Bill Clinton defends his family foundation as Republicans accuse it of corruption and 'cash-for-access'
Bill Clinton has defended his family’s charitable foundation against Republican claims of cash-for-access corruption.
The former US president said he is “really proud” of the Clinton Foundation, which undertakes global humanitarian projects, as Donald Trump called for a full investigation.
More than half of the non-governmental officials who met Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money to the charity, which was set up by Mr Clinton in 2001.
Mr Clinton said: "We're trying to do good things. 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. I have nothing to say about it except that I'm really proud. I'm proud of what they've done."
He also defended Hillary Clinton's contact with donors like Bangladeshi economist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus because they already have no trouble reaching officials around the world.
The Clinton Foundation was created with the aim of empowering people to “build better futures for themselves, their families and their communities”.
Mrs Clinton said on Tuesday that claims had only "looked at a small portion ”of her time as secretary of state and described the story as "all smoke, no fire".
The charity’s deputy spokesman, Mark Toner, added: “Meeting requests, recommendations and proposals come to the department through a variety of channels both formal and informal.”
The meetings between Mrs Clinton, now the Democratic presidential nominee, and foundation donors do not appear to violate legal agreements both Clintons signed before she joined the State Department in 2009.