TPMMuckraker Hillary Clinton
DOJ
Did Iranian Regime Approve Plot To Have Mexican Drug Cartel Member Kill Saudi Arabian Ambassador?
FBI Director Robert Mueller (Left) And U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (Right)
It's not everyday that the U.S. Attorney General and director of the FBI stand at a press conference and accuse military officials in a foreign country of plotting to assassinate an ambassador to the United States.
But that's just what happened Tuesday, when Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller went before the cameras at the Justice Department and laid out the details of an alleged plot to kill the Saudi Arabian Ambassador, involving a Texas-based Iranian-American named Manssor Arbabsiar.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: DOJ, Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton, Iran, Manssor Arbabsiar, Robert Mueller, Saudi Arabia
Hillary Clinton
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Paper Removes Secretary Of State From Iconic War Room Photo
Now you see her, now you don't.
A Hasidic newspaper published a doctored version of the now-famous photo of President Obama and top advisors in the situation room as the bin Laden raid unfolded, editing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and another woman out of the image entirely.
The newspaper, Der Tzitung, erased both Clinton and Director of Counterterrorism Audrey Tomason from the iconic image, leaving two conspicuous blank spaces in the photo that ran in their Friday edition last week. According to Jewish Week, the Brooklyn-based paper removed the two women because of an editorial policy stipulating that they "will not intentionally include any images of women in the paper because it could be considered sexually suggestive."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Der Tzitung, Hillary Clinton, Osama bin Laden
Lake Pirates
Hillary Clinton Calls 'Lake Pirates' Incident 'A Terrible Tragedy' (VIDEO)
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke about the "lake pirates" shooting in an interview aired on Good Morning America this morning. The family of David Hartley, the man reportedly shot while jet skiing on the Mexican side of a border-straddling lake, has publicly called for more federal involvement in the search and investigation. In media appearances, Hartley's mother has appealed to Clinton directly. Clinton said the State Department is helping, and that the U.S. government "is supporting local law enforcement, supporting the authorities on the border. Doing everything that we know to do to try to assist in helping to find the body and helping to find the perpetrators."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: David Hartley, Falcon Lake, Hillary Clinton, Lake Pirates, Tiffany Hartley
Hassan Nemazee
In Plea Deal, Ex-Clinton Fundraiser Nemazee Gets 12 Years
Hassan Nemazee
Hassan Nemazee, a former fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, was sentenced today to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty in March to bilking banks out of $292 million.
Nemazee pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud. Prosecutors said Nemazee operated a type of Ponzi scheme in which he borrowed large amounts from three banks using fake collateral, and then paid off the debt with more loans.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Campaign Finance, Democrats, Hassan Nemazee, Hillary Clinton, Ponzi Scheme
Lanny Davis
Lanny Davis Launches New Lobby Shop: 'The Best Solution Is A ... Bipartisan Solution'
Lanny Davis
Lanny Davis is striking out on his own -- and mounting a lonely campaign for bipartisanship as he does so.
The former Clinton White House lawyer, and tireless Hillary Clinton booster, announced this week that he'll launch his own law and lobbying shop, which will offer clients "a unique combination of traditional legal and litigation services plus media/crisis management, and legislative/public policy strategies to solve U.S. and international client problems."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman, Lanny Davis, Lobbyists
Hassan Nemazee
Dem Super Donor Nemazee Pleads Guilty To $292M Fraud
Hassan Nemazee
Hassan Nemazee, who spent millions on a luxury lifestyle including huge donations to top Democratic politicians, pleaded guilty to a $292 million fraud scheme today in federal court in Manhattan, Reuters reports.
Nemazee's scheme involved borrowing huge sums from three banks and promising to pay off each bank with a loan from one of the others.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Barack Obama, Democrats, Hassan Nemazee, Hillary Clinton
Lanny Davis
Lanny Davis's New Blog Advises Corporate Clients On 'Legal Crisis Management'
Lanny Davis
Lanny Davis is drawing on his experience handling crises for the Clinton White House to launch a blog that will advise corporate clients on how to navigate "high profile legal, personal and political controversies."
The Fox-friendly Democratic operative will team up with two other staffers at McDermott, Will, and Emery, the DC law and lobbying firm where he works, to write "Legal Crisis Strategies." According to an announcement by the firm, the blog will offer clients "total solutions" for handling crises, including "litigation skills and fact finding," "strategic messages and extensive experience in dealing with the media," and "legislative and lobbying strategies."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Hillary Clinton, Lanny Davis, Lobbyists
Google vs. China
The Google-China Showdown: Where Do Things Stand?
