Elections

Clinton Campaign Worried About Bill Cosby Clinton Foundation Ties

REUTERS/Mark Makela

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Hillary Clinton’s campaign worried that she would face scrutiny over the thousands of dollars the Clinton Foundation accepted from accused rapist Bill Cosby, a newly leaked memo reveals.

The memo, dated July 16, 2015, also reveals that Hillary was instructed to give a non-answer if pressed over whether the foundation would return Cosby’s donations.

Clinton staffers worried about another tie between Hillary and Cosby: the fact that he campaigned for her during her 2000 Senate campaign.

The campaign expected Hillary to be asked a question like, “Bill Cosby has campaigned for YOU in the past and is a donor to the Clinton Foundation – Do YOU think his Presidential Medal of Freedom should be revoked and will the foundation return the money?”

Hillary was instructed to dodge the question by talking about sexual assault and rape on college campuses.

“If pressed on foundation,” the memo said, Hillary should again dodge the question: “The foundation has over 300,000 donors and they are funding incredibly important work but that’s not what this is about.”

The memo, which was released by WikiLeaks on Friday, may have been prompted by Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri’s poor performance the day before when pressed about Cosby’s ties to the Clinton Foundation.

Previously leaked emails reveal the Clinton campaign worried about comparisons between the allegations against Cosby, and Bill Clinton’s women “issues.” (RELATED: Leaked Emails Show Clinton Staffers Struggling To Handle Bill’s Women ‘Issues’)

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