Bill Clinton Hauls in Foreign Cash. (cover story)

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Author: Carpenter, Amanda acarpenter@eaglepub.com

Husband's Honoraria Could Help Hillary's Campaign

Since leaving the White House, former President Bill Clinton has earned more than $16 million in honoraria from foreign interests, raking in money that could later be used to help finance the expected presidential campaign of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.).

Included among the former President's honoraria was a $300,000 payment for appearing at an Australian conference that was condemned by a prominent Chinese dissident as a propaganda bonanza for the People's Republic of China.

When I asked Sen. Clinton last week if she had decided whether or not she would use any personal money for her campaign, she said, "Oh, I have no idea."

The senator's 2004 Senate financial disclosure report, the latest available, revealed that she and her husband had a joint Citibank Deposit Account that was worth between $5 million and $25 million and which produced between $50,001 and $100,000 in interest. In addition, the disclosure indicated that she shared a Senate Qualified Blind Trust with her husband that was also worth between $5 million and $25 million, and which earned between $100,000 and $1 million interest.

According to campaign finance expert Cleta Mitchell, a partner in the Foley & Lardner law firm, Mrs. Clinton would be entitled to at least half of the funds in joint accounts with her husband, even though New York is not a community property state. "They now treat that [joint investment accounts] as joint property and the FEC would contend that 50% is hers," said Mitchell.

An FEC spokesman refused to speculate on whether Clinton could liquidate jointly held assets to finance her campaign because the FEC had not issued a formal decision on the matter, but did readily point out that Sen. John Kerry (D.-Mass.) legally borrowed against his wife Teresa Heinz's assets to help finance his 2004 presidential campaign. Similarly, Mrs. Clinton could borrow against the wealth her husband has accumulated in part through his honoraria to help finance her campaigns.

Former President Ronald Reagan was fiercely criticized in October 1989 when Japanese business giant Fujisankei Communications Group reportedly paid him $2 million for a nine-day visit during which Reagan gave two speeches. Former President Clinton was paid nearly $22 million from 2001 to 2004 for 151 appearances, for which he usually charged a fee of at least $125,000. His highest fee was $400,000. An analysis of Sen. Clinton's financial disclosures shows that foreign-based groups paid the former President $16.04 million for 89 appearances.

Of Reagan's visit to Japan, the New York Times editorialized: "[T]he Reagans' willing participation is as disturbing as their extraordinary compensation. Former Presidents haven't always comported themselves with dignity after leaving the Oval Office. But none have plunged so blatantly into pure commercialism." Among the foreign-based groups that paid honoraria to former President Clinton were:

• The Australian Council for the Peaceful Reunification of China: Chinese political dissident Wei Jingheng publicly criticized Clinton when he was hired by the Australian Council for the Peaceful Reunification of China to speak at their conference in Sydney, Australia, in 2002. Jinigsheng said the conference was "a method from the Chinese government of promoting so-called nationalism and as past President of America he should not be participating." President George W. Bush visited Taiwan that same week and issued a pledge to "help Taiwan defend herself if provoked" by the PRC. Clinton was paid $300,000 for this participation in this conference.

• The Dabbagh Group: The Dabbagh Group is a Saudi financial services, agricultural products, energy services and real estate conglomerate founded in 1962 by Sheikh Abdullah Dabbagh, a former Saudi Arabian minister for agriculture. It was led by the sheikh's son, Amr Dabbagh, from 1991 until he was appointed by King Fahd in 2004 to become chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority. The Dabbagh Group paid Clinton $475,000 for two speeches in 2002, one of which was for Dabbagh's charitable foundation STARS.

• Marskon Sparks: Markson Sparks is the Australian public relations firm headed by celebrity agent Max Markson who hired Clinton to appear at seven charitable fundraisers, four of which were for children's hospitals, for fees that started at $125,000 per appearance. Patrons could buy a ticket for $1,100 to Clinton's children's hospital fundraiser in Brisbane, or pay $110,000 to gain access to a VIP cocktail party. Markson said he hoped to raise $500,000 from that event for the charity. The company is a major supporter of the Australian Labor Party and makes no secret of raising money for the party. Clinton was paid $925,000 for seven appearances in 2001 and 2002.

• CLSA Ltd.: CLSA is a brokerage, investment and banking group headquartered in Hong Kong but owned by the French-based Credit Agricole. Clinton spoke at two of their events to urge investors and other corporate executives to practice "responsible investing." At one event at which he was billed with liberal rock-star-activist Bono, Clinton said, "Every person in every corner of the world has a vested interest in solving global problems" and asked leaders to use their power to work for the interests of the poor. Clinton was paid $500,000 for two appearances in 2001 and 2002.

• According to Sen. Clinton's financial disclosure forms, the former President was also paid $200,000 for appearing in Shenzhen, PRC, in 2002 on behalf of the JingJi Real Estate Development Group.

This is a partial list of the honoraria that former President Clinton received from foreign interests from 2001 through 2004. The full list is posted at HumanEventsOnline.com.