Google.cn homepage
Yesterday we took a look at the power dynamics in the showdown between Google and China, concluding that Google doesn't have a particularly strong bargaining position here.
Today, more than a week after Google's announcement that it would shut down Google.cn unless China allows it to stop censoring results, we thought it was a good time to take a look at where things stand.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: Baidu, David Drummond, Google, Google Android software, Google vs. China, Hillary Clinton, Ma Zhaoxu, Obama Administration
Campaign Finance
Supreme Court Ruling Could Reshape Campaign Finance Laws
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)
The Supreme Court could rule this morning on a case that may radically reshape our campaign-finance laws, opening the door for unrestricted amounts of corporate money to flow into American politics.
In a nutshell: The FEC ruled that the conservative group Citizens United (CU) was prohibited by the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law from airing a negative movie about Hillary Clinton. CU received corporate donations and the movie advocated the defeat of a political candidate within 60 days of an election. CU is arguing that the FEC ruling violated its freedom of speech, and that the relevant provision of McCain-Feingold is unconstitutional.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Campaign Donations, Campaign Finance, FEC, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Russ Feingold
War In Afghanistan
Blackwater, Already On The Ground In Afghanistan, Now Gunning For More Contracts
A Blackwater Aviation crew member prepares to drop supplies to an outpost in Bandar, Afghanistan, in 2007.
It looks like the Obama Administration just can't quit the company formerly known as Blackwater.
A Xe official told the Commission on Wartime Contracting Friday that the company has contracts for security as well as for training Afghan police and a "drug interdiction unit." Xe is also in the running for more work in Afghanistan. The comments of Xe Vice President Fred Roitz were first reported by the Virginia Pilot.
It's been a difficult year for Xe, with several former guards facing manslaughter charges over the shootings in Baghdad's Nisour Square that left 17 civilians dead, and company founder Erik Prince declaring he plans to leave the business.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (7)Topics: Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Blackwater, CIA, Contractors, Defense Contractors, Defense Department, Erik Prince, Hillary Clinton, Military Contractors, State Department, War In Afghanistan, Xe
Ken Starr
Strange Bedfellows: To Weaken Campaign-Finance Law, Starr's Group Defends Edwards Backer
Ken Starr
A heavy-hitting group of conservative lawyers led by Ken Starr and Ed Meese is jumping to the defense of a Democratic trial lawyer and major John Edwards backer.
No, Starr, Meese et al. haven't suddenly undergone a political conversion. Instead, they see a chance to undermine campaign-finance laws they never supported in the first place.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (4)Topics: Bill Clinton, Campaign Finance, Ed Meese, FEC, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, John McCain, Ken Starr, Russ Feingold
Norman Hsu
Democratic Fundraiser Hsu Gets 24 Years In Fraud And Campaign Finance Cases
Norman Hsu
Norman Hsu, the Democratic fundraiser whose criminal past became a scandal for Hillary Clinton during the primary in 2007, was sentenced to over 24 years in prison today for committing fraud and violating campaign finance laws, the AP reports.
Prosecutors said that Hsu used "straw donors" who he reimbursed to get around campaign finance limits. The Clinton campaign gave back over $800,000 in donations from sources linked to Hsu.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Hillary Clinton, Norman Hsu
Terry McAuliffe
McAuliffe Mum On Ties To Nemazee
Hassan Nemazee with Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Terry McAuliffe at book party for McAuliffe's "What a Party! My Life Among Democrats." January 22, 2007.
Powerhouse fundraiser Hassan Nemazee had a lot of friends in Democratic circles. And one of the most important appears to have been the party's money-man par excellence, Terry McAuliffe.
But since the news broke yesterday that Nemazee had been charged with running a $292 million Ponzi scheme, the normally loquacious McAuliffe hasn't been his usual voluble self.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Hassan Nemazee, Hillary Clinton, Terry McAuliffe
Hassan Nemazee
Nemazee Spent Millions On Luxury Car, Plane, Lots Of Real Estate
Hassan Nemazee with Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Terry McAuliffe at book party for McAuliffe's "What a Party! My Life Among Democrats." January 22, 2007.
Besides showering Democratic politicians with hundreds of thousands dollars -- probably several million in all -- what was Hassan Nemazee spending all that money on?
Unlike Bernie Madoff or 'Sir' Allen Stanford, Nemazee's alleged Ponzi scheme did not involve bilking individual investors. The Feds put the fraud at $292 million since 1998. Even taking into account that some of the money was allegedly borrowed to pay off other loans, a person would have to spend hard and often, on more than just political donations, to burn through that kind of cash.
