What would the Judge do?

By Dick Morris

 

WE.CONNECT.DOTS:   Bill and Hillary Clinton claim they were heavily under water when they exited the White House in 2001.  They listed assets of $1.8 million and debts of $10.6 million, mainly legal fees from his impeachment defense.

Today, only 16 years later, as they prepare to re-enter 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, they could be worth as much as $153 million, according to CNN.  The primary source of this income is selling influence.  Big bucks for Bill’s speeches poured in, even while Hillary served as Secretary of State.

Unlike Donald Trump, the Clintons don’t hide their wealth.  They have been making their tax returns public for most of 35 years.

Forbes estimates their wealth at $126.3 million.  That includes daughter Chelsea’s $15 million.

The “sleaze” label is appropriate.  The Clintons refined the task of peddling influence, raising pay-for-play to a new level.

Granted, the $37 million they received in book advances and royalties were earned.  Their stories feed a widespread interest.  Readers are under no pressure to buy the novels.

No “sleaze” here.

CNN figured Bill and Hillary gave about 750 speeches for fees totaling $153 million between 2001 and 2015.  That’s an average of over $200,000 per talk.

Nearly all audiences were comprised of special interest groups in highly regulated industries or foreign government agencies needing favorable attention in Washington.

Several independent investigators claim that many trade groups, or rulers of countries, donated to the Clinton Foundation while Hillary was Secretary of State, they went to the head of the line for appointments with top Obama government officials.

The probability that these entities would pay outrageous fees because Bill and Hillary were great speakers is not believable.  That some of these people would have gotten access to Obama minions without writing a check to the Foundation is not likely.

No other public figure commands as much to speak or gets that kind of fee so often.

Chelsea’s wealth accumulation also raises questions.  NBC TV network has been one of her sugar daddies.  In 2011, her NBC base salary was $600,000.  Someone calculated that for the brief time she was on air, her compensation figured out to $445 per second.

She is a boring interviewer.

Her $15 million is separate from hubby Marc Mezvinsky’s accumulation of another $15 million.  He is an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, one of those money houses that his mother-in-law says she will rope in.

To be clear, there is not a shred of evidence that a Clinton family member has benefited directly from his/her roles in starting and managing the Clinton Foundation.  The home page reflects this statement:

“We convene businesses, governments, NGOs, and individuals to improve global health and wellness, increase opportunity for girls and women, reduce childhood obesity, create economic opportunity and growth, and help communities address the effects of climate change.”

The Clintons have gathered up about $2 billion in donations to the Foundation, as the couple bulls through more ethical issues.  The Foundation experienced tremendous financial growth when Hillary was Secretary of State.  Recently the Associated Press published the following two graphs:

“More than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money — either personally or through companies or groups — to the Clinton Foundation. It’s an extraordinary proportion indicating her possible ethics challenges if elected president.

“At least 85 of 154 people from private interests who met or had phone conversations scheduled with Clinton while she led the State Department donated to her family charity or pledged commitments to its international programs, according to a review of State Department calendars released so far by The Associated Press.  Combined, the 85 donors contributed as much as $156 million. At least 40 donated more than $100,000 each, and 20 gave more than $1 million.”

Bottom Line:  The hijacking of both political parties – the GOP by paranoid racists and the Democrats by corrupt manipulators – could be warning signs that the days of free elections are numbered.

The economy is not going to get better because either Trump or Clinton is elected.  That’s why your choice must be made only on whose finger you want on the nuclear trigger.

What would my best friend have done?  The late Judge Michael J. Wherry would have held his nose and voted for Clinton.  I am doing the same.