Hillary Watch

CHARITABLE MEMORY. The Washington Post reported recently that although Hillary and Bill have operated a family charity since 2001, she has neglected to list it on her annual Senate financial disclosure report-not once, not twice, but five times. The Ethics in Government Act requires members of Congress to "disclose positions they hold with any outside entity, including nonprofit foundations," but Hillary failed to mention that she has been serving as the foundation's treasurer and secretary since it was created 2001. The Clinton's foundation has allowed Hill and Bill to write off more than $5 million from their taxable personal income since 2001, and it has dispensed about $1.25 million in charitable contributions during that time period. Naturally, Hillary's people say it was all just "an oversight," and her office immediately amended her Senate ethics reports. Hillary's press secretary, Philippe Reines, said, "The details of the Clintons' charitable family foundation and Sen. Clinton's role in it have always been publicly available, but, in an oversight that leaders of both parties have made, it was inadvertently omitted from her Senate filing, which has been corrected." The Post also notes that one charity that received a grant from the Clinton Family Foundation is one "connected to the Arkansas businessman who helped Hillary Clinton make $100,000" on her cattle commodities trade.

GEFFEN'S NO-NO: CRITICIZING THE CLINTONS. One of the Clinton's old pals, movie mogul David Geffen, recently slammed Bill and Hillary in an interview with the New York Times' Maureen Dowd. Although Geffen was a strong supporter of the Clintons in the 1990s, he has endorsed Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's campaign and helped organize a Hollywood fundraiser for Obama. Geffen's remarks included: "Everybody in politics lies, but [the Clintons] do it with such ease, it's troubling" and "God knows, is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton?" and "I don't think anybody believes that in the last six years, all of a sudden Bill Clinton has become a different person." Hillary's response was strong and swift, with spokesman Howard Wolfson saying: "While Sen. Obama was denouncing slash-and-burn politics yesterday, his campaign's finance chair was viciously and personally attacking Sen. Clinton and her husband. If Sen. Obama is indeed sincere about his repeated claims to change the tone of our politics, he should immediately denounce these remarks, remove Mr. Geffen from his campaign and return his money. While Democrats should engage in a vigorous debate on the issues, there is no place in our party or our politics for the kind of personal insults made by Sen. Obama's principal fundraiser." However, Geffen is not Obama's finance chair. Obama's campaign spokesman. Robert Gibbs, noted that "it is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when was raising them $18 million and sleeping at their invitation in the Lincoln bedroom."

IMPEACHMENT ISSUES. David Geffen's criticism reminded Democrats of President Clinton's impeachment and his behavior that led to it. It is the unspoken embarrassment that Hillary has been trying to avoid at all costs, and the Washington Post reports that she is attempting to keep it "taboo." Meanwhile, Newsweek reports that in slamming Geffen's remarks last week, Hillary and Bill "were serving notice-not for the first time-that anyone who brings up Bill and Hillary's past marital problems will be branded a character assassin." But as the Post notes, it's hypocritical for Hillary to use Bill to conjure up good memories of the '90s and not to expect opponents to bring up his other unsavory aspects. And besides, party activists might get ginned up if anyone brings up impeachment, as Ken Starr still doesn't poll well among Democrats.

BROTHER, CAN YOU DO SOME TIME? Hillary's brother, Tony Rodham, is back in court, just in time for the presidential campaign. A federal judge has reopened a bankruptcy case in which a trustee is demanding that Mr. Rodham repay more than $100,000 in "loans" from a carnival owner who was pardoned by President Clinton. Tony received $107,000 in payments from Edgar Gregory and United Shows of America, Inc., before the company went bankrupt in 2002, and now the court-appointed trustee for Mr. Gregory's estate obtained a default judgment against Mr. Rodham, saying that Rodham "received the benefit of the loans without making any repayment." For his part, Tony is denying any wrongdoing in his transactions with Mr. Gregory, and Hillary had no comment.

'REIDING' INTO HILLARY'S CAMPAIGN. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) now has a son working for Hillary. Rory Reid has been made the chairman of Hill's Nevada campaign and an adviser on "Western issues," and he will undoubtedly help Hillary's efforts to win the early Nevada primary. Reid the Elder has been keeping himself publicly neutral during the party's primary, but his son's new job could make things difficult.

Copyright Human Events Publishing, Inc. Mar 5, 2007
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