The acting chief executive of the Clinton Foundation is acknowledging the global philanthropy made mistakes in how it disclosed its donors amid growing scrutiny as Hillary Rodham Clinton opens her presidential campaign.
In a blog posting Sunday, Maura Pally defended the foundation's work and reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, describing its policies on donor disclosure and contributions from foreign governments as "stronger than ever."
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Still, Pally said the foundation expected to refile some of its tax forms, following a voluntary external review, because it had "mistakenly combined" government grants with other donations. She said the foundation would "remedy" any errors but stressed the total revenue was reported accurately and that grants were properly broken out on audited statements on its website.
"Yes, we made mistakes, as many organizations of our size do, but we are acting quickly to remedy them, and have taken steps to ensure they don't happen in the future," she said.
Pally also described the foundation's work with the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership, which she said received funding from a separate organization in Canada. She said that partnership does not disclose its donors because under Canadian law they are not disclosed without prior permission from each donor.
In this June 21, 2007 file photo, Frank Giustra speaks as Bill Clinton looks on during a news conference in New York to announce the Clinton Foundation's launching of a new sustainable development initiative in Latin America. (Frank Franklin II/The Associated Press)
"This is hardly an effort on our part to avoid transparency," Pally said.
That partnership has come under scrutiny because it is named after Frank Giustra, a Canadian mining billionaire who has donated more than $31 million US to the Clinton Foundation since the mid-2000s.
Since announcing her run for president, Clinton has sought to dismiss questions about financial support of her family charity and allegations of undue influence as "distractions and attacks" by Republicans seeking to discredit her. The philanthropy was started in 2001 by former President Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea will be starting a nine-day trip to Africa on Wednesday to highlight the group's work on issues such as economic growth and empowerment, climate change and empowering women and girls.
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