The gaffes of Donald Trump have dominated the US election campaign. But Hillary Clinton seemed to put scandal behind her when she escaped indictment by the FBI over her use of a private e-mail address as secretary of state. But another possible scandal is brewing for Clinton as the campaign enters its final stretch: donations for access.After Bill left the presidency in 2001, he established the Clinton Foundation as a philanthropic organisation with a global reach. The foundation's various arms have since received $2-billion (about R29-billion) from an array of donors.New evidence suggests some donors may have believed their generosity would buy access to Clinton while secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.The risk of a perceived link between donations and meetings with Clinton was evident from the beginning. During her confirmation hearings, Senator Richard Lugar highlighted the danger. story_article_left1"Foreign governments and entities," he warned, "may perceive the Clinton Foundation as a means to gain favour with the secretary of state." At the time, Clinton promised to disclose every donation and clear all requests for access with the State Department.But e-mails published this week by Judicial Watch, a conservative campaign group, cast doubt over whether this pledge was kept. Moreover, the evidence suggests that some people thought that helping the Clinton Foundation would ease their path to seeing the secretary of state.The e-mails show that Doug Band, who helped to found the Clinton Global Initiative, tried to set up meetings between donors and State Department officials. He often succeeded. The e-mails reveal that Band was in frequent contact with Huma Abedin, then Clinton's deputy chief of staff at the State Department, now vice-chairwoman of Clinton's campaign.In some cases, he got nowhere. Band failed, for example, to smooth the way for a British footballer - later named as Sylvan Ebanks-Blake - to receive a US visa despite having a criminal record.Ebanks-Blake needed an "expedited appointment at the US embassy in London", wrote Band. Some "roadblocks" had been encountered and "I am writing to ask for your help". Abedin replied she was "nervous to get involved", prompting Band to drop the issue with a curt message: "Then don't."Other e-mails show he made approaches on behalf of luminaries, from Bono, the U2 frontman, to Salman bin Hamad, crown prince of Bahrain.Band described the Bahraini royal as a "good friend of ours" - he had, after all, pledged $32-million to a branch of the Clinton Foundation. The prince was indeed granted an appointment with the secretary of state.In fairness, Bahrain is a close ally of Washington and hosts the US Fifth Fleet in the Gulf. Prince Salman, the heir to the throne, probably would have met Clinton anyway.Bono asked the foundation to get a live-link with the International Space Station for the band's 3D concert tour in 2009, e-mails from Clinton's private server revealed. Ben Schwerin, a former Bill Clinton aide, e-mailed Abedin with the rock star's request. "Bono wants to do a linkup with the space station on every show ... Any ideas?" wrote Schwerin. Abedin replied that she had "no clue".block_quotes_start Her defence - "I know there's a lot of smoke, and there's no fire" - may wear thin, especially if the courts order the release of more e-mails block_quotes_endThe band did get some space station footage but whether it was a result of Bono's request is unclear. He is a longtime supporter of the foundation.The evidence suggests these were not isolated cases. A partial release of Clinton's State Department diary showed that more than half the people from outside the US government whom she met or spoke to on the phone - 85 out of 154 - were foundation donors.One businessman, S Daniel Abraham, saw Clinton within 24 hours of asking in May 2009. He had given up to $10-million to the foundation.There is no conclusive evidence any donor who met Clinton got any special favours.She can fairly claim to be an example of transparency compared with Trump and his opaque web of business interests and unfiled tax returns.But her defence - "I know there's a lot of smoke, and there's no fire" - may wear thin, especially if the courts order the release of more e-mails.So far, the Clinton campaign's only response has been to call Judicial Watch a "right-wing organisation that has been attacking the Clintons since the '90s".But as the campaign reaches its climax, Clinton's enemies are bound to ask: if donating to the Clinton Foundation was seen as a route to access when she was secretary of state, will this not be doubly true if she becomes president?sub_head_start THE HEADLINES THAT WON'T DISAPPEAR sub_head_endE-MAILGATE: In 2009, as she was sworn in as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton had a private server set up at her family home in New York from which she could send e-mails without having to use her official State Department account.story_article_right2The use of a private server went against State Department rules and, as it was not secure, made her potentially vulnerable to hacking. Clinton was ordered to turn over the e-mails to the State Department, but before doing so, she and her staff deleted some 31000 messages.An FBI investigation concluded that her actions were careless but not criminal. However, 15,000 further e-mails discovered by investigators are due to be published before the election.PAID SPEECHES TO WALL STREET: Both Donald Trump and former Democrat rival Bernie Sanders have accused her of being too close to Wall Street.A study of declared income shows that Clinton and her husband have made $153-million (R2.2-billion) in speaking fees. She gave 92 speeches between 2013 and 2015 for which she collected $21.6-million. Her standard rate is $225,000. Critics say she cannot be impartial and is in hock to unpopular big banks.BENGHAZI RAIDS: On September 11 2012, Islamist militants attacked a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, leaving a US ambassador and three other US citizens dead. It later emerged that the State Department, led at the time by Clinton, had rejected appeals for additional security at the consulate where the attack took place.Numerous inquiries costing tens of millions of dollars concluded that Clinton had not been at fault. But for many Americans, it is all that they remember from her time as secretary of state.GHOSTS OF THE PAST: From Whitewater to Monica Lewinsky, for much of his presidency Bill Clinton was either under investigation or seemingly on the brink of being impeached.Older voters remember the constant news dramas, which seemed to distract the president from his job. Even with her name cleared by multiple investigations, many regard Clinton as untrustworthy.- ©The Daily Telegraph, London..