The Clinton Foundation will not return or re-donate disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s $250,000 worth of contributions to the organization, claiming that the funds have been used.
The foundation told the Daily Mail Sunday that the organization used the $100,000 to $250,000 worth of donations to support women and girls in developing nations and lower the cost of HIV medication, adding that Weinstein’s last contribution to the foundation was in 2014.
Clinton Foundation spokesperson Craig Minassian doubled down on those claims in a tweet Sunday evening, citing that Weinstein’s donations “have been used to help people across the world.”:
The foundation offered this explanation after board member Chelsea Clinton evaded questions from reporters Saturday about whether the Clinton Foundation would return Weinstein’s donations.
Many Democratic politicians and other organizations have pledged to return or re-donate Weinstein’s contributions in light of the growing number of rape accusations.
The Clinton Foundation is no stranger to accepting contributions from donors with questionable reputations, especially those with records of perpetuating violence against women.
In 2006, the foundation accepted a $25,000 donation from Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
The foundation has also accepted millions of dollars from countries with records of violence against women, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Breitbart News Editor-at-Large Peter Schweizer’s book Clinton Cash exposed a lot of the shady deal-making between the Clinton Foundation’s donors, Bill Clinton’s six-figure speeches, and the U.S. State Department’s actions while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.
The Clinton Foundation laid off a good chunk of its staffers and closed the Clinton Global Initiative as a result of Schweizer’s book.