Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit (NY Times 1994)

[think]

This is a very long article with a great deal of background. A brief excerpt is posted here:

Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit

Published: March 18, 1994

WASHINGTON, March 17— Starting just before Bill Clinton was elected Governor of Arkansas, Hillary Rodham Clinton made about $100,000 in one year in the commodities market with the help and advice of a friend who was the top lawyer for one of the state's most powerful and heavily regulated companies.

The investments, made in a commodities trading account that was opened three weeks before Mr. Clinton was elected Governor in 1978, substantially altered the finances of the Clintons. At the time, Mr. Clinton was Attorney General. He and his wife were rising stars in Little Rock whose salaries were modest by the standards of their peers.

The proceeds helped them to buy a home, to invest in securities and real estate and eventually to provide a nest egg for their young daughter, according to the couple's associates and a review of the family's financial records. Tyson's Fortunes

But the trades, which came to light during a two-month examination of the Clintons' finances by The New York Times, also left them in the position of having relied significantly on the help of one of the state's premier powerbrokers, James B. Blair, a Clinton confidant who at the time was the primary outside lawyer for Tyson Foods Inc., of Springdale, Ark., the nation's biggest poultry company.

During Mr. Clinton's tenure in Arkansas, Tyson benefited from a variety of state actions, including $9 million in government loans, the placement of company executives on important state boards and favorable decisions on environmental issues. Even today, critics in Congress and elsewhere have complained that the Clinton Administration is too close to Tyson and the poultry industry it dominates, sparing it from some of the tougher Federal inspection guidelines enacted against the meat industry. Her Money, Her Risk..

Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/18/us/top-arkansas-lawyer-helped-hillary-clinton-turn-big-profit.html?pagewanted=all

[CorporatistNation]

1. Excellent Statement On Clinton's History of Character/Integrity Issues!

Well Done!

[NWCorona]

4. I love Rosario

Stay strong!

[CorporatistNation]

2. There Is No Better Seal In America Than Purchasing Political "Influence!"

[Jitter65]

3. Well, since you went back to 1994, how about a trip back to 1998? Which is worse to you"

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/8/1481494/-Sierra-Blanca-Bernie-Sanders-Paul-Wellstone-a-Poor-Minority-Community-and-a-Nuclear-Waste-Dump

Sanders and wife business dumps toxic waste near poor minority community. And then talks "smack" about it.

[NWCorona]

5. 1994

[beam me up scottie]

7. LOL! How much toxic waste was "dumped" and how did Bernie end up owning it?

[Jitter65]

9. Thanks to Wellstone, the people fought hard and won! But Sanders tried hard.

The fact that he even tried to do this shows his real character.

[beam me up scottie]

10. Does it now? Who signed the bill?

[baldguy]

6. Richard Mellon Scaife's investment surely paid off.

Evan after 30 yrs, the Clinton haters still try to pigeonhole every issue, every statement, every unrelated incident, into the framework of the false caricature he created.

[think]

21. The story was written by a team that includes a Pulitzer prize winning journalist

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Baquet

What does he have to do with your statement?

[geek tragedy]

8. Lol, some people are learning history didn't begin with Twitter and snapchat. nt

[think]

13. And the Clintons doing favors for corporations from their political office started early on

Yep. They sure know how to take care of a corrupt corporation.

Assign key people from the corpoation to key political appointments. Go soft on their pollution. Make sure they get gov't loans to expand.

It's a real love story. Enjoy!

Now we can watch the Goldman Sachs era take full bloom!

[geek tragedy]

15. Not long before the Vince Foster stories really get going. nt

[think]

16. Can't discuss the story on it's merits so you toss out insults and condescension.

Typical....

[geek tragedy]

18. Old, stale moldy fodder

[think]

20. No. It shows an early propensity by the Clintons to collude with corporations

for their mutual benefit. And sure they know the law well enough to not be Martha Stewart and keep everything on the down low. But it's that kind of shit that gets us where we are today with corporations being allowed to help write the rules that regulate them.

The article states facts about the Clinton governorship appointing Tyson employees to key political office. You might try reading it and learn something...

[JoePhilly]

32. Its part of the Gish Gallop style of attack ... throw so much S**T ...

... no one could ever go through, investigate, and refute it all.

A favorite RW tactic now being used endlessly by Bernie's supporters.

[think]

34. Are you claiming this story by a Pulitzer prize winner in the NY Times is a right wing attack?

[JoePhilly]

35. I have no idea who that author is ... and I'm too busy ...

... investigating the other 97 scandals that Bernie supporters alleged in the last 24 hours.

