Wednesday Jan. 3, 2001; 12:12 p.m. EST
High-Living Hillary Taking Charity from the Poor
Why does First Lady and newly crowned U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton continue
to accept donations to defray her legal expenses from New Yorkers of clearly
modest means, when she just inked an $8 million book deal and owns
multi-million dollar mansions in New York and Washington, D.C.?
That's what New York Daily News columnist Michael Daly wants to know, after
reviewing some of the records from Clinton's legal expense trust.
Though high-living Hillary has just spent a grand total of $4.6 million on
luxurious digs for herself and her wandering hubby, records show they've
convinced 10,071 Empire staters to fork over their hard-earned cash, lest
staggering legal bills have the Clintons seeking refuge in the poor house.
According to Daly the list includes: 200 retirees, 67 teachers, 50 nurses,
31 librarians, 27 members of the clergy, 14 social workers, 10 guards, five
composers and four disabled veterans.
John Marmarinos, a homebound World War II veteran, forked over $20 to help
Hillary handle her legal bills. When Daly tried to locate Marmarinos to find
out if the old vet knew he was, in reality, bankrolling the first lady's
lifestyle-of-the-rich-and-famous, Daly was told that Marmarinos is now in a
nursing home.
Others of modest means from whom the Clintons have taken charity: a disabled
retiree ($50), another man who described himself as "disabled/unemployed"
($25), a woman who listed her occupation as "homemaker-unemployed"($5), two
other unemployed gents who pooled their resources ($20) and a
"widowed-senior citizen" $10).
Also on the Clintons fund-raising list: contributions from factory workers,
doormen, mental health workers, welfare caseworkers, home care attendants,
school bus drivers -- you name it.
The one thing they all have in common is they come from the lower rungs of
the economic ladder.
Daly pinpoints the supreme irony of the Clintons putting the squeeze on so
many of these poor folks:
"In all, some 70,000 people throughout the country have contributed $8
million toward the (Clintons' legal) fund. That happens to be exactly what
Hillary got as an advance for a book whose main commercial appeal will be
the same scandals that gave rise to the legal bills."
Meanwhile, managers of the Clintons' legal charity are planning a new direct
mail campaign targeting more disabled vets, teachers, factory workers,
librarians and bus drivers -- as Hillary shuttles between her two
multi-million dollar mansions.
newsmax.com |