Legend for Chart:

A - DATE
B - SOURCE OF INCOME
C - LOCATION
D - AMOUNT

   A              B
                  C                                       D

03/13/01    Media Control GmbH
            Baden Baden, Hausanschrift, Germany        $250,000

03/14/01    Borsen Executive Club
            Copenhagen, Denmark                        $150,000

05/10/01    CLSA Ltd.
            Hong Kong PRC                              $250,000

05/14/01    Dinamo Norge
            Lysaker, Norway                            $150,000

05/16/01    Wirstchafts Blatt
            Vienna, Austria                            $183,333

05/18/01    Funducion Rafael Del Pino
            Madrid, Spain                              $250,000

05/21/01    Independent News and Media
            Dublin, Ireland                            $150,000

07/07/01    The McCarthy Group
            London, England                            $200,000

07/10/01    The Varsavsky Foundation
            Madrid, Spain                              $175,000

07/11/01    Valor Economics S.A.
            Sao Palo, Brazil                           $150,000

08/21/01    MIKI Corporation
            Tokyo, Japan                               $150,000

08/22/01    MIKI Corporation
            Tokyo, Japan                               $150,000

08/23/01    MIKI Corporation
            Tokyo, Japan                               $150,000

09/08/01    Markson Sparks! On behalf of
            Moreheads Children's Hospital
            Sydney Australia                           $150,000

09/09/01    Markson Sparks! Labor
            Council Now South Wales
            Sydney, Australia                          $150,000

10/22/01    Colonial Life Ins. Co. Ltd.
            Trinidad Tobago, West Indies               $200,000

10/25/01    Comitato per il Congresso
            Nazionale della Pubblicita
            Milano, Italy                              $350,000

10/29/01    Seeliger Y Conde
            Barcelona, Spain                           $200,000

11/14/01    Galeries Lafayette-Monoprix
            Paris, France                              $250,000

12/10/01    Jewish National Fund
            Glasgow, Scotland                          $133,334

12/11/01    Jewish National Fund
            Manchester, England                        $133,333

12/12/01    Jewish National Fund
            London, England                            $133,333

1/17/02     The Dabbagh Group
            on behalf of STARS
            United Arab Emirates                       $300,000

1/18/02     Future Generation Foundation
            (Geel Al-Mostaqbal Association)
            Cairo, Egypt                               $175,000

1/20/02     The Dabbagh Group on behalf
            of the Jeddah Economic Forum
            Jeddah Saudi Arabia                        $175,000

1/21/02     Ness Technologies, Inc.
            Tel Aviv, Israel                           $150,000

2/22/02     Australian Council for the Promotion of
            Peaceful Reunification of China
            Sydney, Australia                          $300,000

2/23/02     Markson Sparks on behalf of
            Princess Margaret Children's Hospital
            Perth, Australia                           $125,000

2/25/02     Markson Sparks on behalf of The Women
            and Children's Hospital Adelaide
            Adelaide, Australia                        $125,000

2/27/02     Markson Sparks on behalf of
            The Microsurgery Foundation
            Melbourne, Australia                       $125,000

3/1/02      Markson Sparks on behalf of The
            Royal Children's Hospital Foundation
            Brisbane, Australia                        $125,000

3/2/02      Markson Sparks on behalf of The Prince
            of Wales Medical Research Institute
            Sydney, Australia                          $125,000

3/16/02     Maruri Communication Group
            Guayaquil, Equador                         $200,000

3/18/02     Listin Diario LaRomana,
            Dominican Republic                         $250,000

5/22/02     CLSA ltd.
            Hong Kong, PRC                             $250,000

5/23/02     dmnStrategies on behalf of JingJi Real
            Estate Development Group
            Shenzhen, PRC                              $200,000

5/24/02     Success Resources Pte Ltd.
            Singapore                                  $250,000

6/6/02      Protocol Resource and Operation Devices
            Dublin, Ireland                            $200,000

6/10/02     Aripaeva Kirjastus
            Tallin, Estonia                            $150,000

7/6/02      Ahmet San Productions on
            behalf of TUSAID
            Istanbul, Turkey                           $250,000

11/19/02    Mito City Political Research Group
            Mito City, Japan                           $400,000

12/2/02     Value Grupo Finaciero
            Monterrey, Mexico                          $175,000

12/7/02     National Society for the Prevention
            of Cruelty to Children
            Lancashire, England                        $100,000

10/09/03    Banco de Mexico
            Mexico City, Mexico                        $150,000

10/13/03    Verinvest S.C. on behalf of Mexico
            Business Summit
            Veracruz, Mexico                           $150,000

11/09/03    Jiannanchun Group Co. LTD
            Mianzhun, Sichuan China                    $250,000

11/14/03    Seoul Broadcasting System
            Seoul, Korea                               $250,000

PHOTO (COLOR): BEFORE FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON appeared in Hangzhou, China on Sept. 10, 2005, at the "China Internet Summit," hosted by Alibaba.com CEO Jack Ma (left), the South China Morning Post ran a story headlined: "Clinton will speak at conference for free." Citing an Alibaba.com executive, the paper reported that "Clinton would forego his usual speaking fee because the mainland e-commerce company was supporting the William J. Clinton Foundation." Clinton does nut always forego his fee when speaking overseas. According to financial disclosure reports filed by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.), her husband earned more than $16 million in honoraria from foreign interests from 2001 through 2004.

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By Amanda Carpenter