Why would Wilson retire from the State Department with about 25 years service, which would have given him a pension of about $60K, tops. Without knowing the particulars of his divorce settlements with his first and second wives, they would have entitled to a portion of Wilson's pension by law, i.e., they were each married to him for over 12 years. Wilson would have been lucky to receive $30K after his wives received their shares. Add to this that he had two college age kids with his first wife. This raises many questions concerning the timing of his retirement. The business dealings of his second wife may explain it.
Why would Wilson walk away from a job that paid approximately $125K and accept a drastic reduction in salary given his increased financial commitments for a new expensive house and probable new obligations to help fund his children's college education? The answer seems obvious to me. He had reason to believe that he could parlay his connections as a former Ambassador to Gabon, Charge' in Iraq, and on the NSC to make more money than his salary at State and he had to strike while the iron was hot. He formed a one man consulting firm, JC Wilson International Ventures
According to FARA records, Jacqueline Wilson (#5262)received the following payments by year: 1998 ($280,0000), 1999 ($250,000); 2000 ($75,000 missing pages for last half year); 2001 ($39,000); and 2002 ($8,000). This amounts to a total of $652,000 with most of it frontloaded in 1998 and 1999. Mrs. Wilson was still connected to Gabon in June 2005, based on some newspaper articles. As late as 1998, her telephone number was the same as Wilson's address in Georgetown.
Jacqueline Wilson’s business dealings with Gabon and its leader, Omar Bongo, raise some important and germane questions about Joseph Wilson’s CIA-sponsored trips to Africa in 1999 and 2002. A strong case can be made that Wilson’s trips had more to do with personal business and financial interests than with addressing substantive government issues.
It was after the fact that this trip was used by Wilson aided and abetted by others in the Agency to undermine Bush as well as to further Wilson's political ambitions. I don't believe that the February 2002 trip was planned initially by Wilson, et. al. to undermine Bush, but rather, for the mundane purpose of furthering his flagging business interests. Wilson had no inkling that the famous 16 words would appear in Bush's STOU address in January 2003.
Great stuff! What is your source, and what are FARA records?
I remember right after the Novak article that I came across the Wilson International Ventures website [just one page] just by googling his name. And I am pretty sure that Valerie Plame was listed as a consultant. I lost the page in a computer problem, and it disappeared from the internet.
Obviously, he saw a brighter future for himself outside the State Dept. What a sleazeball. I'm glad he is not representing our country anywhere in an official capacity.