Chelsea defends Clinton Foundation

Chelsea Clinton pushed back against the idea that the Clinton Foundation’s donors gave money to gain political influence with former Secretary of State and 2016 contender Hillary Clinton (D).

“What people who choose to partner with us, whether it’s in a financial capacity or a programmatic capacity, expect to get is the work that we’ve seen on this trip,” she told The Washington Post while on a swing through Africa, highlighting the foundation’s work.

“They expect to make a difference in stopping elephant poaching. They expect to make a difference in expanding secondary education for girls,” Clinton, the organization’s vice-chairwoman, continued.

{mosads}“Whenever I have had a conversation with anyone, it’s always about the work. I’ve never had anyone talk to me about my parents in a political capacity for a foundation program,” she added.

The comments came as Chelsea and her father, former President Clinton, lead a meeting in Morocco to tout the work of the foundation, amid questions about its fundraising practices.

The foundation has faced scrutiny over its acceptance of foreign donations while Hillary Clinton served as secretary of State.

As Hillary Clinton has ramped up her White House bid, there have been allegations that donors to the family’s foundation made their contributions to influence decisions and policy at the State Department.

But Chelsea Clinton implied that the increased attention being paid to the foundation now — ahead of the release of a new book Clinton Cash, out Tuesday — is politically motivated.

“My family is no stranger to scrutiny and neither is the foundation,” she told the Post while in Kenya. “It has been under intense scrutiny since inception. When you mix together the higher level of scrutiny around the foundation and then the political dimension, I’m not surprised.”

The Clinton campaign launched its own effort to push back against the accusations on Tuesday.