Thank you for posting this. I remember these events, and have mentioned them from time to time here at FR, but never had the links.
Reid got federal land privatized so it could be developed for the benefit of several Nevada cities. That by itself is unusual; how often does the federal government sell off its land holdings?
But what I noticed was that the various towns involved, and some of the developers, were paying fees to $250k to $350k basically for the privilege of talking to Harry Reid.
Does Reid take bribes? This is how its done. It costs a quarter of a million plus to talk to him, and you pass the money through his son. Is it legal? He’s a lawmaker and his sons are lawyers; I’m sure they know where the legal lines are drawn. Is it moral and ethical? You can draw your own obvious conclusions.
Biden had the same arrangement with his son, who was also a “lobbyist”. His son made something like $1.7 million a year as a “lobbyist”. He said it was legal because if he had to talk to his dad, he would send someone else from his office rather than go personally. So when Biden talks about how poor he is, you can remember this. Later his son and his brother launched a takeover of a hedge fund, so they seem to have some money.
http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/costs-conflicts-arise-in-reid-push-for-green-power-164858086.html
It's what the FBI now calls “Pay to Play.” The feds could put an accounting team on the myriad paper trails to get a picture of the conspiracy. Reid has a net worth listed at between $3 million and $10 million. How much is he hiding offshore or in gold coins?