Bill Clinton agrees to release donors' names

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former President Bill Clinton has agreed to make public the names of more than 200,000 donors to his foundation as part of a deal with President-elect Barack Obama to clear the way for Sen. Hillary Clinton to become secretary of state, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Citing Democrats close to Clinton and Obama, the newspaper reported Clinton had decided to publish his contributor list to avoid an appearance of conflict of interest with his wife's duties as secretary of state.

Her appointment is expected to be announced on Monday.

A member of Obama's transition team confirmed the conditions of the agreement as reported by the Times.

The contributors' list is one of nine conditions that Clinton agreed to in his discussions with Obama's representatives, the newspaper reported.

Clinton turned over the names of all 208,000 individuals and organizations that have given money since 1997, the Times said, while the agreement holds that his foundation will release them publicly by year's end.

Future donors will also be disclosed as long as Hillary Clinton is in the cabinet, it said.

The former president has also agreed to submit his speeches and business dealings in advance to State Department ethics officials for their review, as well as to the White House counsel's office if need be, the Times reported.

The Obama team said it expected Clinton's concessions would defuse any potential controversy, the report said.