DNC Release: ANOTHER BAD BATCH OF BUSH MONEY

[MaineDem]

For Immediate Release Contact: Karen Finney
June 6, 2005 202-863-8148

ANOTHER BAD BATCH OF BUSH MONEY

Washington, DC - DNC Communications Director Karen Finney released the
following statement:

"The ongoing investigation into the Wyly brothers' tax evasion scheme is just
the latest example of the rampant corruption that has become a trademark of
Republican leadership in this country. The Wyly brothers join the ranks of Jack
Abramoff, Ralph Reed, and Thomas Noe as the latest Bush Pioneers to be
investigated for Federal crimes. This pattern of behavior may represent the
values of the Republican Party, but it doesnt represent the values of the
American people."

TAXES? WE DON'T NEED TO PAY NO STINKING TAXES:
THE WYLY BROTHERS' OFFSHORE EVASION SCHEMES

Top Bush patrons Charles and Sam Wyly are under investigation for tax evasion
by federal and state agencies. The Wyly brothers join the illustrious ranks of
Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed and Thomas Noe to mark the 4th and 5th Bush donors
raising more than $100,000 to come under federal investigations. Recently the
Washington Post reported on what it called the "DeLay effect", the phenomenon
of Republicans losing support due to the repeated ethics problems of their top
leaders, and the worry it is causing party strategists. Rick Davis, a
Republican strategist and former John McCain presidential campaign manager
said, "the ethics issue is putting the party 'into a bit of troublesome water.
'" With the repeated implication of Bush donors and Republican leaders in
corruption investigations, Republicans have reason to worry.

Offshore Tax Evasion: Another Bit of Troublesome Water
Wyly Brothers Involved in a State and Federal Tax Investigation. According to
news reports Sam and Charles Wyly, better known as the "Wyly Brothers", are
under investigation for tax evasion. In early 2005 Michaels Stores Inc.
revealed that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York County
District Attorney were investigating the stock transactions of Charles and Sam
Wyly, the company's President and Vice-President. The billionaire Bush patrons
are accused of setting up offshore trusts on the Isle of Man, a noted tax
shelter in the Irish Sea, in an attempt to evade paying taxes on stock options.


Wyly Brothers Set Up Trusts in Family's Name for Purpose of Tax Evasion. In the
1990's the Wyly brothers, while being advised by Bank of America on tax issues,
set up trusts in the names of some of their family members. The trusts, which
were set up on the Isle of Man (a noted tax shelter), were supposedly set up to
benefit members of the Wyly family, but are now under investigation by federal
and state officials as possible tax evasion schemes. 6/4/05]

IRS Accused Wyly of Laundering Money Through Trusts to Avoid Taxes. While
writing about the Wyly's scandal the Dallas Morning News attempted to explain
the Wyly's complicated tax evasion scheme. "First a public company grants stock
options to a senior executive. The executive then transfers the options to a
trusts or partnership controlled by the executive's family. The parties
structure the transfer as a 'sale' and the trust then 'pays' the executive for
the options with a long-term or deferred note -- say due in 30 years. Shortly
after the options are transferred, the trust exercises the stock options and
sells the stock in the open market. The executive then takes the position that
tax is not owed until the date of the deferred payment -- in this case 30 years
-- although the executive has access to the partnership assets." Morning News, 6/4/05]

Wyly Brothers: Big Bush Donors Over the Years
Wyly Brothers -- Top Bush Patrons. According to a 1999 by the Center for Public
Integrity the Wyly Brothers were the 9th largest patron of Bush's political
career. During the 2000 election Charles Wyly was a fundraising Pioneer, an
elite group of fundraisers who raised at least $100,000 for Bush's election.
The Wyly brothers both gave $5,000 to Bush's recount committee in 2000 and both
gave the maximum amount, $2,000, to Bush's reelection campaign in 2004. politicalmoneyline.com, www.whitehouseforsale.org]

Wyly Brothers Donated to Notorious Shadow Organizations, In Attempts to
Influence Elections. During the 2000 election the Wyly brothers used 2.5
million dollars of their money to establish Republicans for Clean Air. The
group ran brutal attack ads against Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2000
Republican primary. During the 2004 election the Wyly brothers donated $10,000
to the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," which ran ads attacking Democratic
Presidential Candidate John Kerry's service in Vietnam. com]

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Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.
org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.

[babylonsister]

1. Hey, thanks for this!

I love that all this info is coming out! :) Sometimes, the company certain people keep gets less surprising as time goes by.