August 11, 2016, 05:17 pm
Top Clinton aide at State Dept. helped Clinton Foundation: report
By Mark Hensch
A key Hillary Clinton aide at the State Department performed work for the Clinton Foundation, CNN reported Thursday.
Cheryl Mills interviewed job candidates for the Clinton Foundation while working as Clinton’s chief of staff at State, the report said.
Clinton and her family’s charitable foundation agreed to a set of rules once she became secretary of State in 2009. The guidelines were meant to ensure the foundation’s activities would not “create conflicts or the appearance of conflicts for Senator Clinton as secretary of State.” Clinton is now the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.
Mills traveled to New York City in June 2012 and interviewed two high-level business executives for a prominent position at the Clinton Foundation, CNN reported.
Mills’s work for the Clinton Foundation during her tenure at State was strictly voluntary, and she received no pay for her services, nor were government funds used for her expenses, according to her attorney.
“Cheryl volunteered her personal time to a charitable organization, as she has to other charities,” Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said Thursday.
“Cheryl paid for her travel to New York City personally, and it was crystal clear to all involved that this had nothing to do with her official duties. The idea that this poses a conflict of interest is absurd.”
Mills interviewed one executive from Pfizer and another from Wal-Mart, the report said.
Both companies have been major donors to the Clinton Foundation, and are also partners with the Clinton Global Initiative.
Mills now serves on the Clinton Foundation’s board, and runs a development organization focused on African business.
Critics say a newly released collection of emails from senior Clinton aides shows signs of corruption involving the State Department and the Clinton Foundation.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/291188-top-hillary-state-aide-helped-clinton-foundation
