Dick Morris falsely asserted New World Foundation "gave money to the PLO" while Clinton was on foundation's board

Summary: On Fox News, Dick Morris falsely asserted: "Hillary Clinton in the 1980s was on the board of a foundation group called the New World Foundation that gave money to the PLO, which at the time was identified as a terror organization." In fact, the New World Foundation reportedly did not "g[i]ve money to the PLO."

On the April 17 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News contributor Dick Morris stated that he wanted to talk about "[Sen.] Hillary Clinton's ties to terrorism." Morris then falsely asserted: "Hillary Clinton in the 1980s was on the board of a foundation group called the New World Foundation that gave money to the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organization], which at the time was identified as a terror organization." In a column co-written by Eileen McGann, which was published on FoxNews.com on April 18, Morris also asserted: "Her [Clinton's] relationship with terrorists began in the mid-1980s when she served on the Board of the New World Foundation, which gave funds to the Palestine Liberation Organization, at a time when the PLO was officially recognized by the US government as a terrorist organization." In fact, the New World Foundation reportedly did not "g[i]ve money to the PLO." Rather, according to a September 19, 2000, Washington Times article, the foundation "donated $15,000 to a group called Grassroots International, which at the time was giving money to two Palestinian groups with ties to the Palestine Liberation Organization -- the Union of Palestinian Working Women's Committees and the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees." The June 11, 1999, edition of the Jewish daily the Forward reported that the New World Foundation "granted funds to Grassroots International, which in turn funneled the money to two PLO-affiliated groups."

Further, an October 16, 1992, Baltimore Jewish Times article (accessed via Nexis) reported that Clinton responded to "published charges" that the New World Foundation "awarded a grant to an organization that contributed to Palestine Liberation Organization projects on the West Bank." From the Jewish Times article:

"As I recall," she said, "the grant was made for 10,000 to Grassroots International for a specific project in South Africa. If the money was diverted, I knew nothing about it, and to this day I know nothing about it other than the media stories."

Morris' appearance on The O'Reilly Factor followed a segment with Fox News political analyst Karl Rove, in which Rove falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama suggested that "[i]f you wear a flag lapel pin, you're not a true patriot." Host Bill O'Reilly introduced the segment with Morris by stating, "OK, now, Karl Rove really doesn't like Barack Obama as a political figure in this country. It's obvious. And you really don't like Hillary Clinton as a political figure in this country. So we figure we'd balance off the debate." Morris replied: "You got that, huh? Don't say O'Reilly doesn't listen."

From the April 17 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: OK, now, Karl Rove really doesn't like Barack Obama as a political figure in this country. It's obvious. And you really don't like Hillary Clinton as a political figure in this country. So we figure we'd balance off the debate.

MORRIS: You got that, huh? Don't say O'Reilly doesn't listen.

O'REILLY: I listen to everybody. Now, overall assessment, everybody agrees, you may not. But the consensus is that [ABC debate hosts George] Stephanopoulos and [Charles] Gibson ganged up on Obama and pretty much gave Hillary Clinton an easy night.

MORRIS: They absolutely did. I thought that Hillary won that debate. And I thought Obama was inept in the way he handled Hillary. But George Stephanopoulos is in the tank to Hillary Clinton. She hired him. She sustained him in the White House for four years. Any time Bill [Clinton] wanted to get rid of him, Hillary intervened on his behalf. And he's in the tank to her. And this was a payback right before the Pennsylvania debate to go hard on Obama --

O'REILLY: You think ABC News knows that?

MORRIS: I don't know if they know that, but they hired the guy. I mean, having him question Hillary is about as fair as having me question Hillary.

[...]

O'REILLY: Last question. This Reverend [Jeremiah] Wright, and right up behind you we're going to have a little bit more about this. This is just stunning to me, this story. I mean, $10 million this guy now has access. Doesn't -- but I'm the only one doing it, Morris.

MORRIS: Listen, I want to talk about something related to that, which is Hillary Clinton's ties to terrorism. Hillary Clinton in the 1980s was on the board of a foundation group called the New World Foundation that gave money to the PLO, which at the time was identified as a terror organization. Then when she went to the White House, she had a conference that was hosted by the American Muslim Alliance, which then contributed $50,000 to her Senate race.

Steve Emerson, who's been on your show --

O'REILLY: [inaudible]

MORRIS: -- really the top terrorism expert, said of the American Muslim Alliance, quote, "They have sanctioned terrorism, published anti-Semitic statements, and repeatedly hosted conferences that were forums for denunciation of Jews and exhortations to wage jihad." Now that relationship, you didn't see Wright giving Obama $50,000. You didn't see [William] Ayers attending a conference -- organizing a conference for Obama.

—L.K.A.