Story highlights The foundation said it would not accept corporate or foreign donations were Hillary Clinton elected

Mook also questioned why the Clinton Foundation has been singled out

Washington (CNN) Foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation will take time to wind down, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager said Sunday when asked about its plan to forgo that money if she's elected president.

"It will take some time to adjust," Robby Mook told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union."

Mook sought to defend the decision by the Clinton Foundation to separate itself from foreign money, but not before the election is decided.

Mook repeatedly called the foundation's decisions on separating its work from the political careers of the Clintons "unprecedented." He sought to explain why the organization believes this move is necessary if Clinton were elected president -- but not before then, or during her time as secretary of state.

"The foundation is doing an enormous amount of work, and it takes time when you're in a number of countries around the world to retool, refocus the mission, and adapt," Mook said, emphasizing the work the foundation does to combat AIDS and malaria around the world.

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