ATLANTA — Former President Bill Clinton surprised patrons at the newly-renovated Manuel’s Tavern Wednesday afternoon and pushed back on a report that linked Hillary Clinton’s meetings while secretary of state to donors to the Clinton Foundation.%
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“If there's something wrong with creating jobs and saving lives, I don't know what it is. The people who gave the money knew exactly what they were doing and I have nothing to say about it except I'm very proud of what they've done,” Bill Clinton said.
The Associated Press reported that More than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money — either personally or through companies or groups — to the Clinton Foundation.
At least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had phone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs, according to a review of State Department calendars released so far to The Associated Press. Combined, the 85 donors contributed as much as $156 million. At least 40 donated more than $100,000 each, and 20 gave more than $1 million.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has fiercely criticized the links between the Clinton Foundation and the State Department, saying his general election opponent had delivered "lie after lie after lie."
"Hillary Clinton is totally unfit to hold public office," Trump said at a rally Tuesday night in Austin, Texas. "It is impossible to figure out where the Clinton Foundation ends and the State Department begins. It is now abundantly clear that the Clintons set up a business to profit from public office."
Last week, the Clinton Foundation moved to head off ethics concerns about future donations by announcing changes planned if Clinton is elected.
Bill Clinton said the foundation would no longer hold annual meetings of its international aid program, the Clinton Global Initiative, and it would spin off its foreign-based programs to other charities.
“We're going to transition all of these responsibilities that would require foreign or corporate donations, which I won't accept, and I won't raise money for the foundation if she wins. And I'm happy to do the transition as quickly as we can. We've already found partners who want to take over some of this stuff,” Bill Clinton said Wednesday.
State Department officials have said they are not aware of any agency actions influenced by the Clinton Foundation. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday night that there are no prohibitions against agency contacts with "political campaigns, nonprofits or foundations — including the Clinton Foundation." He added that "meeting requests, recommendations and proposals come to the department through a variety of channels, both formal and informal."
Bill Clinton’s visit came ahead of a fundraiser at a north Atlanta home that features Atlanta artist Usher.
The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this article.
Cox Media Group
