While both ABC's Good Morning America and CBS This Morning on Monday covered the latest developments in the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal and the Clinton Foundation accepting money from foreign governments, NBC's Today didn't bother to update viewers on either of the controversies continuing to swirl around the likely 2016 contender.
On GMA, co-host George Stephanopoulos declared: "...more fallout from the Hillary Clinton e-mail controversy. ABC News has learned House Speaker John Boehner is poised to announce a new investigation this week into Clinton's use of private e-mails as Secretary of State." White House correspondent Jon Karl explained: "...she will be asked to testify not once, but twice before Congress, once on the e-mails, a second time on Benghazi, in other words, you could have more appearances before Congress for Hillary Clinton during her primary campaign than you have presidential debates."
This Morning didn't cover the e-mail controversy on Monday, but did provide a full report on the Clinton Foundation raking in millions of dollars in foreign donations. Co-host Charlie Rose noted: "...there have been a recent increase in donations. They come from foreign governments. That is raising concerns about 2016."
Correspondent Julianna Goldman began: "Well, campaign finance laws prohibit foreign interests from investing in U.S. elections. It's a way of preventing foreigners from buying political influence here at home. But those rules don't apply to the Clinton Foundation, the nonprofit that bears the name of a likely presidential candidate."
Instead of covering the dual Clinton scandals, Today decided to devote a 2-minute-26-second report in the 7 a.m. ET hour to the Comedy Central roast of singer Justin Bieber.
Here are transcripts of the March 16 GMA and This Morning reports on Clinton:
Good Morning America
7:13 AM ET
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We're going to turn to politics now and more fallout from the Hillary Clinton e-mail controversy. ABC News has learned House Speaker John Boehner is poised to announce a new investigation this week into Clinton's use of private e-mails as Secretary of State. ABC's John Karl is at the White House and Jon this will be separate from the special committee already investigating the attack on U.S. diplomats in Benghazi.
JONATHAN KARL: That's right, George, this would be a separate investigation conducted by a separate committee looking specifically into her unusual e-mail practices as Secretary of State and it would almost certainly mean a protracted legal battle over access to the server she had in her house where she ran her e-mails. She has made it clear that she does not believe the government has a right to that. Republicans will push for access. And George, this will also likely mean she will be asked to testify not once, but twice before Congress, once on the e-mails, a second time on Benghazi, in other words, you could have more appearances before Congress for Hillary Clinton during her primary campaign than you have presidential debates.
STEPHANOPOULOS: That will be some high theater there Jon. And so it's going to go on for some time and the President already making jokes about it at a big dinner over the weekend.
KARL: That's right. He joked that he used to be seen as the tech savvy candidate back in 2008 but then he said of Hillary Clinton: "Hillary's got a server in her house, I didn't even know you could have one of those." And he joked if he had known that then he might have gotten one himself.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay, Jon Karl thanks very much.
CBS This Morning
7:32 AM ET
CHARLIE ROSE: The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation invests millions each year to fight AIDS and empower women but there have been a recent increase in donations. They come from foreign governments. That is raising concerns about 2016. A CBS News investigation found contributions from at least one foreign company with close ties to ISIS to its government. Julianna Goldman shows us how Hillary Clinton's big decision could get more complicated. Julianna good morning.
JULIANNA GOLDMAN: Good morning. Well, campaign finance laws prohibit foreign interests from investing in U.S. elections. It's a way of preventing foreigners from buying political influence here at home. But those rules don't apply to the Clinton Foundation, the nonprofit that bears the name of a likely presidential candidate.
HILLARY CLINTON: I'm very proud of the work the foundation does. I'm very proud of the hundreds of thousands of people who support the work of the foundation.
GOLDMAN: Since its founding, the Clinton Foundation has raised at least $42 million from foreign governments and according to an analysis by CBS News at least $170 mill from foreign organizations, companies, and individuals. One donor, Rilin Enterprises pledged $2 million in 2013. The company is a privately held Chinese construction and trade conglomerate that’s run by billionaire Wang Wengliang who's a delegate to the Chinese parliament. Public records show the firm spent $1.4 million since 2012 lobbying Congress and the State Department. The firm owns a strategic port along the border with North Korea and was also one of the contractors that built the Chinese Embassy in Washington. Jim Mann written several books on China’s relationship with the U.S.
JIM MANN: Embassy construction, one of the most important tasks is making sure that there are no bugs there. So you want to have the closest security and intelligence connections with and approval of the person or company that's going to build your embassy.
CLINTON: Thank you all and good morning.
GOLDMAN: The Clinton Foundation largely stopped taking money from foreign governments when Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State in 2009. It resumed the practice once she left in 2013 but never stopped taking money from foreign companies or individuals. The foundation says that if Hillary Clinton runs for president it will ensure the foundation's policies on international donors are appropriate just as it did when she served as Secretary of State.
MANN: If the point is that you're not going to take money from foreign governments, then his construction company is as close to not just the Chinese government but it’s ministry of state security as they could possibly be.
GOLDMAN: In a statement, a Relin spokesperson said “Mr. Weng has a long history of generous philanthropic giving and the Clinton Foundation is one of the many organizations Mr. Wang has donated to. Relin has faced a history of complaints since 2011 regarding its treatment of embassy construction workers. Documents obtained by CBS News show Relin was cited in 2011 and 2013 by officials in Jersey City, New Jersey for housing workers in unsafe and crowded conditions. The company says the charging in 2011 were settled and in 2013 the charges were dismissed. Other foreign donors have come under fire from U.S. Agencies. Barclays Capital has given at least $1 million and last year HSBC holdings gave the foundation at least $500,000. Both British banks are under Justice Department investigations. Asked about donations from foreign governments last week, Hillary Clinton defended the foundation's work.
CLINTON: I think that people who want to support the foundation know full well what it is we stand for and what we're working on.
GOLDMAN: But Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation, a campaign finance watchdog group, says the Clinton Foundation is a unique nonprofit that can't be separated from the U.S. political system.
BILL ALLISON: If there's foreign money coming in to the Clinton Foundation it will raise the question of is the president going to be doing favors for a foreign business, a foreign government, a foreign individual, and you just cannot have that in the American system of government where, you know, the president is supposed to represent the American people.
GOLDMAN: Clinton Foundation officials note that many major institutions have been under investigation but that shouldn’t stop them from giving to charity. A big issue here is when Hillary Clinton was at the State Department the foundation could rely on the Obama administration to vet any foreign donation but they don't have that mechanism build into a presidential campaign.
ROSE: Julianna thanks.
