Clinton Foundation donors desert ex-power couple, sparking questions about original mission. Plunge in Clinton Foundation donations fuels GOP scrutiny amid DOJ probe.

Newly released tax documents showing a plunge in Clinton Foundation donations after Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential election defeat have fueled long-standing Republican allegations of possible “pay-to-play” transactions at the organization, amid a Justice Department probe covering foundation issues.

The tax filings, which were made public this month, show the Clinton Foundation pulled in $62.9 million in 2016, but only $26.6 million the following year, representing a nearly 58 percent drop. Tax documents for 2018 are not yet available.

A spokesman for the foundation told The New York Post, which first reported the figures, that they “anticipated a decline” in 2017 and said it was “largely attributable to the absence of sponsorship and membership contributions for CGI [Clinton Global Initiative].”

The final CGI meeting was held in 2016, and the wind-down was a likely factor in the donation drop. Representatives for the Clinton Foundation did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

But the filings further emboldened congressional Republicans concerned the foundation benefited first from Clinton’s position atop the State Department and later as a presidential candidate, by way of donors seeking political favors — only for that cash flow to dry up when it was clear Hillary Clinton was out of government.

“The remarkable significance of the drop in Clinton foundation donations raises grave concerns their operations were not above board as the American people have been led to believe,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said in a statement to Fox News. “Whenever we look at the possibility of ‘pay to play’ by government officials, current or former, it demands answers–and anyone who uses public office to sell access for their own financial benefit must be held accountable.”

President Trump, citing reports about the foundation’s fundraising, tweeted Sunday that it “shows that they illegally played the power game” and “monetized their political influence through the Foundation.”

www.foxnews.com/politics/plunge-in-clinton-foundation-donations-fuels-gop-scrutiny-amid-doj-probe

h/t persistent_derp