A Clinton family charity focused on public health will separate itself from the Clinton Foundation, lose the family name and remove Bill and Chelsea Clinton from its board if Hillary Clinton wins the election, the organization announced Wednesday.
The move from the Clinton Health Access Initiative follows similar planning from the foundation to answer critics’ concerns of potential conflicts of interests should Clinton become president.
According to the announcement from CHAI, all five members of its board will step down if Clinton wins in November. That includes the former president and his daughter, Bruce Lindsey, Ira Magaziner and Maggie Williams. Lindsey is the chairman of the Clinton Foundation and all three have been top aides to the Clintons in public office.
The organization will retain its acronym but remove “Clinton” from its name and separate from the Clinton Foundation.
Other steps include amending CHAI’s bylaws to remove the Clinton Foundation’s role in appointing board members and appointing a new board if Clinton wins the election.
CHAI’s announcement follows similar decisions from the Clinton Foundation. The organization announced last month that it would stop accepting corporate and foreign donations if Clinton wins, and Bill Clinton wouldn’t give paid speeches. But Chelsea Clinton would continue her work with the organization.
The family’s charitable organizations, which work on issues including public health and gender equality around the world, have drawn scrutiny in the election cycle for its donors. Though no explicit conflict of interests have been found, Clinton interacted with many of the donors to her organization in her role as secretary of state.
Emails released in Freedom of Information Act requests also revealed her staff fielding requests related to foundation donors, such as job leads or meetings. The Clintons and State Department have denied any impropriety.
The Clintons have been asked why they will make changes only after Clinton is elected and whether they will shutter the charity entirely. Clinton has said the process of winding down the group while continuing the charity’s missions will take time, and that the foundation is looking for “partners” to help with the effort.
The Trump campaign on Wednesday called the move a “PR gimmick.”
“This proposal is a P.R. gimmick designed to distract from the mounting Clinton Foundation controversies and amounts to the Clintons launching a fire sale on influence-buying before the November election,” said campaign spokesman Jason Miller. “To completely eliminate the prospect of undue foreign influence, the Clinton Foundation and its affiliates should not only cease accepting these donations immediately, they should return every penny they have received from other countries.”
CHAI was founded in 2002 under the Clinton Foundation to focus on making AIDS drugs available and affordable, training health care workers around the world and combating other diseases.
