| Printed from JudicialWatch.org Apr 17, 2000 |
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THE MAN BEHIND THE CLINTON SCANDALS (Washington, D.C.) White House Chief of Staff John Podesta has been one of the principal players behind the Clinton scandals. For instance, in Judicial Watch's lawsuit concerning the illegal sale of seats on trade missions of the Clinton-Gore Commerce Department, Nolanda Hill, former Secretary Ron Brown's confidante, testified that it was Podesta, along with Leon Panetta, who instructed Ron Brown to disobey Court Orders of Judge Royce Lamberth. Podesta's name also has surfaced in the e-mail scandal, where documents show that he was fully apprised of the e-mail problem almost two years ago, but did nothing to put Lamberth's Court on notice that full document production was not forthcoming. Recently, a new White House whistleblower, Jane Weaver, has testified that John Podesta had decided to mislead a court in another important case involving The White House. Yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Podesta threatened Lazaro Gonzales to relinquish Elian and added: MR. RUSSERT: The family is saying: Please, don't [take Elian] do it tomorrow because it's the anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, some 39 years ago, and please don't do it this week because it's Easter week. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, a period of reconciliation. Would the administration hold off a week? MR. PODESTA: Well, I don't think, frankly, that the family has much standing to make those kind of requests . . . I think the government is prepared to effectuate a return of Elian to the custody of his father, where he belongs . . . Podesta's threat sounded like those made by organized crime figures. "The Clinton-Gore White House has been � as Judicial Watch has alleged in a number of lawsuits � a RICO-styled criminal enterprise, run by people like John Podesta," stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. | |