On Monday, Judicial Watch announced that a batch of 725 US State Department emails suggest that the Democratic presidential nominee used her political office for personal gain.
"These new emails confirm that Hillary Clinton abused her office by selling favors to Clinton Foundation donors," Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said in a statement. "[The emails demand a] serious, independent investigation to determine whether Clinton and others broke the law."
A new report from the Associated Press on Tuesday adds to the perception of impropriety.
"More than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money – either personally or through companies or groups – to the Clinton Foundation," the report reads.
"It’s an extraordinary proportion indicating her possible ethics challenges if elected president."
The report is based on a review of US State Department calendars during Clinton’s tenure.
"At least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had phone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs," it reads.
"Combined, the 85 donors contributed as much as $156 million. At least 40 donated more than $100,000 each, and 20 gave more than $1 million."
In one case, Clinton met with Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning Bangladeshi economist who also chairs the nonprofit bank Grameen. The US flagship for his bank, Grameen America, gave between $100,000 and $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
US State Department calendars also show Clinton meeting with Stephen Schwarzman, chairman of the Blackstone Group. Blackstone donated between $250,000 and $500,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
While the findings do not show evidence that Clinton broke the law, they nonetheless raise questions about her judgement and potential conflict of interest.
On Monday, former President Bill Clinton said that he would stop all fundraising for the Clinton Foundation if his wife were to win the election in November, and stressed that future donations would only be accepted from US citizens and "independent philanthropies."
A statement released by Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said that the report was based on "flawed data" and stressed that ethical standards set by the Clinton Foundation are "unprecedented, even if it may never satisfy some critics."
