Clintons' Charitable Organization Shuts Down Head Office; How the Elections Cost Hillary, Literally
The Clinton Foundation is shutting down the main office of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City after a steep decline in donations following Hillary Clinton's Presidential election loss.
The controversy-embroiled charitable organization filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice with the New York Department of Labor on January 12 -- an action that a company is required to take if it intends to shut down or lay-off its staff -- reports the New York Observer.
The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) was established in 2005 by Bill and Hillary Clinton as networking platform for the Clinton Foundation which is supposedly steeped in charitable and developmental work across the globe. The CGI website, however, offers a vague statement of intent stating that the organization "facilitates action by helping members connect, collaborate, and make effective and measurable Commitments to Action—plans for addressing significant global challenges."
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The organization has received flak from critics who accuse it of being a means for the Clinton's to improve their brand value and sell access to foreign and corporate donors rather than doing any charity work. The foundation received large donations from foreign nations on a regular basis which pointed to possible conflicts of interest during Hillary Clinton's campaign for presidency last year.
The covert motives of the organization as a means for wealthy donors to solicit favors from the Clintons was revealed when WikiLeaks released key emails and memos from the Democratic National Committee last year. In the leak it was revealed that Bill Clinton used the organization to build upon his personal wealth by participating in paid speaking engagements and extracting diplomatic favors for years, even when Hillary Clinton led the State Department.
While the Clinton Global Foundation started struggling around August last year, it was in dire straits after Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the elections. In November, the Australian government decided to terminate its partnership with the scandal-plagued Clinton Foundation, effectively ending 10 years of taxpayer-funded contributions worth more than $88 million. The Norwegian government, one of the most generous foreign donors to the Clinton Foundation, dropped its annual contribution from $20 million to $4.2 million.
The allegations that the organization's purview was donor access and not charitable work seem to be well-founded as foreign governments began pulling out of annual donations sensing a loss of diplomatic favor typically curried from the Clintons. By defeating Hillary in the elections, Donald Trump not only won the presidency but also severely dented the prolific money-making machine of the Clinton family.
