Bill and Hillary Clinton embrace at the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative in New York. (Photo: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
The Clinton Foundation admitted Sunday it made some “mistakes” in its tax forms and is “acting quickly to remedy them.”
In a lengthy statement posted to the foundation’s website,
Maura Pally, the foundation’s acting CEO, sought to address questions
that arose late last week after the organization said it would refile
its taxes.
“We
have said that after a voluntary external review is completed, we will
likely refile forms for some years,” Pally wrote. “While some have
suggested that this indicates a failure to accurately report our total
revenue, that is not the case. Our total revenue was accurately reported
on each year’s form — our error was that government grants were
mistakenly combined with other donations.”
Those
grants, Pally wrote, “have always been properly listed and broken out
and available for anyone to see on our audited financial statements,
posted on our website.”
“So,
yes, we made mistakes, as many organizations of our size do,” she
continued. “But we are acting quickly to remedy them and have taken
steps to ensure they don’t happen in the future. We are committed to
operating the foundation responsibly and effectively to continue the
life-changing work that this philanthropy is doing every day.”
The statement comes as the foundation’s finances are facing intense media scrutiny
in the wake of the launch of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid
and ahead of a much-anticipated book — Peter Schweizer’s “Clinton Cash,”
due out May 5 — Republicans are hoping will derail it.
Parts
of the book imply that the Clintons’ relationship with Canadian mogul
Frank Giustra — a major donor to the Clinton Foundation — helped seal a Canadian mining company’s sale to a Russian energy company in a 2013 deal that required approval by the U.S. State Department when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state and led to Hillary’s support of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement in 2011.
The Clintons attend the 37th Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, last fall. (Photo: Getty Images)
The Hillary Clinton campaign vehemently denied the allegations raised by the book.
“The book relies on widely available data and twists it into absurd right-wing conspiracy theories,” Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon told Yahoo News last week,
accusing Schweizer of making “ridiculous, unproven claims” that former
President Bill Clinton’s speaking fees swayed Hillary Clinton’s policy
making.
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