Is Trust the Foundation of the Clinton Foundation

Is Trust the Foundation of the Clinton Foundation

By Dennis A. Conforto

The problem for the Clinton’s right now is the very foundation of the Clinton Foundation. Foundations are suppose to be good organizations that do good deeds around the global. Money is given to these foundations by generous donors wanting to do their part; to be part of something noble and worthy of their generosity.

All Foundations are based on trust. Trust that that money is spent well; trust that there is a full accounting and complete transparency of every donor, every expense and every cause for which money was donated.

If trust is the very foundation of all Foundations then it is in this area where the Clinton Foundation is starting to spin out of control. The Clinton Foundation is bigger than many think. It is a $2 Billion foundation. No question, it is big. And now there are too many questions swirling around the Foundation’s unusually high expenses, hidden donors, donors with dubious backgrounds, political pay-to-play allegations, and  incomplete accounting and record keeping practices.

Under the white hot light of the press, more and more disturbing details are being revealed as a mountain of questions are being raised. Questions about five years of redoing tax reporting, high luxury travel expenses, higher than normal administrative expenses, and political deal-making that resulted in heavy donations from the individuals and entities seeking political favors. If political corruption is proved, we may see the financial and political misfortunes of the Clinton’s grow.

Donations into the Clinton Foundation have recently taken a big hit as donors pause to take a closer look. These donors require transparency and openness which to their chagrin not been the case as they thought. Mega-rich donors cannot afford to be tied to scandals and should not be — hence the reason the pause in their giving.

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton knew more than anyone the importance of good record keeping as a young Attorney she was involved finding the truth of the Nixon scandal regarding the missing voice recording! The truth resulted in President Nixon’s disgrace and his fall from power.

Stacy Revere via Getty Images

Bill and Hillary had their own scandal over record keeping in a land deal in Arkansas while Bill served as Governor. Recently Hillary seems to have shot herself in the foot with her email scandal by deciding what emails she would turn back over to the government and what emails to delete, then on top of that had the disk wiped clean. Now the Clinton Foundation can’t seem to keep its own record keeping out of the news.

The thing is the Clintons are smarter than the messes they created for themselves. As smart as they are, we must ask why do they do things that cause people to pause and reconsider their trustworthiness?

Power and wealth is a lethal combination. People can start out good and noble but there is something about power and wealth that over time can corrupt even the noblest of hearts. This is why trust is at the heart of the foundation of any noble Foundation!

However despite their success and their political prowess, the real question is “Are they trustworthy?” Do we simply give people the benefit of the doubt based purely on our political allegiance or do we condemn them because we have another political allegiance? Or should we even think about the Clintons in political terms? Maybe our thinking should be based squarely upon the law.

If the issue with the Clintons is trust and Hillary wants to earn the highest and most trusted office in the land, then I think Bill and Hillary Clinton should open their world completely to the white hot sunlight. Sunlight is nature’s best disinfectant.  They can earn back the public’s trust not by hiding, deleting and avoiding. Instead, the Clintons should open themselves and the Clinton Global Foundation to unvarnished media scrutiny.

Trust in not only the foundation of a good Foundation but is the foundation of the Office of President of the United States.

Dennis A. Conforto is a former Bronx resident now residing in Idaho.