Russ Feingold calls Hillary Clinton 'trustworthy'

Madison — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Russ Feingold called Hillary Clinton "reliable and trustworthy" Monday but reaffirmed his stance that if she's elected president she should consider shutting down the Clinton Foundation.

"What I'm saying is, it's a whole other thing when somebody is the president of the United States. And that the highest level of scrutiny should be applied to something like that when somebody becomes president," Feingold said after a campaign appearance.

The Clinton Foundation has emerged as an issue in the presidential race between Clinton, the Democratic nominee, and Republican Donald Trump. Locally, Trump's state campaign has called for Feingold to weigh in on Clinton's ethics as secretary of state.

Last week, The Associated Press reported that "more than half the people outside government" who met with Clinton while she was secretary of state "gave money — either personally or through companies or groups  — to the Clinton Foundation." Clinton and her supporters have said the AP analysis was flawed.

"What I said was that if somebody is going to become president of the United States, it becomes very, very important to make sure there are no questions, particularly as that presidency started," Feingold said. "And so what I said is they ought to be as open as possible about what this has done, the Clinton Foundation, and whether there are any concerns going forward. And that it may be a good idea not to have it if she becomes president."

Earlier Monday, Feingold received a Hollywood boost for his fundraising with an appeal Monday from actor-director Robert Redford, while a super PAC supporting Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson released a poll claiming the race is tight.

Feingold, a former three-term U.S. senator, and Johnson are in a rematch of their 2010 race.

In an email to Feingold supporters, Redford wrote: "If you're like me, you've been observing this political season with disbelief and deep concern for America. I watch opportunistic politicians pit citizen versus citizen, reinforcing a destructive mindset that says one can only win by making others lose."

In the 1972 film "The Candidate," Redford played a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate in California. Redford has a long history of political activism.

Pat Garrett, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said: “Senator Feingold’s latest Hollywood help epitomizes the hypocrisy of some Washington politicians. Feingold promised Wisconsinites he would stand against outside money, but now as he desperately tries to return to Washington, D.C., he’s changed. What’s even worse, he changed just to further his career.”

The poll by Let America Work super PAC showed Feingold with 49.6% and Johnson with 46.6%, within the survey's 4% margin of error. The poll of 600 likely general election voters was conducted Aug. 21-22.

In an August Marquette University Law School poll, Feingold led Johnson among likely voters, 53% to 42%. When Libertarian candidate Phil Anderson was included in the contest, Feingold had 50%, Johnson 39% and Anderson 7% among likely voters.

A new Marquette Law School poll will be released Wednesday.

"The race is in a statistical tie. It's going to be close," said Jim McLaughlin, pollster for Let America Work.

Harry Hartfield, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said that poll was "a desperate plea to right-wing billionaires, begging them to come to his (Johnson's) rescue."

Curt Anderson, senior adviser for Let America Work, said the Super PAC has placed "about a half-million dollar" ad buy for a statewide TV spot that will launch Friday.

Anderson declined to offer details on the ad but indicated it would touch on national security.

"If any of you saw the ad that Feingold ran where he was talking about being tough on terror and a strong supporter of the military, I think that was a strategic mistake because I think he looked like a phony in that ad," Anderson said.

Feingold said he has worked on security issues for many years and said Johnson only talks about the issue "when there's a tragedy and goes on Fox News."

"But he has no plan to deal with it," Feingold said, as he restated his plan to target the leadership of the Islamic State, cut off the group's financing, increase human intelligence and put pressure on other countries in the region.

Feingold singled out Saudi Arabia for "exporting a radical form of extreme philosophy."

"We need to put pressure on them, and not just sit back," Feingold said as he raised the possibility of imposing sanctions on Saudi Arabia.

Bill Glauber reported from Milwaukee and Patrick Marley from Madison.