Trump camp: 'Loophole' would allow smaller Clinton charities to take foreign cash

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William La Jeunesse reports from Los Angeles

The Trump campaign is making the case that the Clinton Foundation pledge not to accept foreign and corporate donations if Hillary Clinton is elected president doesn't go far enough -- since related charities could still take that money.

The nonprofit foundation announced last week it would accept donations only from U.S. citizens and independent charities if Clinton wins in November. The move was meant to settle ethical concerns amid newly released emails that Trump claims reveal a "pay-to-play" operation.

But such a donation ban has not yet been announced regarding smaller Clinton-tied charities including the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).

The Trump campaign argues the the groups are exploting a "corporate loophole."

“The Clinton Foundation’s laughable attempt to address conflicts of interest fails to include many of its umbrella organizations," Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller said Tuesday. "The bottom line is that conflicts of interest with foreign governments and special interests would continue unabated in a Hillary Clinton administration under their insufficient and unacceptable proposal.”

The Boston Globe first reported on the implications for these lesser-known charities. The newspaper also reported the alliance has no plans to change its fundraising.

Still, the groups could be planning other changes.

Canadian philanthropist Frank Giustra, who founded the enterprise partnership with former President Bill Clinton, said he plans to make the charity an independent entity, according to the newspaper.

Bill Clinton, daughter Chelsea Clinton and family lawyer Bruce Lindsey sit on the alliance and the foundation boards. The alliance says the groups are separate legal entities but that the alliance board would soon meet to “determine its next steps.”

Former President Clinton also announced Monday a series of steps he'd take to distance himself and his wife from the 12-year-old foundation and other groups if Hillary Clinton is elected. Among them, he said he would no longer do fundraising for the foundation and would resign from the board.

He also said he would step down from the board of CHAI, though did not address its fundraising. He said only that the board is considering "a range of options to ensure that its vital work will continue and will announce details soon."

The CEO of that group is Ira Magaziner, a former Clinton White House adviser.

Clinton, in his statement, defended the work of his network of charities. “When I left the White House in 2001 and returned to life as a private citizen, I wanted to continue working in areas I had long cared about … That’s what the Clinton Foundation has tried to do,” he said.

Clinton also said the Clinton Global Initiative would hold its final CGI America meeting in September.

Heightened political and media scrutiny on the Clinton-Giustra partnership began at about the time Hillary Clinton announced her presidential campaign last year, considering Canadian law does not require nonprofit charities to disclose their donor rolls.

Giustra responded in May 2015 by saying the partnership had two legal opinions that confirmed donors “have a right and an expectation of privacy” under Canadian law and charitable best practices.

However, he said the partnership would ask major donors for permission to disclose their contributions. And he rejected accusations and reports that the partnership had accepted foreign donations or that he made donations to the foundation to further his business interests.

The partnership did not response to a request Monday for comment.