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What You Don't See
November 21, 2007 10:11 AM
Disclosure, disclosure. So powerful a position is the presidency, so little do many of those pursuing the office want to share.
Rudy Giuliani's successful consultancy, Giuliani Partners and its affiliates, and its work for a Singapore gambling interest gets some attention from the Chicago Tribune.
Specifically, "a complex partnership with the family of a controversial Hong Kong billionaire who has ties to the regime of North Korea's Kim Jong Il and has been linked to international organized crime by the U.S. government."
In his candid-seeming (though not always forthcoming) style, Giuliani will not say what he did for these clients, and he sidestepped questions of disclosure yesterday, saying "all of Giuliani Partners' clients, maybe with one or two exceptions, I'm not even sure that's right, are public ... At least the ones that I was familiar with." He added that confidentiality agreements prohibit complete disclosure "but somehow I think you -- you meaning the press in general -- have been successful in discovering. I'd have to check if it's every client. But just about every single client of Giuliani Partners. You'll have to check with them."
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, claims to have no idea what happened to his records from his years in the Illinois legislature, even though he's hammered Democratic frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, for not enabling the quicker release of the records of her First Lady days.
But the big question on the blog today has to do with Clinton.
Last we checked, the National Archives was proceeding at a snail's pace with its release of her records from her days as First Lady -- which just yesterday she was holding up as evidence of her experience, while mocking Obama's claim that living abroad as a child brought him some perspective on international affairs.
We also had been asking about research done by late Clinton friend and professor Diane Blair (READ MORE HERE), papers that seemed a few years ago to have been nearing release from the University of Arkansas Library, but now ... aren't.
And now we learn from the AP (READ HERE) that 34 files of papers from her days as First Lady of Arkansas won't be available any time soon either.
According to Bobby Roberts -- director of the Central Arkansas Library System where the papers are stored -- those papers will not likely be released before the 2008 election.
Roberts says the problem is that the library is short-staffed, and delays in processing the documents because of delays in renovations for the archives.
''They're really files from the point of view of the governor's staff rather than from her point of view,'' Roberts told the AP.
This would be the same Bobby Roberts whom President Clinton in 1993 appointed to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science …
And the same Bobby Roberts who donated $1,000 to Hillary Clinton's campaign earlier this year.
-- jpt
November 21, 2007 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (2)
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It's a bit disingenous to compare the release of STATE SENATE records of Obama with the WHITE HOUSE records of Clinton. State Senators have few or no staff, while the White House has a whole army to look after their records.
In any case, Obama has bent over backwards to make what documents there are available, as a matter of public record.
Posted by: Dave Kelly | Nov 21, 2007 11:04:41 AM
I suppose the ties between Bushdaddy 41 and the Rev.Moon, also of international crime cartel fame, did not bother you, then why this? The Rev.Moon backed the Washington Times, a republican prop up paper, and is reputed to be involved in organized cocaine cartels. Has paid Bush 41 a ton to go speak in Latin America to friendly concerns. I think Bush 43 referenced speaking fees as the after Presidency life he envisions for himself. Personally, I wish the HAGUE had other plans for the whole cabal.
Posted by: daddy | Nov 21, 2007 10:51:01 AM
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