Max Cleland was U.S. senator from Georgia from 1997 to
2003, and Georgia's secretary of state from 1983 to 1996.
Posted on 10/17/2006 6:42:11 AM PDT by rface
In an Oct. 13 editorial, the AJC called on Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to "look in the mirror first" on congressional ethics.
Reid has been a friend and mentor to me for almost a decade. He is one of the most ethical men I know.
This story is simple. In 1998, Reid bought land. In 2004, he sold it. For the six years in between, he told everyone — including Congress — that he owned the land.
The only serious question is whether he made a technical error in how he described his ownership of the land. So now Reid has done the right thing and asked the Senate Ethics Committee to clarify the matter. If the ethics committee finds Reid needs to issue a correction, it will probably be as simple as adding an asterisk to the existing report. This story is much ado about an asterisk.
Compare that effort to clear up any mistake to a Republican leadership in Congress that knew about a sexual predator in their ranks for perhaps as many as five years and chose to cover it up rather than ensure that the teenage children sent to the Capitol each year were fully protected.
This latest tempest in a teapot is nothing more than a smear campaign by Republicans desperate to hold on to a Congressional majority they've done nothing to deserve.
Republicans in Washington have no ideas for the future and no solutions to clean up their mistakes. All they have left is baseless charges.
I am disgusted by these latest attacks — it's a dirty trick I know all too well. Republicans distribute misleading propaganda in the hope that malicious lies will distort honest truths. They used the same tactics against me four years ago, and I will not let them succeed this time.
The Republican Congress has failed in Iraq, failed on health care, raised taxes on the middle class and made America less safe. It's time for change in this country. GOP leaders think smearing a good man is a substitute for effective leadership, but I'm proud to say Democratic leaders such as Reid are fighting to take America in a new direction.
Does anyone know what is being reported as to what assets this entity had at that time? I assume Brown must have contributed something into the entity prior to the donation by Reid. I also assume Brown must have paid for the permitting of the land that Reid previously owned.
Does anyone know if the partnership still exists and if it currently has assets. I am not an accountant but I assume it must have had preexisting assets if Reid acquired an interest equal to the value of the land and I assume this was done as a tax free exchange for both parties which would mean assets still exist.
Hey Max, want a beer? Here... catch! Oh crap!!!!!
And there is no cure for the afflicted.
A man can be judged by the company he keeps. If Harry Reid is the most ethical men that Mr. Cleland knows, he is running with a very bad crowd.
As some of you may guess, I have a lot of background insider info that goes beyond what is even said above. If you search my posts, you'll find all sorts of interesting tidbits. We are still at "tip of the iceberg" phase.
The Patrick Lane land deal is the AP story from Solomon and Kathleen Hennessey, they deserve big Kudos. The Coyote Springs info is developed by Chuck Neubauer at the LA Times, kudos there too.
For really deep info, go here:
http://gsting.blogspot.com
The blog doesn't even get to Reid until the later chapters (you have to go to later chapters before it shows up in the blogspot menu). That's because there is a much bigger scandal and that blog starts at the far end and works back to Dirty Harry, but that's why this thing won't go away. The Harry Reid scandal will eventually link to the GSting scandal which has already sent corrupt Commissioners to jail in Vegas and San Diego. That's why when the slow drip is done, Harry Reid is in BIG trouble.
In fact, for the GSting scandal to not already be linked to Harry, it is likely there was an FBI coverup internally to "not go there". You know the coverup is always even worse than the actual crime.
I will likely do a Freeper Exclusive report the next day or so to tie everything together. There is a ton of material not being covered in a coherent way by the media. Bitt tells me I need to start a ping list. Let me know if anyone wants on.
If the entity did have assets equal to what Reid termed as proportional to his interests and then Brown contributed his permitting expertise for free I suspect Harry recieved benifits he did not pay for.
Thanks for taking the time, Charles. You made it crystal clear.
In the Democrat circles that Max Cleland runs in, it's POSSIBLE that Harry Reid IS the Most Ethical person he knows!!!
When they have to wheel out Cleland, you know they're grasping for straws.
""He is one of the most ethical men I know.",
He's been endorse by MAX CLELAND.
I'm convinced now. Close the book on this one. /s
Harry Reid should resign!
That is IMO the murky part. As I first heard it on Fox, Dingy Harry "sold" the land to Brown - period. If so, how then did he warrant ANY profit for a sale four years later on land he didn't own? But then, that 'unwritten partnership' thing came up.
But one thing is a fact, the rezoning didn't get approved on appeal until Harry's name was 'dropped'. Heard that last Sat morning on Fox. And without the rezoning, no money was to be made.
The whole thing stinks. And its more than his disclosure forms. Influence peddling with the board occurred (or maybe 'extortion' - approve it for Harry "or else").
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