Hillary Clinton will have no formal role in this year’s Clinton Global Initiative, the glitzy philanthropic gathering organized by her husband and the charitable foundation he started.
The former secretary of state played a large role in last year’s CGI meeting, speaking on panels, participating in interviews, and appearing on the main stage with her husband and daughter. But this year’s meeting, scheduled for September 26-29 in New York City, will be down one Clinton.
“Secretary Clinton doesn’t have a role in the CGI program or a speaking role this year,” Clinton Foundation spokesperson Craig Minassian told msnbc.
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Minassian noted that Clinton similarly did not have speaking role at CGI during her last presidential run in 2007. CGI has typically invited the nominees of both parties to the main stage during general election years. But it has not featured primary candidates, except for sitting presidents running for re-election, who are always invited.
Clinton joined the Clinton Foundation after stepping down as secretary of state in early 2013, but resigned her seat on the charity’s board shortly after declaring her presidential run in April.
She and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, faced scrutiny and allegations of conflicts of interest related to their work for the foundation earlier this year. The charity has collected multi-million-dollar checks from wealthy individuals and foreign governments, some of whom may be seeking influence with a former president and potential future one.
When Hillary Clinton joined the Obama administration in 2009, the foundation agreed to disclose its donors and limit foreign contributions. It’s unclear what would happen to the foundation if Clinton becomes president.
“Right now, she’s separated from the foundation,” Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta told “Meet the Press” in June. “I think that, as she did as secretary of state, she’ll put in place anything that’s appropriate to make sure that the work of the foundation, which has been excellent across the country and across the world, can continue, but without any question about undue influence.” Since its founding in 2005, CGI has leveraged Bill Clinton’s star power to convene more than 190 sitting and former heads of state, more than 20 Nobel laureates, and hundreds of CEOs and philanthropists. Participates make pledges for charitable actions around the world. On hand this year will be billionaire financier and Democratic megadonor George Soros, businessmen Bill Gates and Richard Branson, and actress Charlize Theron, along with the head of the World Bank and the CEOs of Alibaba, Unilever, and Monsanto. Timed to coincide with the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, CGI also attracts many foreign leaders. This year’s participants include the prime minister of Italy, the queen of Jordan and the sitting presidents of Iceland, Croatia, and Sri Lanka, among others. The event will also feature former heads of state or government from Israel, Australia, Mexico, Malawi, Costa Rica, and Georgia.
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