Lawrence
Alan Gottfried
A CONTINUING AMERICAN TRAGEDY
Jacob
Sharon
Phyllis Apple
Tzachi Gadish
Lawrence A. Gottfried
I have grown
up believing that our Presidents and elected leaders must give us the
best that they have to offer. However, I also believe that it is more
important what elected leaders do while they hold such public trust, and
that they deport themselves in a manner which brings respect to the office
they hold under any and all situations.
After eight long years of continued scandal and disappointment in the President of the United States, Americans finally thought that the reign of President William Jefferson Clinton was finally over. On February 22, 2001, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton gave her first press conference about the pardon scandals rocking the White House in the waning hours of the Clinton Presidency, and her brother's apparent involvement. In the light of day and the scrutiny of the press, we find that her brother Hugh Rodham, a Florida attorney, allegedly took a contingent fee of $400,000 for two separate individuals if they would receive Presidential Pardons. It should be noted that according to reported Florida law, contingent fees in criminal matters are not acceptable.
Mark Rich, a fugitive from justice who we also would see try to renounce his American citizenship, clearly to avoid prosecution on a multitude of charges: from tax evasion of monumental proportions to the most damning which was trading with enemies of the United States. Mr. Rich was known to have traded with Iraq, Iran when that country held our nation's citizens hostage, Libya and the regime of Moamar Khadaffi, and others. Mr. Rich has never answered for any of these. What President Clinton did in pardoning this fugitive with no real merit, is allow Mark Rich never to answer for his traitorous actions.
During the hearings held by Congressman Dan Burton, Chairman of the House Oversight Government Committee, the Country was kept spellbound and the press filled with stories of political corruption and obvious conflicts of interest. Mr. Rich's attorney, Jack Quinn, a well-known Democratic attorney who, just two short years earlier was Counsel to the President [Clinton], claimed that he was working on the Rich pardon which is part of the criminal justice system. In either case, either Mr. Quinn and/or Mr. Rodham committed ethical violations and/or criminal acts. All relative bar associations such as the Florida Bar, the Washington D.C. Bar and any other bar associations these two attorneys belong to should look carefully at their activities relative to Mark Rich and other pardon issues.
During the Senator Clinton's press conference of February 22, 2001 she commented about the involvement of her brother Hugh and his fees with the following statements: "... She was disappointed and saddened by this matter... I did that [pass on information to White House counsel's office] [but]... I did not know anything other than what came out [in the newspapers]...". The Senator has a long history of involvement in public service through her husband, and now herself. As an attorney she is aware of the concept of the appearance of impropriety. She must have understood how the public would view this as another set of circumstances that strains the credibility and the integrity she professes. Hillary Clinton was always involved in both her husband's political life and of the affairs of the United States through her position as First Lady. She cannot expect the public now to accept her protestations of ignorance; they fall on the deaf ear of an American Politic consumed in scandal by her and her husband's Presidency. Straining further the intelligence of the American public when asked if she had spoken to her brother about these issues, she said " ... No I have not...". This however does not meet the smell test. Her credibility sinks even lower when she indicated that "...they..." had told her brother to return to all the money. This begs the question as to who told Mr. Rodham to return the money and how the Senator knew that the money had been returned or even how much. Are we truly to believe that Mrs. Clinton didn't ask her brother about the truth of the matter, rather she took the word of the press which she so disdains? We are further told by Senator Clinton that the money had been returned. How did she know this if she had not spoken with her brother at all? Later we are informed by press reports that in fact Mr. Rodham had not returned all of the money. What a surprise to the American public, a Clinton misrepresenting or lying again!
When asked about all the commotion surrounding Senator Clinton and her husband she replied "... We are apparently people who attract a lot of attention... Two terms of my husband's Presidency were good for our Country...". Has not Senator Clinton understood that her husband disgraced the Presidency as no President has before him. Again straining her credibility, Senator Clinton goes on to say "... I don't have any memory, that's my best memory... I don't blame anyone for this...We shouldn't be making judgments about this...". Senator, do you actually believe that we should not make judgments as a public when we see our most highly elected officials doing things that even be the most innocent of citizens would understand are incomprehensibly wrong. We live in a time when the morality of our society is at issue. Elected leaders of our Country, such as the former President and Senator Clinton have to take responsibility not only for their actions, but for the message that they send to all of America; especially the youth of America who look to them for guidance and leadership. We know that Senator Clinton knows more than she is saying about the pardons for Hasidic Jews who, in a very close community known as New Square, New York, voted almost exclusively for her as opposed to the Republican Rick Lazio. This happened when all other conservative Jews in that same area voted against the Senator. This is inexplicable - unless there was a quid pro quo. She attended a meeting in the White House with these four Hasidic Jews, convicted of stealing millions of dollars of Americans' money, when they met with the President. Does the American public really think that those of us who have seen her leadership and political involvement believe that she merely sat around the Oval Office while everyone else spoke; and that the Senator had nothing to say on any of the issues?
