Trump's call on Clinton hits close to mark

Hillary Clinton has steadfastly maintained she kept the Clinton Foundation at arm’s length during her tenure as secretary of state to avoid conflicts of interest. Republican Donald Trump has routinely scoffed at her explanation, saying Mrs. Clinton fostered a “pay to play” system, calling it a “scam” in which the Clintons traded access to the State Department in return for generous donations to her family’s charitable foundation.

It turns out Trump, who is frequently criticized for shooting his mouth off, was on the mark in this case.

Emails released Monday provide new examples of a Clinton Foundation official seeking access to the State Department on behalf of donors at a time when Hillary Clinton led the department.

The emails — obtained through a lawsuit by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch — are damaging to Clinton’s increasingly fragile credibility. The emails reveal a pattern that the Clinton Foundation’s fundraising habits created a conflict of interest for Clinton during her work as the nation’s top diplomat.

For example, the Crown Prince of Bahrain was forced to go through the foundation to see Clinton, after pledging $32 million to the Clinton global initiative.

At this point, there is no evidence the crown prince received anything substantial for his $32 million contribution, other than getting a photo-op with the secretary of state so he could amaze his more impressionable friends.

The emails released by Judicial Watch showed exchanges in which a former Hillary Clinton top aide, Huma Abedin, provided influential Clinton Foundation donors special, expedited access to the secretary of state.

In many instances, the preferential treatment provided to donors was at the specific request of Clinton Foundation executive Douglas Band, a close ally of former President Clinton.

This appears nothing more than an old-fashioned shakedown — or, as Trump puts it, “pay to play” if you want attention from the Clintons.

This email trail is hugely troubling to the Clinton campaign and raises more serious doubts about the Democrat’s honesty.

If Clinton was willing to hang a “For Sale” sign on her office at the State Department, what’s to stop her from doing the same thing at the White House?

American voters have a right to know, except Clinton isn’t talking, as she continues to duck reporters in a press conference setting. It has been more than 250 days since Clinton has had a press conference, which is beyond ridiculous for someone who might be elected president in only 80 or so days.

It’s true that Clinton doesn’t perform well in such unscripted sessions. But if she wants to be the next president, she must show the ability to think on her feet and respond to hard questions, not softball inquiries lobbed by friendly talk-show hosts like Jimmy Kimmel on Monday.

The Clinton Foundation deserves credit for some of the humanitarian work it has done. But its shakedown of rich donors is reprehensible.

Clinton’s use of her public office to pry checks from donors is unethical and may help explain why she wants to keep her many emails hidden from public view.

Trump called Clinton’s role with the foundation “a disgusting situation. The whole thing is a scam.”

This time, he seems to be hitting close to the truth.

— The Savannah (Georgia) Morning News