Five Clinton friends who got special State Department access

Hillary Clinton's campaign has struggled to explain a batch of previously undisclosed emails that contain fresh evidence of cooperation between the State Department and donors to the Clinton Foundation.

The records, which emerged through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by conservative-leaning Judicial Watch, offered a narrow window into the extent to which friends and donors were afforded consideration and access above what was provided to other outsiders.

The emails revived questions about whether the former secretary of state maintained an appropriate distance from her family's philanthropy. While State Department officials denied suggestions that the documents produced any evidence of impropriety, Clinton's criticstook her to task Wednesday for allegedly selling influence through the foundation.

As the Democratic nominee labors to repair a public trust that was damaged badly by the FBI's investigation into her private email use, the signs of quid pro quo contained in the latest records will likely force Clinton to confront the long-simmering controversy surrounding her family's foundation.

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