Good for Hillary and Bill: Clintons sell possibly troublesome stock

[TeamJordan23]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070615/ap_on_el_pr/clintons_blind_trust

Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton liquidated the contents of their blind trust upon learning it contained investments of $5 million to $25 million that could pose conflicts of interest or prove to be embarrassing to her presidential campaign.

The blind trust and a bank account valued in the same range place the Clinton's total wealth at between $10 million and $50 million.

The Clintons opened the blind trust in April under instructions from the Office of Government Ethics and sold the assets in May, according to a disclosure form filed Friday. The Clintons have had a blind trust since former President Clinton was governor of Arkansas in 1983 and had no control over its transactions.

Once they peered inside it, they discovered it included investments in oil and drug companies, military contractors and Wal-Mart.

The report, filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission and the Office of Government Ethics, provides the most detailed look at the Clintons' holdings as their wealth has expanded since the former president left the White House in 2001.

The new report also shows that the former president made $16 million in speaking fees between January 2006 and Wednesday. So far this year, Bill Clinton has given 34 paid speeches for a total of $5.9 million.

The blind trust held stock in pharmaceutical companies, including $250,000-$500,000 in Biogen Idec and Johnson & Johnson and $100,000-$250,000 in Amgen, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline. It also invested in General Electric and Raytheon, two leading defense contractors. The trust had a varied portfolio, with investments in numerous other companies, including Exxon Mobil, BP Amoco, Walt Disney and eBay.

The report said all the proceeds of the sales are being placed in a cash account. The massive unloading of stock means the Clintons face large capital gains taxes.

President Clinton registered his blind trust with the Office of Government Ethics when he became president in 1993, then Sen. Clinton registered it as a Senate blind trust when she took office in 2001.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said Friday that the Clintons now "will be working to create a new blind trust consistent with both OGE and the Senate's rules."

Though all the blind trust transactions were handled over the years by a trustee without the Clintons' knowledge, some of the holdings could have been awkward for Hillary Clinton as she pursues the Democratic presidential nomination.

The blind trust held stock worth $100,000-$250,000 in NewsCorp, the parent company of Fox News, which many Democrats have denounced as biased against them. The trust also held stock in Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart de Mexico.

[William769]

1. Yep great news!

I'm sure you know why it's called a blind trust?

[TeamJordan23]

4. Awesome, even giving compliments to the Clintons is returned by mockery by the Hillary supporters

The article clearly states at the top its a blind trust!

You guys need to grow up!

[William769]

6. Who's mocking? I asked a question.

When I a mocking you will definitely know it.

P.S. I only asked the question because there are so many that I know that do not know what a blind trust is. If you took it the wrong way, I apologize.


ON EDIT: I missed this tidbit on informstion the 1st time around. "Jay Carson, the former president's spokesman, said Clinton typically donates millions of dollars in free speeches to charities."

[IndyOp]

2. Will they be giving the profits back to the people who've

been hurt by nasty companies like Walmart, BP Amoco, ExxonMobil, General Electric, and Raytheon?

Prolly not, huh?

[Herman Munster]

3. do you invest in a 401k plan?

Pretty much every plan invests in those companies.

[IndyOp]

11. My investments with TIAA-CREF are with a socially responsible

investment fund - it eschews military, guns, fossil fuels...

It isn't perfect, I am sure, but I think it screens out the worst corporate offenders.

[Ethelk2044]

9. Good Point

[tammywammy]

5. Well, good for them

[fazoolius_2006]

7. Glad to hear it.

But why wait until now? They should have done this years ago!

[tammywammy]

8. Because it was a blind trust

And once they opened it up, they got rid of it. :shrug:

[LiberalFighter]

20. The blind trust was opened up because the assets had to be reported.

Every presidential candidate must report those assets.

The Clintons were told earlier this year by federal ethics officials that they would need to reorganize their blind trust to comply with laws for presidential candidates, which differ from those for senators.

From Forbes

Another campaign spokesman, Howard Wolfson, said in a statement: "As a presidential candidate, Senator Clinton was required to make her assets public. As a result, she had to dissolve her blind trust. Upon its dissolution, she and the president chose to go above and beyond what was required of them and liquidate their assets in order to avoid even the hint of a conflict of interest."

Once the assets of a blind trust are made public the blind trust is no longer a blind trust.

[tammywammy]

21. That's what I meant, but I didn't say it as well

:)

[LiberalFighter]

13. Do you bother to get the facts or not?

[ShortnFiery]

10. That's just peachy keen. Maybe I should do the same? Oh wait ...

I don't have a blind trust because I'm not part of the blessed "investor class." :shrug: :eyes:

[LiberalFighter]

14. Do all the blessed "investor class" people have blind trusts?

No

Do most of them have blind trusts?

No

[ShortnFiery]

17. Then why are we making a big *to do* about something that only effects the *ruling elites?* n/t.

[LiberalFighter]

19. The ones making a big to do about it apparently are the ones...

that don't know what a blind trust is and/or the purpose of a blind trust and/or distract others from the truth about blind trusts.

[Bitwit1234]

12. AND wonder why cheney still has Halliburton stock

If the Clinton's had not sold the stock the republicans MSM would have been all over it. BUT nary a mention of cheny and Halliburton eh.

[LiberalFighter]

15. The nutcakes this afternoon were calling Hillary a hypocrite

for having stock in BP and other oil related companies.

Dumbasses! A blind trust means they aren't suppose to know where their money was invested. They don't have control of their investment.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

16. Fuck the ruling class.

[ShortnFiery]

18. Well, suffice to say we shouldn't be lauding them when most of us live from paycheck to paycheck.nt.