Sanders Raises New Critique of Clinton Foundation Funding Ahead of California Primary

As Hillary Clinton inches closer to becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, party rival Bernie Sanders appears to be growing more aggressive in his campaign tactics.

In the final week of the primary season, the Vermont senator raised a potentially damaging allegation against the former secretary of state.

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“If you asked me about the Clinton Foundation, do I have a problem when a sitting secretary of state and a foundation run by her husband collects many millions of dollars from foreign governments, governments which are dictatorships … yeah I do,” Sanders said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Sanders noted Saudi Arabia as a contributor to the Clinton Foundation, a country notorious for restricting civil liberties.

“You don’t have a lot of respect there for opposition points of view for gay rights or women’s rights,” he told host Jake Tapper.

Sanders said he believes the foundation’s ties to foreign governments with poor human rights records present a conflict of interest for Clinton.

The Democratic candidate used to avoid such critiques of Clinton’s record. In an April “State of the Union” interview, he refused to discuss topics like the FBI investigation into the former secretary of state’s private email server and contributions to the Clinton Foundation.

“There are a lot of people who say, Bernie, why don’t you go after her on her FBI investigation? Why don’t you go after her on the Clinton Foundation money? We have chosen not to do that,” he said in the April 3 interview.

California voters will take to the polls Tuesday to vote in the last major presidential primary of the 2016 election season, with 548 delegates up for grabs. Clinton and Sanders are neck-and-neck, with voter approval ratings 49 percent and 47 percent, respectively.

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