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Donors to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation include Hollywood stars, Farmers Insurance and the H.J. Heinz Co. Foundation. They also include the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates, creating a sticky ethical bog for Hillary Clinton as she considers a possible run for president in 2016.

The Arkansas-based foundation has done nothing illegal by accepting millions of dollars from countries that include Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, and it touts its "integrity" and "transparency" in disclosing its donors on its website. But just because something is legal doesn't make it right, and Ms. Clinton treads too close to a dangerous line if she does intend to run. After a Wall Street Journal report last week, the foundation says it is "rethinking" foreign donations. Thirty seconds of thinking is too much. The foundation should not accept donations from foreign countries, and it should return the millions it received from governments in 2014.

Hillary Clinton and her favor may not be for sale, but when the number of foreign governments donating to a potential presidential candidate's foundation doubles as the U.S. primary season approaches, the good that the organization does can be obscured by the frantically waving red flags that the Clintons pretend not to see. That much is troubling in itself.

Editorial on 02/27/2015

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