Brunei and the Clinton Foundation

The Voice of America reported about the donations that former US President Bill Clinton received for his foundation on 18 December 2008. This was part of the deal to avoid conflict of interests that he had to make so that his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton can become the next Secretary of State. The news report run as follows:

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Foreign States Among Major Donors to Clinton Foundation

18 December 2008. The foundation run by former U.S. President Bill Clinton has received donations from several foreign governments that his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, might have to negotiate with as secretary of state.

President-elect Barack Obama has nominated Senator Clinton to the top diplomatic post and requested the list of donors to her husband's charitable organization to avoid conflicts of interest.

Some of the biggest donors on the list, released Thursday, are the Australian government and Saudi Arabia, which both gave between $10 million and $25 million. Norway donated up to $10 million, while Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Brunei each gave up to $5 million.

The charity's list of donors also includes the controversial Blackwater security firm, which provides protection for U.S. diplomats in Iraq. U.S. prosecutors have charged five Blackwater security guards with unlawfully killing 14 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad last year. As secretary of state, Senator Clinton may have the final say on whether the State Department will renew its contract with Blackwater.

One of the leading private donors on the list is Amar Singh, an Indian politician. Singh met with Senator Clinton in September while on a trip to Washington to lobby for a controversial agreement for India to obtain civilian nuclear technology from the United States.

The William J. Clinton foundation funds his presidential library and humanitarian projects around the world, including initiatives to prevent HIV/AIDS, to fight climate change and to promote education. The foundation says it has received over 200,000 donations, 90 percent of which were for $250 or less.

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