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Corruption claimed in Harry Reid deal
World Net Daily ^ | 10/11/06

Posted on 10/11/2006 2:54:55 PM PDT by Libloather

Corruption claimed in Harry Reid deal
Senate Minority Leader hung up phone when queried about $1 million windfall
Posted: October 11, 2006
3:02 p.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com


Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid hung up the phone when questioned by the Associated Press about a $1.1 million windfall on land he had not owned for three years, the wire service is reporting.

Reid collected on the Las Vegas land sale in a deal engineered by a longtime friend and former casino lawyer, Jay Brown, whose name has surfaced in organized crime investigations, the AP said.

According to records and interviews obtained by the AP, the senator did not disclose to Congress an earlier sale in which he transferred his land to a company created by a friend and took a financial stake in the company.

Defending the senator, his aides argued the deal was not disclosed because it was considered a "technical transfer."

No money changed hands, they insisted, and Reid's ownership stake in Brown's company was equal to the value of his land. The senator, they contended, also continued to pay taxes on the land.

The aides also explained there were no documents to prove Reid's stake in the company, because it was an informal agreement between friends.

The AP said Reid bought the undeveloped residential property on the outskirts of Las Vegas for about $400,000 and sold it in 2001 for the same price to Brown's limited liability corporation.

Reid did not disclose the sale on his annual public ethics report or tell Congress he had any stake in Brown's company, the AP notes, but continued to report to Congress that he personally owned the land.

Brown then convinced local officials to rezone the property for a shopping center before his company sold the land in 2004 to other developers.

Reid nearly tripled his investment, taking $1.1 million of the proceeds. He then reported it to Congress as a personal land sale.

The AP said Reid hung up the phone when questioned about the deal during an interview last week.

Reid spokesman Jim Manley told the wire service the 1998 purchase "was a normal business transaction at market prices."

"There were several legal steps associated with the investment during those years that did not alter Senator Reid's actual ownership interest in the land," he said.

But Senate ethics rules require lawmakers to disclose on their annual ethics report all transactions involving investment properties, regardless of profit or loss, the wire service points out, and to report any ownership stake in companies.

A former Federal Election Commission official affirmed Reid's failure to report the sale and his ties to Brown's company violated Senate rules.

"This is very, very clear," said Kent Cooper, who oversaw government disclosure reports for federal candidates for two decades. "Whether you make a profit or a loss you've got to put that transaction down so the public, voters, can see exactly what kind of money is moving to or from a member of Congress.

"It is especially disconcerting when you have a member of the leadership, of either party, not putting in the effort to make sure this is a complete and accurate report," said Cooper. "That says something to other members. It says something to the Ethics Committee."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: claimed; corruption; cultureofcorruption; deal; democrats; demorats; dingyharry; dirty; dirtyreid; elections; guilty; harry; perp; pondscum; rats; reid; resignnowyouposreid; scandal; vegas
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To: Welike ike

I agree! It's always darkest before The Rove!


121 posted on 10/11/2006 7:25:04 PM PDT by Solamente (Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out...)
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To: Solamente; Liz; Howlin
It's always darkest before The Rove!

Good one...


I AM SO OUTTA HERE!

122 posted on 10/11/2006 8:53:10 PM PDT by Libloather (*Bubba & *Hillary - hardly innocent until proven completely guilty...)
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To: peyton randolph; EGPWS; All
a footnote. . .John Hinderaker at powerline /powerlineblog.com/ concludes on the distinctions here of Reid deal:

(. . .)Is there anything wrong with this? Not necessarily. You can make easy money by buying land on the outskirts of a fast-growing town like Las Vegas. It helps if you have the influence to get zoning changed, but, to be fair, there's nothing wrong with re-zoning land to permit commercial development as a community grows outward.

It does appear, though, that Reid clearly violated Senate ethics rules by failing to disclose the existence of the LLC and his partnership with Brown. He reported the income, but not the relationship. I suspect the reason for Reid's reticence is explained by the AP's description of his friend's history.

Basically, Reid lent his name and perhaps his influence to a business deal, in return for which he was cut in to the tune of $700,000. That would create a considerable obligation on Reid's part toward his business partner--a partner he chose not to disclose, and whose name apparently keeps coming up in organized crime investigations. Is that corruption? You can decide for yourself. ( link)

So, yes; these things are done; but Reid, distinguishes himself by the 'unfortunate'. . .in typical Demrat style. .

123 posted on 10/12/2006 3:37:15 AM PDT by cricket (Live Liberal free. . .or suffer their consequences. . .SAVE THE TERRORISTS! VOTE DEMOCRAT. . .)
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To: Libloather

bttt


124 posted on 10/12/2006 9:19:14 AM PDT by sweetiepiezer
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To: Libloather

I've already emailed Sen. Frist and thanked him for his assistance in getting the fence bill passed. And, as a BTW asked him to make some sort of announcement regarding the ethics of Sen. Reid, seeing how the DemoCraps are bloviating all over the place regarding this perverted Rep Foley who by the way resigned which might be a wonderful thing for Reid to do.


125 posted on 10/12/2006 7:37:47 PM PDT by Y0K (New Fords Have Special Receptables In The Back Of Their New Vehicles)
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