Numerous organizations had disassociated themselves from Bill Cosby even before the comedian was charged with a crime for any of the alleged sexual assaults he committed over the years. Colleges and universities have scrubbed the formerly-beloved TV dad’s name from their buildings. Others have rescinded honorary degrees given to Cosby and more have returned donations he has provided.
But one organization that has yet to make a move regarding Cosby is the Clinton Foundation.
As was reported earlier this year, the “Cosby Show” creator gave between $1,001 and $5,000 to the non-profit organization operated by former president Bill Clinton and his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Even as dozens of women came forward to accuse Cosby of sexually assaulting them over the past several decades, the charity declined to relinquish the Cosby cash. And in a particularly awkward interview in July, Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri hemmed and hawed when asked whether the Foundation would return the money.
“It’s, you know, wealthy people giving money to help poor people. Uh, we think that’s, uh, that’s a positive thing,” she said.
Asked by Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin whether she saw any reason for the Clinton Foundation to give the money back, Palmieri said: “I mean, I think that you should, uh, uh, like the Foundation can also speak to this.”
The Clinton Foundation did not respond on Wednesday to The Daily Caller’s questions about its plans for the Cosby donations.
An arrest warrant for Cosby was issued on Wednesday for an incident which allegedly occurred in his Philadelphia-area mansion in Jan. 2004. Cosby allegedly raped Andrea Constand while she was unconscious. Constand has said that she looked at Cosby as a friend and mentor before the incident.
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania District Attorney Kevin Steele said Wednesday that Cosby was being charged with “aggravated indecent assault” — a first-degree felony — and that he will be arraigned later in the day. (RELATED: Bill Cosby Charged With Felony Aggravated Indecent Assault)
In July, Spelman College, a historically black women’s college in Atlanta, terminated a professorship endowed by Cosby and his wife. Numerous other schools have distanced themselves from Cosby in other ways. Marquette University, Brown University, and Fordham University — just to name a few — have rescinded honorary degrees granted to the 78-year-old.
Of course, there’s one explanation that could explain the Clinton’s slow response to the Cosby affair. Bill Clinton himself has been accused by numerous women of sexual assault, indecency, and harassment since the 1970s.