Burkle Bond's Hard To Break (Ron Burkle/Shrillary)

SO much for reports that Bill and Hillary Clinton were trying to distance themselves from Ron Burkle. The Beverly Hills billionaire has been named one of the five national finance chairs for Hillary's presidential campaign, sources say.

Earlier this month, it was reported Bill Clinton was severing his partnerships in Burkle's Yucaipa Companies and walking away with $20 million. The thinking was that Burkle's wheeling and dealing, with interests in Dubai and in real estate divested by the Vatican, could result in conflicts of interest and hand ammunition to Hillary's political opponents.

The other four Clinton finance chairs are said to be Alan Patricof, Maureen White, Hassan Nemazee and Chris Korge.

Hassan Nemazee is a multimillionaire Iranian-American investment banker. Nemazee was born in Washington, D.C. on January 27, 1950 and attended Landon School, graduating in 1968. He received his AB degree with Honors from Harvard University in 1972.[1]

*snip*

Libel lawsuit and accusations

In 2004 Nemazee filed a ten-million-dollar damage claim against the Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran (SMCCDI) and its coordinator, Aryo B. Pirouznia for accusations by the group that Nemazee is an agent of the Islamic Republic of Iran.[8]

Under oath he testified that he raised more then $500,000 for the Kerry campaign, but that he also disagreed with Kerry pursuing nuclear negotiations with Iran were he to become president. He also stated that he welcomed regime change in Iran. After the 2004 elections, Pirouznia ceded to Nemazee’s demands and the lawsuit was subsequently settled.[citation needed]

Nemazee believes that he was targeted by some Republicans because of his association with the Democratic Party. “If I hadn’t been Kerry’s finance chair, I wouldn’t have been a target. I left Iran in 1978 and haven’t been back.

Everything my family had was taken by the mullahs. To take someone who’s suffered at the hands of that regime and turn it on its head and say that he’s in bed with that regime is absolutely f***ing incredible,” said Nemazee in an interview with New York Magazine.[9]

[edit] References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Nemazee

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