brass, and plenty of it
You have to marvel at the sheer chutzpah of the Clintons. Last week I heard Hillary remark that her husband had to “clean up the mess” from the first President Bush and that she would have to do the same for Dubya.
Hillary assumes short memories.
It was her co-president Bill who left pecker tracks in the Oval Office, who rented out the Lincoln bedroom for campaign cash, who took money from the Chinese army, who pardoned felons for cash, who pardoned terrorists to help Hillary get elected to the senate, who sold missile technology to the Chinese, who had possession of secret FBI files on Republicans, who let Osama get away, who was disbarred and fined for perjury… etc.
But it doesn’t end there. As Mitt Romney aptly put it, he can’t imagine Bill Clinton in the White House with nothing to do. Investors Business Daily notes how Bill has been behaving of late:
…a New York Times report details a 2005 incident of Clinton and a minor Canadian mining financier jetting into Kazakhstan, where the two met with the local strongman. Shortly afterward, Clinton’s pal won a huge uranium-mining contract that left competing mining companies astounded.
Anything untoward? Clinton says of course not. After all, doesn’t every ex-president jet in to Central Asia from time to time to check up on his charity projects and sample the gourmet cuisine? Nothing to see here, move along.
But the story doesn’t end there. Clinton’s friend, Frank Giustra, eventually ended up a billionaire from that “lucky” trip. He then donated $31.3 million to Clinton’s $208 million foundation as its largest donor in 2006. Any connection? Nada, Clinton’s defenders say.
Nope, nothing happening here folks. Move along.
It gets downright dangerous when one considers that Clinton’s wife is now a front-runner for the Oval Office in 2009. With Hillary in high office, Clinton will be free to do as he pleases with his foundation but his proximity to real power will be far greater.
In a Dec. 20 report, the Times asked whether Clinton’s foundation donations could be misused to “circumvent campaign finance laws intended to limit political influence.”
That’s worth paying attention to, because Clinton Foundation records show that one of the few projects it has funded is a group called Acorn, which had employees convicted of voter fraud.
So if Bill Clinton can and is willing to sway, even implicitly by his presence, a distant satrap such as Kazakhstan’s leader to help a crony, then the potential for him to sway a U.S. president who may have interest in perpetuating herself and her pals in power is even greater.
Meanwhile, there’s been a mysterious rise in donations that have been washing into the William J. Clinton Foundation’s coffers. Mysterious, because most of the donors are anonymous.
A look at the foundation’s 2006 donors from its most recent Form 990 IRS return shows that not one of the top 13 donors are identified. Clinton says he won’t disclose them because he promised anonymity but for future donors, if his wife becomes president, he will.
Even that isn’t as magnanimous as it looks. To all who would like to have Bill on their string, it’s tantamount to a dinner call to get their donations in now. Not surprisingly, donations rose most sharply in 2006, the last published year, by almost 50% to $138.5 million.
Posted by Jim Bass
attackmachine.com |
