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Clinton 'will make tens of millions' working for funds tycoon By Francis Harris in Washington (Filed: 24/04/2006) Bill Clinton stands to make "tens of millions" of dollars by working for a billionaire friend who made his fortune in supermarkets. The former president will share in the profits of investment funds run by Ron Burkle. In return, he offers Mr Burkle advice and lends his reputation to the funds. He has no day-to-day role and has invested little of his own money. Bill Clinton: troubled history with personal investments There is no suggestion that Mr Clinton is doing anything wrong but...

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former California Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham are among the many Republicans whose ethical misconduct have prompted Democratic strategists to conclude that the Republican-run Congress has fostered a “culture of corruption.” But in the run-up to an April 11 special election in California’s 50th District, which Cunningham vacated after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges, it is a Democrat — Francine Busby, an educator and school board trustee — who has had to defend herself against Republican attempts to link her to lobbyists. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) this week unleashed a television attack on Busby,...

OLYMPIA -- Sen. Patty Murray said Friday that returning contributions from Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff would "taint" the tribes. The state's senior senator, a Seattle Democrat, said there was nothing wrong with accepting more than $40,000 in campaign donations from out-of-state tribes represented by the disgraced lobbyist. Abramoff's excesses have been halted, and Congress is considering myriad ethics reforms, she said. The donations, from 1999 to 2005, placed Murray second among Senate Democrats and ninth overall in the Senate, according to records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C., organization that tracks money in politics.

Caracas 05.03.05 | Eva Golinger the "...attorney leading the investigation of the CIA and the US Government involvement in the coup and in the ongoing destabilization campaign in Venezuela..." [1] appears as the registrar of a legal entity (DOMESTIC NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION ) called "Venezuela Solidarity Committee" [2]. Golinger's findings about the aforesaid investigation have been posted in a website registered, according to WHOIS, by journalist Jeremy Bigwood called Venezuelafoia.info. On 07 May 2004 Golinger sent an email with the following remarks: I do have a non-profit organization, established legally under the laws of New York State, but it has never...

Man Fined for Allegedly Using Foul Bills BURLINGTON, Iowa - A psychiatrist who police say smeared excrement on dollars bills used to pay a parking ticket has been fined $250. Ronald Preston McPike, 52, of Bonaparte, was charged with harassment of a public official after officials received an envelop in July labeled "Foreign brown substance on bills." The envelope contained several dollar bills and a parking ticket made up to McPike, police said. Tests indicated the brown substance was fecal matter that had been smeared on the bills. McPike told police the money fell into a toilet and was retrieved...

US does not support 'Taiwan Independence': Cheney Vice President holds talks with Dick Cheney Visiting US Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday in Beijing that the United States does not support "Taiwan Independence" and is against any unilateral action from each side to change the existing situation across the Taiwan Straits. Cheney made the remarks during the talks with his Chinese counterpart Zeng Qinghong. The United States realized the importance of the Taiwan issue to US-China relations, and the US policy on that question was not changed at all, Cheney said. The US side sticks to the one-China policy based...

BEIJING (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney started a three-day visit to China Tuesday aimed at keeping a lid on tension between China and Taiwan and jump-starting talks to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions. In his first closed-door meeting after arriving from Tokyo, Cheney reassured Chinese leaders that the United States did not support Taiwan independence and would oppose unilateral steps by either side, according to China's official Xinhua news agency. But Washington is increasingly concerned by China's build-up of ballistic missiles capable of striking Taiwan, and Cheney was expected to raise the issue when talks resume on Wednesday. China,...

Kerry Carries Water for Top Donor By M. Asif Ismail WASHINGTON, May 7, 2003 — Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., whose largest campaign contributor lobbies on behalf of telecommunication interests, pushed the legislative priorities of its clients in the wireless industry on several occasions, a Center for Public Integrity analysis of campaign, lobbying and congressional records has found. That analysis is part of the Center's research for The Buying of the President 2004 (to be published by HarperCollins), which tracks the financial backers and interests of the major candidates for the White House. Kerry, who is seeking the Democratic presidential...

<p>Saddam: French media mogul MEDIA monolith Hachette Filipacchi, already fearing an anti-French backlash, has a bigger problem: Saddam Hussein owns a $90 million stake in its parent company. Saddam owns just under 2 percent of Lagardere SCA, the French company of which Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., publishers of Elle, Car & Driver, Women's Day and other titles, is a unit. His shares are held by Iraqi-controlled Montana Management, based in Geneva. Saddam's Hachette holdings first came to light when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, and the UN Security Council along with the French and U.S. governments acted to freeze Iraq's assets. At the time he was the second-largest shareholder in Hachette SA, controlling 8.4 percent of the company. Fearing a backlash, Hachette brass voiced their intention to buy the Iraqi strongman out, which most people assumed had been done long ago. In fact, Saddam still has his stake and it's currently worth $90 million, a Hachette rep confirmed to PAGE SIX's Jared Paul Stern. "Under international sanctions, blocked assets are being held until future direction from the UN and applicable governments," the rep said. "Those assets are frozen." Since Saddam has no representation on Hachette's board of directors, he has no influence over the company, and Hachette's spokeswoman assured us the firm is unafraid of a backlash. Some American Elle advertisers we contacted yesterday had no idea Saddam ever owned a slice of Hachette. "We don't know anything about it," said a rep for MAC cosmetics. Donna Karan's people had no comment. Reps for Coach, Estee Lauder and Banana Republic were similarly in the dark. In 1990, when the Saddam-Hachette news broke on "60 Minutes," publishers of Hachette magazines placed emergency calls to top advertisers in a bid to keep them from leaving. They also established a "circulation crisis group" to deal with subscribers who wanted to cancel over the news. Hachette has been testing consumer reaction to the fact that it is a French company, to determine whether "guilt by association" will harm it, Hachette U.S. CEO Jack Kliger told Media Industry Newsletter. Americans "feel comfortable buying [Elle] just as they do with say, Evian and L'Oreal, and dining in French restaurants. Remember too, there are Americans who oppose war with Iraq."</p>

Companies headed by onetime Democratic mega-donor James Levin are under investigation by school officials for allegedly pocketing more than $1 million of $2.7 million in school fencing contracts, money intended for minority- and women-owned businesses, school officials said Thursday. Because of the alleged scheme, officials said they are moving to bar Levin, his parents and nine others--including representatives of four minority- or women-owned businesses--from doing business with the Chicago Public Schools for three years, the maximum possible penalty. Levin was notified of the allegations this week, and hearings were being scheduled for all 12 parties, officials said. Board of Education...

Mother Jones News Wire Is Terry McAuliffe corrupt, as his critics charge, or just especially good at playing the dirty game of politics? A fresh look at Mother Jones' coverage of the new DNC chairman may help you decide. Feb. 8, 2001 Terry McAuliffe, the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is to political fundraising what Lee Atwater was to political advertising: successful, ruthless, and daring. McAuliffe was a friend and money man to the Clinton administration from day one, raising campaign money both for Bill's two presidential campaigns and Hillary's Senate run, and organizing a multimillion dollar defense...