Clinton's $225K College Speaking Fee Draws Fire

Students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas are making for some uncomfortable headlines for Hillary Clinton. The school plans to pay the former Secretary of State $225,000 to speak at a fundraiser in October and that doesn't sit well with student leaders. (Via Flickr / U.S. Department of State)

"The student body president and student government PR director suggested Clinton donate some or all of the fee to the university. ... So far, no response from her."

Students are making that request, in part, because the university recently chose to hike up tuition fees — four percent over each of the next four years. The student leaders told Nevada journalist Jon Ralston that money could be used for more pressing needs.

DANIEL WAQAR: "You could give scholarships to thousands of students, benefit research on campus, give more students grants for research and studying. ... We're thinking the students could really use this support from the $225,000."

Clinton has had all sorts of unwanted attention directed toward her finances in recent weeks, starting with a misstep of her own in an interview with ABC. (Via USA Today)

CLINTON: "We came out of the White House not only dead broke but in debt."

And while the couple were, indeed in debt, that comment has been fuel for Clinton's critics and for journalists who point out the huge speaking fees she and her ex-president husband have racked up. A front page story in The Washington Post Friday revealed Bill had been paid $105 million for speeches from 2001 to 2013.

Now, a couple things to note about Hillary Clinton's $225,000 speaking fee for the University of Nevada: it's not coming from taxpayer dollars or from student tuition. Actually, it will all come from the school's fundraising foundation — and the whole point is to sell expensive tickets to raise even more money for the university.

Still, the hefty price tag for an appearance from Clinton is enough to bring some unwanted headlines, especially because she's does this sort of thing often. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Clinton received $300,000 for a speech earlier this year at UCLA.