The Clinton Foundation should not be disbanded!

[csziggy]

It does far too much good work.

The members of the Clinton family should take themselves out of the foundation. If still having the Clinton name on it bothers people, rename it The Obama Foundation and let Barack and Michelle Obama run it.

[OnDoutside]

1. To be honest, if it's possible to keep it going, great but

Winning the election is far more important.

Since the Boston Globe has already made an issue of this, I think the Clinton's interests would be best served by making a statement NOW on a post election future, to park it as a stick that Trump WILL hit her on. Do it now rather than being forced to do so in a few weeks. She would get positives this way by volunteering to either close it, hibernate it or place it under independent arms length control for the duration of her presidency.

[csziggy]

3. That would be like telling Trump to close down every one of his businesses

In the next week. So many people rely on these organizations, whether the foundation or the businesses it would hurt thousands directly and millions more as time went by.

In the case of the Clinton Foundation, thousands if not millions of the world's most vulnerable people need the help that the Clinton Foundation does. It's not just a matter of the money involved, the foundation has programs that it administers directly for the benefit of the people they are working with.

Go to this page of the Clinton Foundation website, browse the programs and tell me which of these programs should be shut down in the next two months - or what organization can pick up the work done by the Clinton Foundation. Even if the Clintons turned over the funds and transferred the people in every program, it would take months to do it without complete disruption of the essential work being done.

The Clinton Global Initiative is easy to shut down - it simply provides forums for leaders in governments and business to discuss ways to solve problems and lets them brainstorm to develop solutions. It had already been scaled back some years ago. While the CGI helps to kickstart the work, none of the actual projects are done or funded by the initiative, they are done by other organizations.

But the immense Clinton Foundation is much more complex and encompasses so many projects I don't see that it would be possible to simply shut down the entire organization. Yes, at this point Hillary, Bill and Chelsea should step out of their roles in the foundation and keep a separation between them and any of the activities it does. They could change the name though I doubt that would stop right wingers from whining about it.

The name could be changed to the Obama Foundation and Barack and Michelle Obama could run it. That would at least deflect the criticism from Hillary Clinton to someone else the right loves to hate.

[OnDoutside]

5. I'm open to how they do it, the point I'm making is they

Should take steps now before Trump makes a campaign issue of it, and if they then changed it would look reactive and negative. Get ahead of the story. It would also help the whole trustworthy crap.

[tanyev]

7. Yes! Why hasn't any journalist asked Trump what happens to his businesses if he wins??

I know it's because most journalists who have access to Trump need to have air quotes around their description as a journalist, but still. I'm not aware of any discussion of this in editorials or opinion pieces.

[csziggy]

8. True - considering that one of Trump's business paid a $10 million penalty

For possible money laundering just last year.

A DU post gave a link to court papers where Trump paid a massive penalty for illegal money transfers:

The Orange Sludge: Ripping people off and illegal money laundering

The court papers:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY FINANCIAL CRIMES ENFORCEMENT NETWORK
IN THE MATTER OF: Number 2015-02
Trump Taj Mahal Associates, LLC, d/b/a Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort
Atlantic City, New Jersey
<SNIP>
II. DETERMINATIONS
Trump Taj Mahal willfully violated the BSA’s program, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements from 2010 through 2012. Importantly, many of these violations were previously cited by IRS SB/SE in previous examinations of Trump Taj Mahal since 2003. As described below, Trump Taj Mahal (a) failed to implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program; (b) failed to report suspicious activity related to several financial transactions at the casino; (c) failed
to properly file Currency Transaction Reports; and (d) failed to keep appropriate records as required by the BSA and its implementing regulations.

<SNIP>
III.
CIVIL MONEY PENALTY
FinCEN has determined that Trump Taj Mahal willfully violated the program, reporting, and
recordkeeping requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations, as described in the CONSENT, and that grounds exist to assess a civil money penalty for these violations. U.S.C. § 5321 and 31 C.F.R. § 1010.820.
FinCEN has determined that the penalty in this matter will be $10,000,000.
https://www.fincen.gov/news_room/ea/files/20150302%20Assessment%20of%20Civil%20Money%20Penalty%20Trump%20Taj%20Mahal%20(post-approval%20by%20bankruptcy%20court).pdf

Not much has been made of Trump's consistent pattern of not paying his sub-contractors or his labor practices, either. And very little has been said about the thousands of law suits against Trump and his businesses. But every single time they talk about Hillary Clinton they bring up Benghazi, the emails, or whatever the outrage of the day is.

[fun n serious]

2. I think they should let Chelsea run it.

[NWCorona]

4. I disagree and will leave it at that.

[cali]

6. As long as no Clinton or Clinton Rodham relative

Is involved in any way and as long as no corporate or foreign nation donations are allowed.

[bettyellen]

9. That's tricky. Forever or just while she is in office?

[cali]

10. just while she's in office.

[bettyellen]

11. I don't like the idea of shutting it down totally but get it would be under scrutiny

I'm not as against taking money from people we don't love, and I don't have any issues with the global initiative either. I know how much amazing work the are doing in Africa. Don't want to mess tat up for people who are never going to be satisfied either.