Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said Monday that no decision she’d made as secretary of State had been “influenced by anybody.”
She made the declaration in an exclusive ABC News interview with her running mate Tim Kaine, that will air Monday night and Tuesday morning.
{mosads}”I don’t think there are conflicts of interest,” Clinton said. “I know that that’s what has been alleged and never proven. But nevertheless, I take it seriously.”
She also said she thinks her husband, former President Bill Clinton, should be able to continue his foundation work until after the election. He announced last month that he would step down from the foundation bearing his name if Hillary Clinton wins on Nov. 8.
Hillary Clinton told ABC News’ David Muir Monday that he should not have to step down before the election.
“He started this great work. He has made it his life’s work, after the presidency,” she said. “And he has said, if I am so fortunate enough to be elected, he will not be involved. And I think that is appropriate.”
The Clinton Foundation has been accused of “pay-to-play” politics, with critics alleging that foreign donors gave to the project for access to the secretary of State.
But the Clintons have always denied such suggestions.
“I feel very good about the work of the foundation. I feel very good about my service as secretary of state. No decision I ever made was influenced by anybody. What I made a decision based on was what was good for the United States, what was good for our values, our interests, and our security,” she told ABC News’ David Muir.
“And the State Department has confirmed there’s no evidence of any such influence at all,” she added.
State Department records obtained by the conservative group Judicial Watch and made public last month showed that a senior executive at the Clinton Foundation helped set up a meeting between Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain with Clinton in 2009, after the prince’s efforts to reach out through normal channels failed.
“All of these questions about the Clinton Foundation, I am more than happy to answer,” she told ABC News Monday. “But I do hope that people will take a look at what the foundation has done, what charitable enterprises it’s involved in.”
Updated 6:45 p.m.