satisfied with Clinton’s concessions. For background details on the need for conditions and concessions from Bill Clinton read the Nov 18 article in Digital Journal, “Will Bill Help or Hurt Hillary’s Chances of Becoming Secretary of State?”