And, the indictment suggests, Nemazee did just that.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Barbara Boxer, Cessna Model 680, Hassan Nemazee, Hillary Clinton, Lavish Spending, Maserati Quattroporte
Hassan Nemazee
As Democrats Reclaimed Power, Nemazee Was Key Fundraiser
Hassan Nemazee
Hassan Nemazee may not be a household name. But as Democrats returned to power over the last few election cycles, the New York financier -- who yesterday was charged with running a $292 million Ponzi scheme -- has been among the most important players in drumming up the campaign funds that have enabled that success.
Let's start with the 2004 cycle. Nemazee had been a top fundraiser for the Clintons in the 1990s, but he appears to have courted John Kerry since at least 2002. By January 2004, he was described in news reports (via Nexis) as "one of Kerry's chief fundraisers." Subsequent reports from that year describe him as Kerry's "New York City finance chair."
Topics: Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Hassan Nemazee, Hillary Clinton
Hassan Nemazee
Flashback: Alleged Fraudster Was Wheeled Out To Defend Hillary Camp After Discovery Of Different Fraudster
Hassan Nemazee and Norman Hsu
Remember the strange case of Norman Hsu that roiled the Hillary Clinton campaign during the Democratic primary back in 2007?
Hsu was a top bundler for the campaign who was found to have hidden his past as a crook and Hillary was forced to return over $800,000 in donations. He later plead guilty to a Ponzi scheme and was convicted on campaign finance charges.
Hsu, who currently resides in federal prison, reimbursed so-called "straw donors" drawn from his fraudulent business to get around contribution limits.
At the time of the crisis, Hassan Nemazee, indicted yesterday in his own alleged Ponzi scheme -- considerably larger than Hsu's $20 million operation -- was a national finance chair for the Hillary campaign.
And guess who the campaign dispatched to talk to reporters to tamp down the Hsu story? One Hassan Nemazee.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: Hassan Nemazee, Hillary Clinton, Norman Hsu
Hassan Nemazee
Alleged Fraudster Nemazee Poured Dollars Into Dems' Coffers For Years
Hassan Nemazee
Just how big a Democratic donor was Hassan Nemazee?
He and his wife (mostly he) gave the Democratic House and Senate campaign committees $191,700 over the past three election cycles, 2006, 2008, and 2010.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Harry Reid, Hassan Nemazee, Hillary Clinton
Justice Department
Big Dem Donor Nemazee Indicted In Alleged $292 Million Scheme
Hassan Nemazee
Federal prosecutors have accused a major Democratic fundraiser with ties to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that involved swindling several major banks out of hundreds of millions of dollars, and using some of the proceeds to fund political candidates and PACs.
According to a Justice Department press release, Hassan Nemazee was indicted this afternoon by a grand jury, charged with using fake documents and signatures to bilk Citibank, Bank of America, and HSBC out of over $290 million, in an alleged scheme that dates back to 1998. Nemazee alleged used the Citibank money to repay the B of A loan, and vice versa. And even after being questioned by FBI agents about the Citibank loan last month, Nemazee allegedly went to HSBC to fraudulently draw down a line of credit, which he tried to access funds to pay back Citibank.
You can read the indictment here.
Topics: Barack Obama, FBI, Hassan Nemazee, Hillary Clinton, Justice Department
Hassan Nemazee
Feds: Nemazee Swindled Two Other Banks
Hassan Nemazee
It looks like that fraudulent $74 million loan that top Democratic fundraiser Hassan Nemazee allegedly obtained from Citigroup may have just been the tip of the iceberg.
In a letter to the judge in Nemazee's case, reported by Reuters, prosecutors claimed that Nemazee also ripped off two other banks.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Hassan Nemazee, Hillary Clinton, Wall Street
Hillary Clinton
Top Clinton Fundraiser Charged With Defrauding Citigroup
Hassan Nemazee
The top fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has been charged with fraudulently applying for a loan of over $74 million from Citigroup.
Federal prosecutors allege that Hassan Nemazee, a New York businessman who was national finance chair for the Clinton campaign, "submitted, and caused to be submitted to Citibank numerous documents that purported to establish the existence of accounts in Nemazee's name at various financial institutions containing many hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, those were fraudulent and forged documents."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (4)Topics: Citigroup, Hassan Nemazee, Hillary Clinton
AIPAC
Lanny Davis Now Lobbying In Support Of Honduran Coup
It seems like just yesterday that Lanny Davis was making the rounds of every news outlet that would have him, talking up Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House -- and/or pushing the Reverend Wright story.
