President Barack Obama's decision to align himself with a nonprofit has renewed questions about politicians getting too close to charity groups while in office.
According to
Politico, Obama helped My Brothers Keeper Alliance unveil itself Monday by giving a speech and being part of a roundtable discussion during a trip to New York.
But when the media accompanying the president asked White House press secretary Josh Earnest about whether the group would be transparent regarding its donations, Earnest said the president would not have any role in the matter.
"The Obama administration will have no role in deciding how donations are screened and what criteria they'll set at the alliance for donor policies because it's an entirely separate entity," Earnest said, according to Politico.
Obama traveled to New York on Air Force One to attend the My Brothers Keeper Alliance event and two fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee, and to tape an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman."
During the media's chat with Earnest, reporters questioned how close the president is with My Brothers Keeper Alliance, given the fact that it was formed after he asked corporations to help the nation's inner-city youth.
Earnest deflected the question and said, "That could be used to describe hundreds of different organizations."
According to Politico, more than a dozen businesses have pledged to support the nonprofit, a list that includes American Express, Discovery Networks, Sam's Club, and Sprint.
Politico also reports that five former members of the Obama administration are serving in leadership roles at My Brothers Keeper Alliance: former Deputy Education Secretary Jim Shelton, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former Associate Attorney General Tony West, former White House Domestic Policy Adviser Melody Barnes, and former presidential aide Danielle Gray.
The issue of transparency when it comes to nonprofits has been a hot topic in recent months. The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation came under fire for accepting donations from foreign governments while Hillary Clinton was serving as secretary of state.
Some critics have said that there was a conflict of interest and that Clinton
used her position in the Obama Cabinet to grant favors to other countries in exchange for donations to the foundation.
On Monday,
Bill Clinton defended his family's charity and said there was nothing "sinister" going on.
"I don't think there's anything sinister in trying to get wealthy people in countries that are seriously involved in development to spend their money wisely in a way that helps poor people and lifts them up," the former president said.
Hillary Clinton is running for president and is the leading Democrat in the race, although some say
the wheels are already coming off her campaign because of the foundation situation and another involving her use of a private email address and server while she was secretary of state.
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