Bill Clinton may get payout of $20 million (Ron Burkle ties)

Source: Wall Street Journal

Former President Clinton stands to reap around $20 million -- and will sever a politically sensitive partnership tie to Dubai -- by ending his high-profile business relationship with the investment firm of billionaire friend Ron Burkle.

Mr. Clinton is negotiating to end his relationship with Mr. Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. as part of a broader effort to protect the presidential campaign of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, from potential conflicts of interest. Details of Mr. Clinton's involvement in Yucaipa and his efforts to unwind it come from documents and interviews with people familiar with the matter.


The former president has had links to Yucaipa since early 2002, when Mr. Burkle -- a longtime friend and political contributor -- offered him a role there. Mr. Clinton's association with the firm began at a time when he was looking to earn large amounts of money, partly to pay heavy legal bills accumulated to defend himself and Mrs. Clinton from several investigations during his presidency.

Now, as he negotiates with Yucaipa to withdraw from the relationship, he is a wealthy man, thanks partly to tens of millions of dollars he has earned making speeches around the world.



Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120097424021905843.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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hmmm, remember the Ann Hathaway (Devil Wear Prada) boyfriend, Raffaello Follieri, under investigation case? Connected to Yucaipa as well ...

This goes back to this headline in December:

Protecting Hillary: Bill Clinton severs business ties with Billionaire Buddy Burkle

snip...


Clinton, according to sources, considered the piece a major embarrassment and decided to withdraw from Yucaipa.

Clinton was furious with Burkle after the WSJ story appeared, according to a source close to the former president. Burkle and Clinton exchanged heated words, the source said, adding, "their friendship will never be the same. There is now a real distance between Burkle and the Clintons."

According to the WSJ story, in May 2007, Burkle and Yucaipa filed a lawsuit accusing the Italian businessman, Raffaello Follieri, of "systematically misappropriating" at least $1.3 million to fund personal expenses and activities.

Follieri responded by accusing Burkle of blocking efforts to develop the purchased properties. Adding to the embarrassment was Follieri's reported promise to help deliver Catholic voters to Hillary Clinton, according to the Journal.

The lawsuit was settled in late November, according to court documents signed by a Delaware Chancery Court judge.

snip...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/12/protecting-hillary-bill-_n_76529.html

So is this why Hillary met with John Edwards privately? Who knows.

but the rest of us must be independent and inventive...think of new things (so they can give them away to other countries).

When Kerry said, the way to bring back our country was to think of new industries and ideas. I wanted to whack him aside the head. I've heard other candidates puppet this concept in this election. America was not built in an election cycle.

I have an idea! Impeach the so and sos.

he's up to 60 Million and counting.

We tax payers should get our money back?

And I agree with you, we should get our money back.

going to politicans is money laundering pay offs through publishers. Even boring Hastert wrote one. Almost every week a new book is pubished by a member of Congress...or outgoing one. They get to be called "authors" on CSPAN. During elections the books hit the book stores (like Obama).

A book is published to clear up a politican in trouble or to re-write history, etc. Even as negative propaganda of past founding fathers who were our heros (and leaders of democracy).

Bill Clinton made a lot of money on his book about "giving". Guess someone gave to him!!

in the US made them a fortune - and the overseas sales another fortune - the book publisher owes Bill big time

The speaker's bureau fees are the ones I do not understand - I never go to an event based on who is speaking at lunch - so why are my dues being wasted?

But you are correct on the GOP side - Regenery is simply a publishing house being used to give money to Bill O'liely and company.

"Senior adviser" is such a fuzzy term. I always wonder what ex-politicians are actually getting paid for when they take these big jobs at consulting firms, investment firms, and so on. I'm guessing they just use their name and connections to reel in clients. :shrug:

if Hillary is elected:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/memo2.pdf

This stuff is fascinating!

Connections and favors are everything, I guess.

He was rewarded big time for NAFTA.

lol!

These deals are ways to compensate politicians, after
the fact, in ways that would be blatantly illegal if
done during their terms of office.

Tesha

After the DLC and his other friends bag the big One.

Somebody just gave me 20 million for doing nothing too!

Nevermind, I don't want to know!
:rofl:

He gave good speeches and lied about his trade policy. His affairs were smoke screens for NAFTA passage.

We loved and supported him yet he betrayed America and her future.