And that takes time.

But hey, in two or three months I might find the time to take a look at the latest turd you just dropped in the bunch bowl.

[think]

37. The reason for posting is to show that the Clintons have a long history of currying favor of mega

corporations and the article shows that very well.

The Clinton governorship made life easier for Tyson foods. Tyson foods made sure to back& help the Clintons in many ways to show its appreciation.

This is the type of corporate government collusion that while technically legal serves only the corporations at the expense of the American people.

Cheers...

[JoePhilly]

40. Governors often work to foster and encourage ...

... businesses to come to their states.

Now ... you think you have a story, from almost 25 years ago, about how while BILL was Govoner of AK (Bill, not Hillary), and you think he did something wrong (which I'd have to go read up on, not only using your source but multiple other sources as well), and then ... I have to take what you think Bill did wrong, and apply it to Hillary ... and then I have to drag it forward 25 years and decide if I think its relevant now.

And that is the structure of the standard Gish Gallop style attack ... some disputed event from long ago, in which people OTHER THAN the principle against who the attack is made against (Hillary), are alleged to be guilty, and than their alleged guilt, is linked to the principle being attacked. And the author of this nonsense declares "AH-HA!!!!!"

Of course the reality is to simple claim some bad event happened ... blah blah blah ... and then blame the person you want to blame. You know no one is going to really look into this ... and the hope is, they'll simply adopt your accusation as fact.

But what's happening now, is that people are getting tired of it. Its the "FBI has 147 people investigating Hillary" nonsense. Its Benghazi!!!

If your "movement" was real ... you'd spend your time trying to advance Bernie's message, advance the movement.

But I'm not expecting to see that from many of Bernie's DU supporters.

[think]

41. I'm very concerned about the millions that Hillary has taken from Wall Street & the influence

it would have on her.

You can either read this article or not. It is what it is.

This article shows a very close relationship with the Clintons and a large corporation that polluted water & kept an employee appointed to a government position that oversaw their industry.

You think it's the way things should be done. I don't.

Corporations have way too much power over our elected official and our government. That is why Eric Holder was appointed to as AG. He was from the industry and his prosecutorial record shows as much.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/us-money-blog/2014/sep/25/eric-holder-resign-mortgage-abuses-americans

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/eric-holder-banks-too-big_n_2821741.html

And now he is back at his old job helping to defend these crooks:

http://www.salon.com/2015/07/07/why_eric_holders_new_job_is_an_insult_to_the_american_public/

I expect that a Hillary Clinton presidency will usher in the same lax standards and let banks continue to get away with criminal activity.

Obviously you don't believe all that money will influence her or for some bizarre reason you are just fine with Wall Street corruption.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

17. I read melon sales are going through the roof.

[think]

22. Did you read the article?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. Contemporaneously, thank you.

BTW, how much do melons cost at the supermarket?


Thank you in advance.

[think]

25. OK. Maybe I'm missing something. Please explain Richard Mellon Scaife in relationship to this articl

I can't find the connection.

Since you say you read the article around the time it was published and are making references to Richard Mellon Scaife in regards to the article I would appreciate you helping me understand why you believe they are related.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

29. I was making an oblique reference to Dan Burton, he of melon fame or infamy.

[RiverLover]

11. Tyson, with the Clintons help, ruined a town's drinking water. Lax environmental oversight.

How are they different from repubs again?

Right, they talk pretty to us, while stabbing US in the back. At least with repubs, the knives are out in front.

...Fascinating account. Thanks for posting. They've been rotten for a very long time, haven't they?

[think]

26. They have been indeed at it a long time. As the article states the Clinton governorship

was very kind to Tyson foods.

~Snip~

Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, Governor Clinton and his administration made several significant decisions that helped Tyson become one of the world's biggest poultry companies. In campaigns for Governor and President, when questioned about his support of the company, Mr. Clinton said he had fought for the industry because it was one of the biggest employers in a depressed state.

As Attorney General in 1978, Mr. Clinton intervened in a lawsuit that eventually loosened Federal regulations so that Tyson and other Arkansas poultry processors could vastly increase their productivity.

As Governor, Mr. Clinton reappointed a Tyson veterinarian to the Livestock and Poultry Commission, a regulatory body often criticized as being too close to the industry. 'Clinton Understands'

Mr. Tyson, in turn, has been a major fund raiser for Mr. Clinton and has praised him for creating a friendly environment for the growth of the poultry industry.

