KEENE, N.H. — Hillary Rodham Clinton dismissed swirling questions about her family foundation Monday as little more than political attacks from Republicans eager to gain an early advantage in the 2016 presidential contest.

Clinton, campaigning for the Democratic nomination in the liberal bastion of Keene, pushed back against accusations that foreign governments that made donations to the Clintons’ charity received preferential treatment from the State Department while she served in the Obama administration.

“We will be subjected to all kinds of distractions and attacks,” she told reporters after a roundtable event at a wood furniture factory. “I’m ready for that. I know that that comes, unfortunately, with the territory.”

She is making her first campaign visit this year to New Hampshire, a state beloved by the Clinton family for giving both her faltering 2008 effort and her husband’s struggling 1992 campaign a second wind.

Standing in front of wooden pallets and boxes of furniture parts, Clinton was asked by reporters about Peter Schweizer’s coming book, “Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich.” The book argues that the Clinton family got speaking fees and donations in return for favors to various foreign interests doled out while she was secretary of state. Sen. Rand Paul, a 2016 Republican candidate, said that would make people “question whether she ought to run for president.”

Republicans have spent months talking about financial dealings of the Clinton Foundation to raise questions about Hillary Clinton’s character. She stepped down from the organization’s board within hours of announcing her campaign.

The foundation has come under scrutiny for accepting foreign contributions. It supports public health, climate change and anti-poverty efforts.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.