Posted on 10/13/2006 7:12:03 AM PDT by Dems_R_Losers
A lucrative land deal benefiting U.S. Senate minority leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) deserves full scrutiny by the Senate ethics committee.
In 1998, Reid purchased undeveloped residential property on the outskirts of Las Vegas for $400,000. He bought one lot outright, and a second lot with a partner, Jay Brown. In 2001, Reid sold the land for the same price to a corporation created by Brown. Reid retained an ownership stake in the corporation and continued to pay taxes on the property. There was no written agreement; Brown told the Associated Press that the two had been friends for 35 years and didn't need one.
So the Senate Democratic leader engaged in a seven-figure handshake and didn't feel the need to disclose all the details. Experts on Senate ethics rules say Reid should have disclosed the sale in 2001 on his annual ethics report, and informed Congress of his part-ownership in Brown's corporation. Reid didn't.
After the land was rezoned for a shopping center, the corporation sold it in 2004. Reid received $1.1 million in the sale, turning a neat profit of nearly $700,000 in six years.
While now insisting he did nothing wrong, Reid is also offering to make a "technical change" to his earlier ethics reports if the ethics committee so desires. Simply giving the Democratic leader a mulligan is hardly the way to handle this case. When the Senate debated ethics reforms earlier this year, Reid was out in front to demand the toughest of standards from lawmakers.
"Americans have been shocked and even disgusted by revelations of corruption in our current system by Republican lobbyists, senior Bush Administration officials, members of Congress, and former congressional staff," Reid said in March. "The scandals have shown that some outsiders and insiders believed they could act with impunity."
That's how this case looks, too. Unless Reid comes up with a better explanation for this lack of disclosure, Democrats should not keep him as their leader in the new Congress in 2007.
"Cankles" is Her Heinous Hineyness, not Rove.
You ju T gave Harry Reid hi new name, DIRTY HARRY!!
My letter after r i not pringtin up on the keyboard, might have omething to do with the coffee I pilt on it thi morning.
I like the header as well as the cartoon
PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH
LOL
Either Hillary or The Dick Durbin who wants his job!!
They made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
If Hillary & friends were behind this they wouldn't have it coming to light 4 weeks prior to the most important mid-term election in US history.
They would have waited until November 10, 2006
A person who doesn't want to pay taxes on that 400,000 piece of property that becomes worth millions but still wants to make a nice profit. A person who needs zoning changed to make that money but would raise suspicion if he influenced that change while owning the property.
The crooked bastard who bought from Reid supposedly thinks there doesn't need to be paperwork because they are friends. Reid is a freaking Senator and is supposed to be squeaky clean, both of these assholes know this.
Prepare yourself for the Caveman Lawyer defense from SNL.
uh... dunno what news you are getting, but this hasn't even hit fauxNews with regularity (not surprising seeing how Murdoch is hanging with libs these days)...
PLUS, Reid SUPPOSEDLY paid the Property Taxes, although late one time, on property he DIDN'T own??? I don't think so.
If true, then Reid could technically still be the owner of the real property. Why? Under the "statue of frauds," which exists in one form or another in most states, a conveyance of real property is unenforcable unless memorialized in writing and signed for the grantor. There are exceptions in some states, such as when the transfer is supported by consideration and has been fully performed, but I don't know the specific law in Neveda. Either way, the transaction stinks like the culture of corruption that is epidemic in Washington D.C.
This is something that would see the light of day mid November...after the votes are counted.
Is the Inquirer a newspaper with a conservative or liberal slant?
SO who then??
The Houston Chronicle ran a Foley article on the top of the front page yesterday and ran the Reid story on page 7.
Today, there was no mention of the Reid story whatsoever.
Very liberal slant - - - and it's the main remaining dinosaur media in Philly...
Posted by Notwithstanding to Prost1
On News/Activism ^ 10/13/2006 5:32:56 AM EDT · 599 of 599 ^
http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:ZZoUCGSWNUYJ:www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Jun-06-Mon-2005/news/26661753.html+%22Patrick+Lane+LLC%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal
Monday, June 06, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Reports detail legislator wealth
By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid sold Las Vegas property last year for a seven-figure gain, reinvesting the profits in stocks and municipal bonds.
...
They also show Reid adding to a hefty retirement fund while Ensign is socking away money for his three young children and Porter is still profiting from his earlier career as an insurance salesman.
...
While the latest reports, covering 2004, are scheduled to be released publicly by Congress on June 14, the Nevada lawmakers have made theirs available.
...
The reports list the approximate value of investments, income derived from them and transactions lawmakers completed during the year. Congress members also are required to report profits from speaking engagements and any free travel they accepted.
It is difficult to pinpoint exact values because lawmakers are allowed to categorize their holdings in broad ranges. For instance, Reid reported income from his property sale as between $1 million and $5 million.
The politicians also are not required to disclose the value of their homes or the income of their spouses. The figures also don't include their Capitol Hill salaries. Senators and House members are paid $162,100. Reid, the Senate minority leader, is paid $180,100.
Following are sketches of the Nevadans who filed reports:
REID:
Reid, 65, reported assets between $2.1 million and $5.5 million. His wealth includes land and mining claims in Searchlight, his hometown. His largest listed asset is 160 acres of land in Bullhead City, Ariz., valued at $500,000 to $1 million.
Reid's portfolio contains municipal and school bond investments of $520,000 to $1.2 million. He has put money into offerings from Clark County and Henderson as well as jurisdictions in Illinois, Wisconsin, Texas, Arizona, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Utah, Alaska, Tennessee and Michigan.
Reid reported that he sold a piece of property and a 47 percent interest in an adjoining piece of land in January 2004 for a price that he reported as between $1 million and $5 million.
Clark County records indicate that Reid was involved in a sale completed in January 2004 of 4.73 acres on Patrick Lane just west of Fort Apache Road, south of Spring Valley. Records show the buyer was Patrick Lane LLC, whose manager was listed as Jay Brown, an attorney and longtime Reid friend and associate.
Records available Friday did not indicate sales prices. Reid declined through a spokeswoman to detail the transaction or verify the county information.
Reid's profits from the transaction were reinvested in a Wells Fargo money market fund and in bond offerings, his aide confirmed from his financial report.
Reid also bought stock in companies that included Best Buy, Emerson Electric, Anheuser Busch, Apache Corp., an oil and gas developer, and Boston Scientific, which manufactures medical devices.
During 2004, Reid sold stock in companies that included mortgage lender Freddie Mac, Intel Corp., Kohls Corp. and hospital operator HCA Inc.
Reid delivered a dozen speeches, at $2,000 apiece, in 2004. He donated the $24,000 to charity as required by Senate rules. He declined through a spokeswoman to identify the beneficiaries.
...
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