Not too long after, the former Clinton White House counsel popped up to do damage control for hawkish Democratic congresswoman Jane Harman over the AIPAC leak story.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (16)Topics: AIPAC, Hillary Clinton, Jane Harman, Lanny Davis, Lobbyists
John Ensign
Did A Shadowy Christian Group Help Keep Ensign's Secret?
Senate Republicans, it's becoming clear, aren't exactly lining up to defend John Ensign.
Of course, that's not so surprising, given the damage that sex scandals have inflicted on the GOP in recent years. But could it be that the Ensign imbroglio poses a particularly thorny problem for some Republicans because, aside from the sex and jobs angle, the story threatens to shine an unflattering light on the role of the shadowy religious group to which the Nevada senator belongs?
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (15)Topics: Hillary Clinton, John Ensign, Right-wing extremism, Sex
Philip Zelikow
Zelikow: I Think Cheney Tried To Destroy My Torture Memo
Mother Jones has advanced the story of an alleged bid by the Bushies to destroy a memo, written by a top state department lawyer, that offered an alternative view on the legality of torture.
Last month, as we noted, Philip Zelikow, a top lawyer for Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, wrote that the Bush White House "attempted to collect and destroy all copies" of the memo. But he hadn't said who at the White House he suspected of being behind that effort.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (10)Topics: Condi Rice, Dick Cheney, Hillary Clinton, Philip Zelikow, Torture
Hillary Clinton
Congress Seeking Zelikow's "Alternative" Torture Memo
Congress has asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for a 2005 memo written by a top State Department lawyer, which is said to have taken an alternative view on the legality of torture to that famously offered by DOJ lawyers.
In a letter to Clinton, Reps John Conyers and Howard Berman, who chair, respectively, the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees wrote that the memo "may shed important light on the process by which these interrogation practices were evaluated, approved, ad implemented by the former Administration." Reps Jerry Nadler and Bill Delahunt, who chair subcommittees of Judiciary and Foreign Affairs, respectively, also signed on.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (6)Topics: Condi Rice, Hillary Clinton, House Judiciary, Jerrold Nadler, John Conyers, Justice Department, Torture
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton Rents Out Donor List To... Hillary Clinton
Here's a cool way to get out of debt most Americans probably wish they had as an option: Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign made $2.5 million this year renting out its list of supporters to Hillary Clinton's campaign for Senate, the Wall Street Journal reports today, following up on last week's Politico item. That's enough to pay back the $2.3 million the campaign still owes to her campaign strategist Mark Penn.
Clinton's now-dormant political action committee, Hill PAC, also paid $822,000 to rent the list, and the William J. Clinton Foundation paid "more than $274,000" to rent the list. Why the sweetheart deal for her husband? Maybe it wasn't as valuable to an entity that already has a 2,922-page list of its own. The campaign tells the Journal the prices were set by outside appraisers. It made another $1 million renting out the list to 18 other customers, which paid an average of $50,000 apiece.
The significance of this, apart from "campaign finance is complicated," according to the Journal, is that Hillary is "holding onto" the list in "part of a plan that looks to retain an element of [her] political operation while she serves as secretary of state."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Hillary Clinton
Barack Obama
White House Won't Say Whether It'll Back Effort To Roll Back State Secrets Privilege
A good advance on the state secrets story, from Greg Sargent over at the Plum Line.
Greg reports that the White House declined to tell him whether it would support a Democratic effort to roll back the use of the state secrets privilege.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (4)Topics: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Justice Department, Pat Leahy, State Secrets
Blackwater
Will Hillary Follow Through On Campaign Pledge To Ban 'Private Mercenaries'?
Back in February, Senator Hillary Clinton cosponsored legislation calling for the Secretary of State to ban the use of private contractors like Blackwater from guarding State Department employees -- a position that takes on new significance now that she is Secretary Of State designate.
It was about three weeks after Super Tuesday in the heat of the Democratic primary -- and five months after the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians at Nisour Square by now-indicted Blackwater employees working for the State Department -- when Clinton took an aggressive stand against the use of private forces. A strongly-worded statement issued by her office lashed out at "private mercenary firms":
From this war's very beginning, this administration has permitted thousands of heavily-armed military contractors to march through Iraq without any law or court to rein them in or hold them accountable. These private security contractors have been reckless and have compromised our mission in Iraq. The time to show these contractors the door is long past due.
And in late February, Clinton became the sole Senate cosponsor of a bill, S.2398, the Stop Outsourcing Security Act that had been introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
In a major speech on Iraq a couple of weeks later, Hillary reiterated her support for removing private contractors from "combat-oriented and security functions in Iraq."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (11)Topics: Barack Obama, Blackwater, Hillary Clinton
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