Posted on 05/05/2008 3:53:05 PM PDT by vietvet67
WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Clinton excluded nearly $24 million of her husband's earnings from Senate financial statements from 2004 through 2006, capitalizing on rules that permit senators to limit disclosures of some of their spouses' income.
Her decision, while fully consistent with Senate rules and norms, delayed the release of financial information about former President Clinton's soaring income until the couple released their tax returns in early April, under pressure from Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama. By then, about 40 states had completed their Democratic primaries and caucuses, meaning that those voters didn't get a clear look at Bill Clinton's finances.
Like Clinton, Obama listed his wife Michelle's salary and directors' fees only as ``over $1,000,'' which complies with Senate rules. Obama and his wife, a Chicago lawyer, aren't as wealthy as the Clintons, however, and their finances are less murky.
GOP candidate John McCain's wife, Cindy, is the heiress to a beer distributorship and has owned stock in oil and pharmaceutical companies, but the specifics are elusive. McCain has declined to release his wife's tax returns, saying they keep their finances separately.
Watchdogs say these scenarios not only raise issues about the candidates' openness, but also point to shortcomings in government ethics requirements.
Bill Buzenberg, the executive director of the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity, said that the disclosures by the Clintons and McCain were ``inadequate.''
``There's no other way to sugarcoat it,'' he said. ``It's not transparent. It needs to be because it does potentially involve all kinds of entangling things we don't know.''
The Clintons' tax returns show that Bill Clinton earned nearly $51 million from 2004 through 2006.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcclatchydc.com ...
Anyone want to bet that his income earned overseas stayed overseas?
Well, one of the classic symptoms of PTSD is memory loss. And you know, getting shot at by snipers in Bosnia is certainly a traumatic experience.
Keep moving folks, nothing to see here. (Evening news = sound of crickets.)
By then, about 40 states had completed their Democratic primaries and caucuses, meaning that those voters didn't get a clear look at Bill Clinton's finances.
True.
Also missing from those 40 primaries was wide public knowledge of BHO's crazy uncle/mentor/advisor. One could make the case BHO's wins were gained without full disclosure.
Proofreading time.
FMCDH(BITS)
How conveeeeeeenient.
But if I want to give more than a couple thousands dollars to a political candidate and I try to do so without reporting it, I go straight to jail.
Thank you Mr. Straighttalk.
Isn't that about the same amount of money he has stashed away in a Cayman Islands bank?
sorry, I don’t have my secret decoder ring
It should have been quiet, instead of quite.
It’s probably more like $2.4 billion.
like LBJ...Clintoon is getting his quid pro quo from all the crooks he pardoned, gave contracts to, or hired.....but the Rat lowly will never admit this....
duly noted
If finances are kept separately, I don’t think we should require that the spouses of candidates disclose anything.
The electorate can insist on it, but it’s bad enough I have to give up my own privacy to run for office, the spouse who isn’t running shouldn’t have to.
If you don’t trust a person enough to believe their spouse won’t unduly influence them, then don’t vote for that person.
....or came back as a stain on his pants!
LOL
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