Michael Collins

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — A Tennessee congresswoman is asking the FBI and other federal agencies to open a “public corruption” investigation into the activities of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation.

Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn is circulating a letter among House members saying media reports raise significant questions about the foundation’s practices and their intersection with American foreign policy.

“These reports, along with recently discovered information about the foundation’s initial tax exempt filings, portray a lawless ‘Pay to Play’ enterprise that has been operating under a cloak of philanthropy for years and should be investigated,” the letter says.

The letter will be sent Friday to FBI Director James Comey, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen and Edith Ramirez, chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission. Blackburn asks all three agencies to investigate the foundation’s practices.

A spokesman for the Clinton Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.

Fact check: Where does Clinton Foundation money go?

Report: Donna Shalala tapped to head Clinton Foundation

In the letter, Blackburn suggests the foundation’s international activities are illegal. In its initial filings with the IRS, the foundation said its activities would involve constructing a presidential library, maintaining a historical site with records and engaging in study and research.

“No mention is made of conducting activities outside of the United States, which is one of the codes included in the IRS ‘Application for Recognition of Exemption’ in effect at that time,” the letter says.

The letter also raises questions about the foundation’s dealings with two companies, Laureate International Universities and Uranium One.

The International Youth Fund, whose board members include Laureate’s founder, Douglas Becker, received more than $55 million in grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development while Hillary Clinton was secretary of State, the letter says. Laureate has given between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation and paid Bill Clinton $16.5 million to serve as honorary chairman.

Clinton Foundation: 'We made mistakes' on donor disclosure

As for Uranium One, Hillary Clinton, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, was one of several Obama administration officials who approved the sale of uranium to the Russian-operated company, whose chairman also has donated $2.35 million to the Clinton Foundation, according to the letter.

“The appearance of ‘Pay to Play’ transactions involving Laureate and Uranium One also raise serious allegations of criminal conduct requiring further examination,” the letter says.

Blackburn sent letters to the IRS and the Federal Trade Commission earlier this year asking them to investigate the foundation’s activities. Her office said Wednesday that at least 40 House members have signed the new letter.

Appearing before a congressional committee last week, Comey declined to say whether the FBI looked into the Clinton Foundation’s activities as part of its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.

“I'm not going to comment on the existence or non-existence of any other investigations,” Comey said in response to a question from Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.