Snip~

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/18/us/top-arkansas-lawyer-helped-hillary-clinton-turn-big-profit.html?pagewanted=all

[catnhatnh]

12. What Luck!!!

Various publications sought to analyze the likelihood of Rodham's successful results. The editor of the Journal of Futures Markets said in April 1994, "This is like buying ice skates one day and entering the Olympics a day later. She took some extraordinary risks."SNIP


In a Fall 1994 paper for the Journal of Economics and Finance, economists from the University of North Florida and Auburn University investigated the odds of gaining a hundred-fold return in the cattle futures market during the period in question. Using a model that was stated to give the hypothetical investor the benefit of the doubt, they concluded that the odds of such a return happening were at best 1 in 31 trillion.SNIP

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Rodham_cattle_futures_controversy#cite_note-wapo-c-13

[think]

14. Hillary beat some astounding odds! That ain't no chicken scratch either ;)

[FlatBaroque]

24. She's a fighter!!

She fought for that 100X return on investment.

[BernieforPres2016]

39. Actually, the odds are impossible

Hillary's account didn't have enough equity to make some of the winning trades.

What clearly happened here is that trades were submitted without an account number on them. They put Hillary's account number on the winning trades after the fact, and put the account number of whoever her benefactor was on the losing trades after the fact.

[Octafish]

19. And people wonder why she wants to privatize Social Security.

Any performance results of our recommendations prepared by MoneyBags McMoneyBagsface are not based on actual trading of securities but are instead based on a hypothetical trading account. Hypothetical performance results have many inherent limitations. Your actual results may vary.

[greenman3610]

27. don't forget she KILLED VINCE FOSTER!111

seriously, guys, is this how far DU has fallen?

[think]

28. Is the article not factual? It shows a long mutually beneficial between Tyson & the Clintons

This is the kind of thing that needs to stop in our government. When politicians and corporations are too cozy corporations profit and the people suffer.

From the article:

~Snip~

During Mr. Clinton's tenure in Arkansas, Tyson benefited from a variety of state actions, including $9 million in government loans, the placement of company executives on important state boards and favorable decisions on environmental issues. Even today, critics in Congress and elsewhere have complained that the Clinton Administration is too close to Tyson and the poultry industry it dominates, sparing it from some of the tougher Federal inspection guidelines enacted against the meat industry. Her Money, Her Risk

~Snip~

But environmentalists and many Arkansas residents have complained that the balance was often tilted toward industry. The instance they cite most frequently was a long legal battle that followed the discovery that a Tyson plant in Green Forest, a town of 1,600 in northwest Arkansas, had been leaking waste into Dry Creek. After Delay, Disaster

In 1977, the state pollution control agency reissued the license for Tyson's Green Forest plant on the condition that the company meet with city officials to work out a plan for treating its wastes. But the state never enforced the order, and in May 1983 the waste from the plant seeped into the town's drinking water. Residents became ill, and 15 months later Governor Clinton declared the town a disaster area.

In a lawsuit in 1989, some residents contended that the company was responsible for a pattern of pollution around the state, abetted by a state government that refused to do anything about it.

"The various regulatory authorities legally charged with protecting the water, land and people of Arkansas from this well-known pollution have failed to take any meaningful enforcement action," the Green Forest residents said in their lawsuit. The lawsuit produced evidence that Mr. Clinton was personally briefed on the pollution problems at Green Forest, and it contended that his administration had failed to take significant action. State officials and the company denied any wrongdoing.

~Snip~

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/18/us/top-arkansas-lawyer-helped-hillary-clinton-turn-big-profit.html?pagewanted=all

As long as it's not your drinking water then this is no big deal. Right?

[DanTex]

30. LOL. Digging deep for some old-school conspiracy theories!

[SidDithers]

31. ...

Sid

[JoePhilly]

33. And then one time, at band camp ...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

42. With the covers pulled over...

[MineralMan]

36. A 1994 article about a 1978 commodities transaction,

brought back to life over 20 years later during a presidential primary campaign. Desperation time, I guess.

Despite that, Bill Clinton went on to be a 2-term President. Hillary went on to be a Senator, and is now the leading candidate in the Democratic primary campaign for the presidential nomination.

I remember all of these stories from the times they occurred. They had no effect on anyone's election then, and certainly will not in 2016. It's simply a desperation move trying to salvage a candidate who is behind in a campaign.

Oh, well...

[think]

38. It shows a pattern of corporate & government collusion for the Clintons. Sorry it doesn't

bother you...