Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Clinton Foundation quietly refiles 3 years of tax forms after NY Attorney General admitted the charity failed to disclose all of its donors in accordance with state law-CNN, 10/4/16

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"Late Tuesday (10/4), a spokesman for the New York Attorney General's office acknowledged some of those financial statements had been missing....What appears to be missing are foundation records on donors and contributors."

Oct. 4, 2016, "Clinton Foundation had filing issues, too," CNN, David Fitzpatrick and Drew Griffin

"Clinton Foundation officials told CNN Tuesday that "certain supplementary financial information" may not have been filed as required with the New York State Charities Bureau for three years.

The news comes a day after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Trump Foundation -- sent on September 30 and made public on Monday -- preventing it from soliciting donations in New York because the Trump Foundation had failed to properly register as an official charity.

The Clinton Foundation "is properly registered to solicit funds under Article 7A, which requires organizations to register before they solicit funds in New York," according to a statement sent by a Clinton Foundation spokesman.

But officials from the foundation also said: "It has come to our attention that the copies of the Clinton Foundation's consolidated audit reports filed with the Charities Bureau from 2012-2014 may not have included certain supplementary financial information related to affiliates of the Foundation." 

The Clinton Foundation has 10 different affiliated charities operating under its umbrella. The largest of these is called CHAI -- the Clinton Healthcare Access Initiative -- and files its own financial statement with New York.

Foundation officials say "while we are not yet certain if this information is required to be filed," the foundation will do so "out an abundance of caution." These officials also said they had not received any inquiries from New York state regulators. 

This potential lack of full compliance could be the result of the complex nature of the Clinton Foundation and the affiliates which operate within it.

What appears to be missing are foundation records on donors and contributors for these affiliates. Overall, as of last year the Clinton Foundation had $315 million in reserves. A foundation spokesman said the foundation employs hundreds of people worldwide and is hundreds of times larger than Trump's Foundation, which in its last filing held just $1.3 million dollars in its accounts. 

Late Tuesday (10/4), a spokesman for the New York Attorney General's office acknowledged some of those financial statements had been missing. The confusion arose, the spokesman said, because of a merger between the foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual conference which had its final session in New York City last month. 

"The Clinton Foundation was required to file these statements for CGI in 2012, prior to CGI's merger with the Clinton Foundation in 2013," a spokesman told CNN. "Today (Oct. 4, 2016), the Clinton Foundation filed supplementary Statements of Financial Position and Activities for CHAI for 2012-14 and the requisite supplementary Statements for CGI for 2012."" 
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Washington Examiner article:

"CNN first reported the Clinton Foundation's filing issues."

Oct. 5, 2016,  "Clinton Foundation refiles three years of tax forms," Washington Examiner, Sarah Westwood

"Clinton Foundation officials quietly refiled three years of tax-related forms this week after the New York attorney general acknowledged the charity had failed to disclose all of its donors in accordance with state law.

Two entities operating within the Clintons' sprawling philanthropic network — the Clinton Health Access Initiative and the Clinton Global Initiative submitted supplementary financial disclosures for different years between 2012 and 2014 while denying Tuesday that the attorney general's office had asked them to do so.
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"The Clinton Foundation is properly registered to solicit funds under Article 7A, which requires organizations to register before they solicit funds in New York," said Ricardo Castro, general counsel for the Clinton Foundation.

Donald Trump's eponymous foundation was issued a cease-and-desist letter Monday from the New York attorney general's office over the charity's failure to register under that same statute.

But the Clinton Foundation has logged its own financial inconsistencies over the past several years. In November of last year (2015), the Clinton Health Access Initiative re-submitted several years of tax returns after reporters identified millions of dollars in foreign contributions that had been omitted from its disclosures.

Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, is a Hillary Clinton campaign donor and vocal supporter. Critics have accused his office of coming down harshly on the Trump Foundation while offering leniancy to the Clinton Foundation....

A Clinton Foundation official said he was "not certain" if the supplementary filings submitted this week were required by law but noted the charity would turn them over anyway "out of an abundance of caution."

CNN first reported the Clinton Foundation's filing issues."



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