I am still stunned. And if the Clintons get in the White House, the company could get millions. Just like Bush's and the Carlyle Group.

It really is about corporations, like John Edwards has been saying all along.

Republican President they ever had. Maybe modern one.

I'd say Teddy Roosevelt was for his fighting corporations and setting up Civil Service to stop cronyism. He also started enviornmental issues by saving and preserving the National Park lands.

NAFTA\WTO has been a goal of the elite few for many years. Roosevelt would not have any of it.

If any administration is full of cronyism, it is the Bush administration. Clinton and Bush's smaller government has destroyed our govenment over sight agencies and security. Our smaller military was to destroy it for world mercinaries and bases all around the world.

most likely!

blech...

representing businesses that can be directly affected by legislation? We have all heard about Richard Blum, Dianne Feinstein's husband, and his involvement in the defense industry(?) and trade with China. Now this. Even without a whiff of wrongdoing, it just looks really, really bad.

heads let them get away with it. They are corrupt to the core.

with the ethics committees and whatever, I guess there must be some kind of "gentleman's agreement" not to raise a fuss.

about several things ...

ignore the corruption in each other's party. Yes..."a gentleman's agreement" which they call getting along better. It's like a corrupt frat gang who get to become rich and corrupt on the backs of their constituents.

New members of Congress become the same way forgetting their promises to voters. None held accountable even by the so called Progressive groups which backed them financially.

It does not give me comfort that they get along so well when so much is at stake for America. They not only get rich but betray America's future.

They couldn't go after Hastert when his land deal was in your face. He stepped down from leadership with millions but that's not like going to jail is it?

Who says they are running our government like a company? If you work for any organization and you make off with millions...you would go to jail for a long time. Especially if you were Afro-American poor. Rich maybe not. They need workers in those privatized prisons. Why else do you suppose we have more prisoners than China (who also use them for free labor).

Congressman Trifactant (D-OH) allegedly stole hundreds of thousands. He's still not out of jail after eight years. Even Amnesty International won't tell me what is going on. He's serving in a mental institution last I heard. Democrats abandoned him because he protested the 2000 election "selection" of Bush and the bad votes in Florida. He was the first political prisoner from Congress.

I was shocked to find out that there were at least six prisons north of the NC Triangle area. I wondered where all the men were in NC. In the state college most the students are women.

While watching an Oprah program one day I heard she and her friend had gone to NC because it was reported that their were lots of Afro-American available for dating, marriage, etc. What planet were they living on?

Many are x-felons who can't vote. I think that is on purpose.

North Carolina has been stripped of its industries and farms. Even their prosperous university area suffering government research loss. Their youth have been outsourced to poverty, industrial prisons, or joining Blackwater.

Hey Congress if you want to be rich don't do it on the public dole. It's not what public service is about. Even the X-members of Congress And the cabinet can't give up their power and influence joining secret organizations (Bilderberg Group, etc). Their egos inflated and greedy for wealth and long past powers.

Yes...Virginia we are a Russian like society today. It is what we fought during the Cold War. You know that great President Reagan who freed us from Communism? Guess we didn't win but became what we hated most. Is that not the Republican RW way to "smaller government"?

I've been picking up on such a sense of entitlement from Bill Clinton's behavior in Hillary's campaign, an entitlement for a room at the White House again ...must be because of all the ongoing wheeling and dealing?

I never had a problem with the speeches. If people were crazy enough to pay a gazillion dollars to hear him speak, then more power to him! I'm definitely not as comfortable with this.

These stories make my blood boil.

once the Clintons are back in the White House. Too bad older women aren't listening in America.

Another Clinton administration would be more corrupt than the current Bush administration?

That's beyond absurd...

absolutely floored.

this place has become no better than any run of the mill right wing site.

We want America and our party back.

How do you explain this Burkle deal? This sounds so repub.

I am not being sarcastic, this story is very troubling.

Why do you suppose that happened?

This will be the new Whitewater and it doesn't help that Yucaipa was avoiding U.S. taxes via the Cayman Islands. Hillary was opining about closing loopholes for rich people while the family fortune was being sent offshore.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aiQEVoQ5nt5E&refer=home

Kept thinking about this entire situation with Burkle and it is mind opening. Politics is dirtier than I could imagine. This is truly sad.

Down with the corps and up with the people. Ya, right - - does anyone really believe this will happen? I'm way too old to be told the truth, it hurts.