In a 2011 internal review of the Clinton Foundation, the organization’s own employees gave it poor marks for effectiveness, rating it at a dismal 4 or lower on a scale of 10.
The revelation from WikiLeaks’ dump of John Podesta’s emails, comes from an internal review done of the charity by Simpson and Thacher, which raised huge questions about conflicts of interests at the organization.
Clinton Foundation employees rated the foundation’s work in the AIDS/HIV area a 7-8 on the same scale, but the report highlights serious concerns about corruption, conflicts of interest and self-dealing. The report notes:
- both the CEO of the Clinton Foundation and the head of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Ira Magaziner, got to set their own salaries, without board oversight or approval;
- “the Board does not appear to supervise, set compensation for, or evaluate the CEO” of the Clinton Foundation;
- the Clinton Foundation had not implemented a conflict of interest policy;
- numerous Clinton Foundation employees had outside jobs, and there were “instances in which gifts and other payments received by staff had not been properly disclosed”;
- there was a “lack of internal controls” when it came to finances and how money was being spent on travel and lodging;
The report paints the picture of an organization where “there is no clear ‘command and control’ structure.”
Simpson and Thacher suggests correcting the troubling problems by setting the “tone at the top” including Bill Clinton.