Trump calls for special prosecutor to investigate Clinton Foundation

Seeking to make the Clinton Foundation a major election issue, Donald Trump said Monday that a special prosecutor should probe the financial dealings of the organization begun by ex-president Bill Clinton and current Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Trump told supporters at a rally in Akron, Ohio, that the Justice Department and FBI did a "whitewash" on Clinton's use of private e-mail at the State Department, and "they certainly cannot be trusted to quickly or impartially investigate Hillary Clinton’s crimes."

The Republican presidential nominee claimed that the foundation enabled Clinton to set up a "pay for play" operation at the State Department.

Reports: Trump cancels Nevada, Colorado, Oregon events

There is no longer a federal law governing the appointment of an independent counsel, as there was during Bill Clinton's years in the White House. The Justice Department would have to decide on its own whether to appoint a special prosecutor on any case.

Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said that while the foundation has "laid out the unprecedented steps" it will take if Hillary Clinton becomes president, it is time for Trump to releases his tax returns and other information about his holdings.

"Trump needs to come clean with voters about his complex network of for-profit businesses that are hundreds of millions of dollars in debt to big banks, including the state-owned Bank of China, and other business groups with ties to the Kremlin," Podesta said. "He must commit to fully divesting himself from all of his business conflicts to ensure that he is not letting his own financial interests affect decisions made by his potential administration."

State Dept. reviewing nearly 15,000 Clinton emails

"The Clinton Foundation is a non-profit organization that is a world-class charity," Clinton running mate Tim Kaine said at an Ironworkers convention in Las Vegas. "It’s provided life-saving AIDS drugs to 11-and-a-half million people. And all the donors to the foundation have been disclosed."

In an e-mail to supporters, former president Bill Clinton said that, if his wife is elected, "the foundation will accept contributions only from U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and U.S.-based independent foundations, whose names we will continue to make public on a quarterly basis."

While he would continue to support the work of the foundation, the ex-president said he would "step down from the Board and will no longer raise funds for it" if Hillary Clinton becomes president.

Before his rally in Akron, Trump visited the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, and told officers he would end President Obama's suspension of supplying surplus military equipment to local police departments.

"I think it's ridiculous that they're not," Trump said.

Follow David Jackson on Twitter: @djusatoday