‘Deception’: Congresswoman Blasts Obama Admin for Stonewalling Clinton Foundation Investigation

WASHINGTON, DC — The Obama administration is brushing off a congressional attempt to investigate the nonprofit status of the Clinton Foundation.

Breitbart News has obtained a letter that Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chairwoman Edith Ramirez sent this week to Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn. Blackburn previously asked the FTC to look into whether or not the Clinton Foundation is a “sham charity” because it reportedly spends just 15 percent of its money on “direct program expenditures.” The FTC is brushing that complaint off for now. The FTC also appears to be ignoring the other complaints that Blackburn made against the Clinton Foundation, including the Foundation’s reported failure to report millions of dollars in foreign grants.

“Although any particular case would require a fact-specific analysis, the Commission generally lacks jurisdiction over non-profit entities,” Ramirez wrote. “…In particular, the Supreme Court has held that spending only a low percentage of donations for charitable purposes, without more, does not establish fraud.” The letter went on:

When the Commission can establish that an entity claiming to be a charity is in fact operating to profit itself or its members, i.e., is a ‘sham charity,’ the Commission can bring an enforcement action against the entity for making deceptive representations to donors. As you noted, the Commission has acted against sham charities in such egregious cases.

Blackburn is not happy about the FTC’s response. In a statement provided to Breitbart News, Blackburn blasted he Commission.

“The lack of transparency by the Clinton Foundation raises issues of deception and false claims.  In our letter, we lay out a number of reports that have put the Clinton Foundation on a ‘Watch List’, questioned its transparency and accountability, and found it to be an ‘atypical business model,'” Blackburn said.

“The FTC’s response is inconsistent with their mission and precedent. It appears they took the easy route of sending back a form letter rather than truly investigating an issue that is of compelling public interest. The allegations swirling around the Foundation are very serious and should be thoroughly vetted. This is an issue of fairness and accountability that needs to be addressed,” Blackburn stated.