Saturday, November 20, 2004
Enron, Arthur Andersen, Chris Dodd and Bill Clinton
With the Clinton library show and Hilary-for-President boost campaign in full swing, some of us wonder why mistrustful bile reflexively wells inside in contemplation of the former first couple.
There are many reminders out there. One is the Enron debacle of a few years ago. That company and its financial advisor Arthur Andersen presented a grotesquely skewered financial picture that had the effect of defrauding ordinary investors. Blame fell squarely, you may recall, on the Bush White House.
However, former Clinton advisor Dick Morris in his book "Off With their Heads" (HarperCollins 2003) says the foundations of the matter were laid back in the mid-90s when Chris Dodd (Democrat) sponsored a bill to make sure that accountants and lawyers couldn't be sued for aiding and abetting fraud.
While Dodd's bill was pending, the accounting industry and big accounting firms gave nearly $8 million to congressional candidates. Arthur Andersen gave more to Dodd than any other senator.
Says Morris:
'As the president's pollster, I advised a (presidential) veto (of the bill)... then I ran into Bruce Lindsey, the president's oldest friend and closest adviser (who asked Morris about it)...'
'A lot of Democrats favor it ...,' Lindsey noted,'We're getting a lot of pressure from our friends in California to sign it.'
'You mean the Silicon Valley types?' asked Morris.
He nodded.
Morris says this was the only time in 2 years with Clinton at the White House that he "ever heard anyone mention a policy issue in terms of its effect on possible campaign contributions."
Dodd was chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a key fundraiser for President Clinton. The President did not want to upset Dodd. In mulling what to do about the matter, the President said to Morris later:
'What if I veto the bill and its overridden? Would the override hurt me politically? ... Even if Democrats join in the override?'
'No,' I conceded, 'Even if Democrat senators vote for the bill, that's their political problem. It won't interfere with your standing against it.'
The dye was cast, Morris says, and eventually this scenario was played out. Clinton vetoed the bill, and the veto was overridden by Congressional Democrats and Republicans voting in unison.
Morris says that Senator Dodd (with Republican Phil Gramm of Texas) orchestrated the override, knowing full well that he would not incur the wrath of the President, who exercised his veto in the foreknowledge that it would certainly be overridden - and that, incidentally, thousands of small and unsuspecting investors would be defrauded with no legal recourse to recoup life savings.
Not surprisingly, the facts of the case haven't stopped the man some call Slick from cynically criticising Bush and blaming his administration for the Enron-Global Crossing-Arthur Andersen affair. And for the loss of confidence that has dogged the stock market ever since.
However, Bill Clinton emerged with a clean nose.
That's the important thing. Isn't it?
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In the same hypocritical, media-mounted vein, this report from the NY Sun:
"LITTLE ROCK, ARK. - President Clinton's new $165 million library here was funded in part by gifts of $1 million or more each from the Saudi royal family and three Saudi businessmen.
"The governments of Dubai, Kuwait, and Qatar and the deputy prime minister of Lebanon all also appear to have donated $1 million or more ...
"Democrats spent much of the presidential campaign this year accusing President Bush of improperly close ties to Saudi Arabia...in Michael Moore's film "Fahrenheit 9/11," in a bestselling book by Craig Unger titled "House of Bush, House of Saud," and by the Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Kerry...
"... (F)ormer Clinton White House aide, Harold Ickes, spent millions airing television commercials in swing states with scripts such as, "The Saudi royal family...wealthy...powerful...corrupt. And close Bush family friends.""
According to Newsmax:
"In January 2002, Clinton traveled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to speak before a conference of Middle Eastern businessmen organized by the Saudi BinLaden Group, the powerful construction conglomerate run by the family of Osama bin Laden.
"Clinton was paid $267,000 for his appearance ..."
