Posted on 05/17/2003 6:19:50 AM PDT by SlickWillard
It's only rock 'n' roll, but questions are being raised about eight Rolling Stones concert tickets totalling $2,533 (1,560 pounds) for President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s daughter Jenna.
On Thursday Bush released the financial disclosure form for himself and his family for 2002, reporting a net worth of at least $8.8 million and up to $21.9 million.
In the filing, Bush reported accepting six Rolling Stones concert tickets from the boss of Sony Entertainment at the time, Tommy Mottola, and two Stones tickets from the Secret Service (news - web sites) detail in Austin, Texas. They were for his daughter Jenna.
After a press query, the White House issued a statement on Friday explaining that gifts for dependants under age 21 are typically listed as part of the disclosure form.
"Jenna is a fan of the Rolling Stones and expressed interest in buying some tickets to the concert. Mr. Mottola then offered to give them to her as a gift," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) said.
He went on to explain that the other tickets were birthday gifts for Jenna from her personal agents.
"They were not paid for by the (Secret Service) but the individuals personally," he said.
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
5.56mm
Me neither.
For more on her cousin's animal rights agenda, go here.
UH HUH..... For I was on that thread, it was about the a fundraiser for the ASPCA, you know, the people who run the shelter where you can adopt a homeless pet.
For SlickWillard's agenda, stay tuned.
I know I did the last time they were in SLC.
redrock
"OK, where's the proof?" you ask. Well, you could start by going to the Donor Lookup page at OpenSecrets, and searching under "Mottola, Thomas." This is what you'll get:
| Contributor | Occupation | Date | Amount | Recipient |
| MOTTOLA, THOMAS NEW YORK, NY 10022 |
SONY MUSIC | 11/24/2001 | $1,000 | Leahy, Patrick |
| MOTTOLA, THOMAS NEW YORK, NY 10022 |
SONY MUSIC ENTERTAIN | 8/5/1998 | $5,000 | Democratic National Committee |
| MOTTOLA, THOMAS NEW YORK, NY 10022 |
SONY MUSIC ENTERTAIN | 8/11/1998 | $1,000 | Democratic National Committee |
| MOTTOLA, THOMAS NEW YORK, NY 10022 |
SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT | 2/24/1997 | $1,000 | Recording Industry Assn of America |
| MOTTOLA, THOMAS NEW YORK, NY 10022 |
SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT INC | 12/21/2001 | $2,000 | Recording Industry Assn of America |
| MOTTOLA, THOMAS NY, NY 10101 |
SONY MUSIC | 10/31/1992 | $250 | Schiliro, Philip Michael |
Or maybe this one will interest you:
| Contributor | Occupation | Date | Amount | Recipient |
| JAGGER, BIANCA , |
ACTIVIST | 10/10/1996 | $250 | McCarthy, Carolyn |
Like millions of other Americans, Jenna Bush attempts to buy tickets to a Rolling Stones rock concert.
A record company executive decides to offer some tickets to her as a gift. Likewise, two Secret Service agents assigned to her, offer her two tickets as a birthday gift (paid for out of their own pockets). Like millions of other Americans would do in a similar situation, the gifts were graciously accepted.
The Bushes then dutifully log the gifts on their financial disclosure statements.
I simply see no controversy here. Everything seems to be on the up and up. Sure, one could argue that the record company executive was trying to curry favor with the president by offering his daughter free rock concert tickets, but so what? I'm a fan of the president too and if I was in a position to do something special for his daughter on her birthday, I'd do it (and not expect anything in return).
Whether some of us like it or not, people who are famous get a lot of favors done for them. It's a fact of life. Perhaps it helps to balance out the drawbacks of being famous, of which Jenna is certainly well-versed by now.
Finally, I think it speaks volumes that Secret Service agents would buy tickets for Jenna out of their own pocket for her birthday. She must treat them with a lot of courtesy and respect for them to want to do something like this. Did the Secret Service agents ever buy a birthday gift for Chelsea Clinton, who was said to be very condescending and rude to her security detail? I wonder.
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