The foundation said on Sunday, Oct. 15 that the donations, ranging between $100,000 to $250,000 have already been spent on their projects, according to The Daily Mail.
The decision to keep the money was no surprise, after tweets from the foundation’s spokesman Craig Minassian, seemed to confirm it.
“Suggesting @ClintonFdn return funds from our 330,000+ donors ignores the fact that donations have been used to help people across the world,” Minassian wrote in an Oct. 14 Tweet.Weinstein, co-founder of Miramax and recently fired by its board after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced, is a major Democratic donor. Calls for the foundation to return Weinstein’s money started to emerge after some 30 women came forward and accused the Hollywood producer of sexual assault and rape. The scandal has put many Hollywood stars and politicians under an awkward spotlight.
Hillary Clinton made a similar, albeit five-day late, statement on the scandal, saying she was “shocked and appalled” by the revelations on Weinstein.
Weinstein had hosted fundraisers for Clinton in the past and donated more than $46,000 to her recent presidential campaign and other election efforts, Fox News reported.
Clinton later told CNN that she would donate donate the money to charity.
“What other people are saying, what my former colleagues are saying, is they’re going to donate it to charity, and of course I will do that,” she told CNN.
“We do so not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues but also to send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over,” the board wrote in the official statement. “What’s at issue here is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our society.”
The board also said that it is working to establish ethical standards of conduct that all members would be expected to exemplify.
The board’s decision arrived on the same day that Weinstein’s brother, Bob Weinstein, broke his silence and criticized his brother as a predator. Bob Weinstein said that he intended to write a letter to the board, but it is unclear if the letter had reached the members before their decision was made.
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