Posted on 06/16/2007 8:39:39 AM PDT by Libloather
In Congress, rich keep getting richer
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE ONLY HINTS AT WHAT MEMBERS ARE WORTH
By Jim Abrams
Associated Press
Article Launched: 06/15/2007 01:30:57 AM PDT
WASHINGTON - The political fortunes of new congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid soared last year, and financial disclosure forms revealed Thursday they're also doing well in personal money matters.
New House Speaker Pelosi, through her investor husband, holds stocks and property worth well into the millions. Senate Majority Leader Reid, a gold miner's son, reported property around his hometown of Searchlight, Nev., as well as investments valued at several million dollars.
They are hardly the richest members of Congress. Sen. Edward Kennedy D-Mass., reported four Kennedy family trust funds worth $20 million to $100 million.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., heir to his family's oil fortune, has three blind trusts worth more than $80 million.
Sen. Herbert Kohl, D-Wis., listed numerous investments, including stock in the Milwaukee Bucks valued at more than $50 million, the highest category on the forms.
**SNIP**
The forms don't often tell much about the legal or financial problems some members face. Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., facing a 16-count indictment on charges he received more than $500,000 in bribes, said his major sources of unearned income were rent from two tracts of land on Lake Providence in Louisiana, worth less than $7,500. He reported $56,250 in gifts to his legal defense trust fund.
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., who is running for president, reported that her husband, former President Clinton, made more than $10 million for giving speeches last year. The couple held two accounts - a regular bank account and a blind trust, each valued at between $5 million and $25 million.
**SNIP**
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Friday, June 15, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
If you say anything out of line they'll send the SS, FBI and BATF to shut you up.
I was under the impression that this paper was pretty liberal. Could it be the left is starting to engage in class warfare with itself?
It's another case of get-it-out-now so you can say it's old news whenever anything ever remotely connected with it comes up again closer to the election.
Even though the Clinton's money was in a blind trust, I wonder if they could have told its directors not to invest in any of the really eeevil companies like Walmart and Exxon. /s
Hey Edwards! They’re two Americas.
I don’t care if dems get rich, b/c I’m a Rep and think getting rich is a good thing. My beef is that these clowns don’t pay taxes like the rest of us. In the last Pres campaign, W released his taxes, so did lurch. W paid 35% in taxes - Kerry paid 10%. Edwards has half his money in tax free off-shore accounts. etc. I want EVERY candidate to release all financial infro - the money they make, property they own ( property their pets own) their trusts and the taxes they pay.
To a lib, being “ rich” is defined as what your earn, not what you have.
Hyperthyroid puppet head invisible strings
Limousine Liberals...ALL.
elitist ruling class bump
Reid has promised to revise earlier disclosure forms after questions arose last year over a Las Vegas land deal, but his staff said he is still awaiting Ethics Committee sign-off on the proposed revisions he submitted.
Hmmm...looks like he might be expecting trouble.
I think it’s time for the people inhabiting this land mass (There are no Americans anymore and this certainly isn’t a country.) to consider a PART TIME “Congress.” The buffoons can go to Washington for two weeks each quarter and do what needs to be done. Then they can go back to a REAL JOB.
Does anyone have information on how much wealth fellows like Jay Rockafeller really have? I doubt the monies CONTROLLED in trusts is included in these figures. My suspicicion is that Bill Gates is a puppy compared to some of the old monied boys....but you have to dig to find it.
They came to do good and stayed and did well.
Just remember folks, these are the 'rich' as in 'tax the rich'. We're supposed to believe them when they spout this line of gibberish.
“Senate Majority Leader Reid, a gold miner’s son, reported property around his hometown of Searchlight, Nev., as well as investments valued at several million dollars.”
He owns 200 dirt dry acres around Searchlight, worthless without water rights. I believe that’s why he pushed his son Rory into the County Commission seat (previously occupied by his now convicted waterboy Dario Herrera). County Commisioners also sit on the Water board.
It’s also why there is a push for a bridge over the Colorado River, so he can connect to his good buddy Jim Rhodes developments (also water starved) in Arizona.
It’s a big time scandal waiting to happen if anyone had the guts to follow up.
“Reid has promised to revise earlier disclosure forms after questions arose last year over a Las Vegas land deal, but his staff said he is still awaiting Ethics Committee sign-off on the proposed revisions he submitted.”
[Hmmm...looks like he might be expecting trouble.]
He should be already in trouble on that one. He claimed a verbal contract with his shyster buddy Jay Brown to make part of the deal happen. However Nevada Real Estate law only recognizes written contracts. The story miraculously dried up before the last election, about the time Bush was focused on pushing Chafee’s election.
Yes, I know.
But what I didn't know from this story was that he was dragging his feet on revising his statements for the ethics committee.
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