Apparently it wasn't a cash sale (donation...whatever!). He and his wife allege they transferred the land to the LLC in return for an "informal" interest in the LLC.
But therein lies Reid's problem. On one hand he says it was an " informal" ownership agreement between friends. He hopes this explains away why he didn't disclose his interest in the company in his filings (not to mention his misreporting that he still owned the land). But when he took the $1.1 million dollar payoff, that rather diminishes the "informality", doesn't it? Seems to me that indicates a VERY specific understanding between friends as to what Reid's share was to be when the deal was completed.
Sorry, even Harry can't have it both ways.
Of course, the real question is whether the MediaCrats let him get away with it.