Clinton Foundation limits foreign donations

The Clinton Foundation will now only accept donations from six countries, placing limits on its foreign donations, as Hillary Clinton continues her bid for president, it announced in a blog post.

{mosads}The foundation has faced significant criticism for accepting money from countries that Clinton dealt with as secretary of State and questions about whether those donations influenced her conduct. Clinton officially resigned from the board when she launched her campaign.

The foundation will only accept foreign donations from governments in Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom, it said.

It will no longer schedule conferences for the Clinton Global Initiative outside of the United States and will not allow foreign governments to sponsor any events. The foundation will also shift its donation disclosures from yearly to quarterly.

Republican politicians and presidential candidates have criticized Clinton because of the foundation’s previous willingness to welcome donations from foreign countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, according to media reports.

The Republican political action committee America Rising has called on the foundation to return foreign donations, and digs about the money have crept into the stump speeches of prospective Republican candidates.

Clinton has only briefly addressed the controversy to the public, during a February press conference convened to address her use of a private email address while at the State Department. When asked how she feels about accepting donations from some Arab countries that are not as progressive on women’s rights, she said that she “very proud” of the foundation.

“We are very clear about where we stand, certainly where I stand, on all of these issues,” she said.

“There can’t be any mistake about my passion concerning women’s rights here at home and around the world.”