 |
|
| Email this article | Printer friendly page |
| For Immediate Release | |
| Dec 30, 1997 | Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
|
Initial Judicial Watch Suit Had Chilling Effect Later Trie Revelations The "Coup de Grace" The President's Legal Defense Trust (a/k/a Clinton Legal Defense Fund) has just folded. Initially sued by Judicial Watch in July 1994, among charges that it was an illegal conduit of monies from special interests to the President, the Clinton Legal Defense Fund never really raised the amount of money which had been hoped for; that is not until Charley Trie and his benefactor, Mr Wu (a reported Chinese agent) found their way conveniently into the account. Since this revelation, the Clinton Legal Defense Fund has been under investigation, and increased public scrutiny. "Today, in announcing its demise, the trustees acknowledged that the heat had become too hot in the kitchen," stated Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman. However, the implications for the future are not good," added Klayman. "Rather than borrowing money from a bank at market rates to pay for their legal fees, and paying it back after the President and First Lady leave office (when they will be multi-millionaires thanks to book deals, speaking engagements and employment offers), they are now apparently still inclined to set up other mechanisms for private special interests to inject money into their accounts. Not only is this illegal under the anti-gratuity laws, it creates a continuing incentive for unsavory interests to try to effectively bribe the President," stated Klayman. Judicial Watch, the public interest group that uncovered John Huang and sparked the current campaign finance scandal, has also brought a policyholder's derivative suit against State Farm, the President's insurance carrier which, along with Chubb, had been paying his legal fees in the Paula Jones case. This, is was alleged, was a means to try to influence the President, when the insurance industry sought regulatory favors. The suit alleges that the President's policy did not cover the claims brought by Jones, that untimely notice was provided by Clinton to State Farm, and that the insurance monies were improperly spent not on winning the case, but on delaying it until after the 1996 elections. This is not a proper use of policyholder assets. It thus appears that the payment of the Clintons' legal bills have been, and will continue to be, a popular and convenient method of laundering monies into the President's accounts, in an attempt by domestic and foreign special interests to buy influence and favors. This is illegal and must be stopped, before our nation succumbs to the same endemic government corruption problems that countries, such as Italy and Brazil, have been attempting in recent years to redress. "A great nation cannot continue to exist when its leaders can be bought and sold," concluded Larry Klayman. |
|
