Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Did Slick Boink Monica? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sidney Reilly who wrote (9782)	3/10/1998 12:30:00 AM
From: Zoltan!	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 20981

Tobacco deal just another BIG opportunity for more Clinton shakedowns: March 10, 1998 NYT Clinton Attending Fund-Raiser With Lawyer Behind Tobacco Deal By JILL ABRAMSON WASHINGTON -- As President Clinton intensifies his call for comprehensive tobacco legislation, he will attend a big fund-raising event at the home of a prominent lawyer who stands to reap a windfall from enactment of such laws. The president will dine on Tuesday with the lawyer, Stanley Chesley, a well-known plaintiffs' lawyer and major Democratic donor at Chesley's home in Cincinnati. The fund-raising evening, sponsored by the Democratic National Committee's business council, is expected to rake in at least $500,000 from wealthy Democrats who are being asked to contribute $10,000 to $15,000 each. In a telephone interview on Monday, Chesley said he expected the event to "far exceed" the DNC's goal of $500,000. Chesley played a prime role in negotiating the proposed $368.5 billion tobacco settlement reached last June and has lobbied extensively on behalf of tobacco legislation. However, he said there was no tie between his giving the fund-raising dinner for the president and his interest in tobacco legislation. "The president and I go back a long way," Chesley said, "long before there was tobacco" legislation. Some critics of the tobacco settlement expressed outrage over the fund-raising event. "The president should appear to be as arms-length as possible, but he is going to a fund-raiser in the home of someone who has a direct interest in the tobacco proposal," Ralph Nader complained. "That is grossly inappropriate," added Nader, who opposes tobacco legislation on a variety of grounds, including restrictions that would shield the tobacco companies from future lawsuits. Since 1991, Chesley has contributed $271,295 to the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates. A leading Democratic fund-raiser said Chesley had probably raised more than a million dollars for Democrats in recent years and was close to both Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. Barry Toiv, a White House spokesman, said, "Mr. Chesley is a longtime, strong supporter of the Democratic Party and we welcome his continued support." Chesley negotiated on behalf of a group of plaintiffs' lawyers who had brought a series of class-action lawsuits by smokers against the tobacco industry. Chesley and his colleagues, who include Hugh Rodham Jr., Hillary Rodham Clinton's brother, stand to reap windfall, multimillion legal fees under the tobacco settlement if the current proposal is enacted by Congress. Legislation favored by Chesley would settle all past lawsuits against the industry, including private class-actions, and would provide billions of dollars for public health programs to curb smoking. The most controversial aspect of the tobacco settlement is that it would protect the industry from future lawsuits. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Friday, Chesley said benefits obtained in the settlement justified concessions made to the industry. Clinton has not specifically endorsed any particular legislative proposal. But in his radio address last Saturday and in speeches this week, he has intensified his call for comprehensive legislation. In a speech to doctors on Monday, he urged Congress to pass "tough and sweeping tobacco legislation." On Thursday, the president is scheduled to meet with state attorneys general who negotiated the tobacco settlement. nytimes.com