Posted on 07/25/2002 1:54:45 AM PDT by GiovannaNicoletta
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., July 24 Former President Bill Clinton today hailed his own efforts to increase the oversight of corporate governance and criticized Republicans and Harvey L. Pitt, currently the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying they had frustrated Mr. Clinton's efforts at reform.
He said Republicans thus deserved some of the blame for the current flight of foreign capital from United States markets.
Asked about President Bush's handling of the economy and his attempts to rally investor confidence, Mr. Clinton, who was touring the construction site of his presidential library here, avoided criticizing his successor directly. Instead, he chided Republicans, who he said had blocked his administration's efforts to, among other things, bar accounting firms from working as auditors and consultants for the same companies.
"I'm sure that some of the people in Congress that stopped a lot of the reforms I tried to put through are probably rethinking that now," Mr. Clinton told reporters.
"Arthur Levitt, my Securities and Exchange commissioner, tried to stop the Enron accounting issues using the same accounting company being consultant and accountant and the Republicans stopped it." Later, Mr. Clinton added that Republicans had fought Mr. Levitt's effort, "and Harvey Pitt was the leader trying to stop us from ending those kind of abuses. That is a matter of record." Mr. Pitt, who was a securities lawyer before being appointed by President Bush to head the S.E.C., counted accounting firms, including Arthur Andersen, among his clients.
When asked if he agreed with senators and representatives who have called for Mr. Pitt's resignation, Mr. Clinton demurred. "I don't have to make those decisions anymore," he said.
Mr. Clinton also said he had been overridden by Republicans when he vetoed a securities-industry bill he said would have "basically cut off investors from being able to sue if they were getting the shaft." And he recalled that his Treasury secretary, Lawrence H. Summers, had tried to crack down on the use of offshore accounts to conceal corporate financial information, but that Senator Phil Gramm of Texas "and other Republicans stopped that."
"And that is one of the things that has caused all the European money to leave the markets, because they see that the government is in the hands of the party that stopped all of this stuff," Mr. Clinton said. "And so I think they've got a burden on their hands, and they seem to be trying to turn it around. We'll see."
Mr. Clinton again criticized Republicans in the White House and Congress when he was asked about investor confidence, suggesting that they ask the opinions of market-moving investors like George Soros and Warren E. Buffett. Those investors, Mr. Clinton said, disapproved of last year's tax cut and "knew it was a mistake to start running deficits again, that it would run long-term interest rates up and again undermine confidence."
But Mr. Clinton said the underlying American economy would "reassert itself sooner or later."
Could this be what he was saying?
Damage already done. though
It's ALWAYS about Billy Bob and the redemption of his legacy.
Yea sure, willie the pervert, we believe you.
Lest Americans ever forget why the clintons, and all their enablers need to be hectored, hounded, and harried into silence, until "clintonese is only spoken in Hell," look here:
The Holiday *Best* of Bill Clinton & his Friends!
-Some old strange clinton "stuff"--
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The truth would be: "If I had gotten my way, this country would be in a economic mess, and almost impossible to fix"
But we all know the scum and the truth are never together. NEVER! ! ! !
Yeah, right! Indirectly, that's all he has been doing since he left office. The scumbag can't help himself.
Bill can't he'p it, he was born with a silver forked tongue in his mouth
- or -
Bubba can't he'p it, he was born with a silver dagger in his mouth.
Do a google search and get more information. Yeah, the repubs were in the majority but they needed the help of the demos to pass and veto bills.
In 1993, 88 senators led by Connecticut Democrat Joseph Lieberman thwarted the expensing of stock options. (And he is in charge of the investigations?)
In 1995, nearly half of senate democrats and 89 house democrats helped enact a law (er Clinton's veto) that hindered agrrieved investors' efforts to win lawsuits agisnt firms and auditors that may have misled them. The law also eased penalties on misbehaving CEOS. A prime backer was Connecticut democratic senator Christopher Dodd, an accountng industry favorite and cochairman of the national party.
In 2000, many key democrats went against SEC Levitt whe he sought to end the big accounting firms; practice of consulting for lucrative fees with companies on business strategy while auditing their books in a supposedly objective manner. New Jersey democrats Sen. Robert Torricelli (himself under investigation for fraud) helped the GOP erect roadblocks, including threats to slash Levitt's budget. AT an ARthur Andersen's hearing, Torricelli told Levitt, "We were wrong, you were right."
In 2002, Democaratic chairman, acquired his GlobalCrossing stock before he firm went public, with an assist from frounder Gary Winnick. The belief is that McAuliffe got this perk b/c of his ties to President Clinton.
I'm tellin Mom!
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