We all know by now that President Clinton lied to a federal grand jury; knowing full well that he had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky. To argue the definition of the word "is" brought total disgrace to the Presidency of Bill Clinton; unparalleled in modern time. Despite his disgraceful behavior and lies to the American public and his family over the course of one full year, many Democratic elected officials came to his "rescue" after the "impeachment". Such loyalty shows the moral decay of those Democratic leaders. The loyalty they should have shown should have been to the Presidency and not the individual who disgraced it.
Loyalty is an admirable trait, but misplaced loyalty can be devastating. We have now found out that Hillary Clinton's other brother is also being investigated for selling pardons as well. It is alleged by high sources and has been in numerous press accounts that Roger Clinton, the President's half-brother, is also implicated in a money for pardons scandal which is as now unfolding before the Justice Department. U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, and at the direction of Attorney General John Ashcroft, has expanded the investigation of more members of the Rodham and Clinton family. It is a sad day in America that the former President is implicated in such scandals as the pardons of Mark Rich, his partner, and other lowlifes of American culture; with no apparent merit. Mark Rich many in fact be the most notorious fugitive and traitor since the days of Benedict Arnold!
Hamilton Jordan, former Chief of Staff to President Carter as well as former President Jimmy Carter himself have also come out publicly and denounced the actions of President Clinton. What many Americans cannot understand is the continued rhetoric of Democratic strategists and elected officials such as your local Congressmen Wexler, Deutsche, and Alcee Hastings, who continually support Bill Clinton and most of the actions he takes. Devoted public servants and South Florida voters better beware about who these representatives support on a continued basis. In 2002 send a serious message to those who support such moral decay in our society and the lack of moral values of our elected leadership. President Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton, by failing to be forthcoming and truthful at all times, by failing to bring forth publicly the contributors to his slush fund/library, continue to be a disgrace to the United States of America; as the rest of the world watches and waits.
Beware America, as I said in my column last month "citizenship is not a spectator sport". We cannot let our representatives who are not accountable to us as the American people remain in public office. The support of the appearance of impropriety as well as the actual impropriety itself must be addressed, and we as voters must send a clear and convincing message. You will not return to Washington, you will not represent us: for we are better than that, we are Americans and pledge to ourselves, our children, and our children's children a better world we leave them than when we came into it. We shall hold our elected officials to the highest possible standards while they serve. When you put your hand on that Bible and swear to represent the People of the United States, you have a responsibility far greater than any other in our society today. That standard should not be sold as a quid pro quo as it was in the Lincoln bedroom, for office space, for family members, for pardons, or for any other reason. It just is not acceptable. " We The People ... " will not accept it!
Respectfully
I Am,
Lawrence Alan Gottfried
PostScript:
American media today, as it has been for longtime, appears to be liberal in policy but not in what and how they report the news. A breath of fresh air has been seen on the horizon since the election of November 2000, with the emergence of Fox Cable News as the premier place to get the news; as they say that is "Fair and Balanced".
The bright star of Fox Cable News is Bill O'Reilly. Bill O'Reilly can be seen "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News, currently @ 8 PM Eastern Standard Time. Bill has a straightforward style which is abrasive to some, while others would call it honest and forthright journalism. However Bill, I think you missed the mark on your comments relative to President Bush. I believe that President Bush took the right stance with respect to former President Clinton and his scandals. The President has an agenda which needs to be moved forward for the betterment of this nation. It was clear that we were going to get a man of intense integrity as Attorney General in John Ashcroft; who would be responsible for Clinton problems.
Anyway Bill, if you ever wish to hear about the election in Palm Beach County and what really happened, since I am the only voter who filed his own lawsuit there to certify the election, just holler.