Text 12521, 110 rader
Skriven 2005-05-11 04:57:40 av John Hull (1:379/1.99)
Ärende: Hillary's Punk on Trial
===============================
Certain people called me a liar over this.  You know who you are, and you know
what you can do.  In the meantime, the rest of us will enjoy the continuing
disintegration of the Democrat Party.


Secret Rosen Tape May Confound Democratic Party
BY JOSH GERSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun
May 9, 2005
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/13494

With the trial of a key finance official on Senator Clinton's 2000 campaign set
to open tomorrow, a secretly recorded audiotape at the core of the case could
prove embarrassing to politicians, political operatives, and wealthy donors to
the Democratic Party.

David Rosen, 40, faces three felony counts of causing the filing of false
campaign finance reports in connection with a celebrity-studded fund-raiser and
concert held in August 2000 at a radio executive's estate in the Brentwood
hills above Los Angeles.

Prosecutors have asserted that the true cost of the gala was more than $1
million but that Mr. Rosen reported costs of just $400,000 as part of a scheme
to increase the funds Mrs. Clinton had to spend on her Senate bid.

Mr. Rosen, now a Chicago-based political consultant, has pleaded not guilty to
the charges.

As part of the investigation into the alleged under-reporting, the FBI asked a
New Orleans political consultant and friend of Mr. Rosen, Raymond Reggie, to
wear a wire and surreptitiously record the former Clinton aide.

In September 2002, Reggie invited Mr. Rosen to dinner at a Chicago steakhouse,
Morton's. There, the two had a freewheeling conversation about the August 2000
fund-raiser, top Democratic Party figures, and the sex-and-drug laced
lifestyles of rich donors.

The New York Sun reported last month on an FBI affidavit that detailed Reggie's
role as an informant, as well as Mr. Rosen's alleged statements that costs for
the Los Angeles fund-raiser probably exceeded what was reported to federal
officials.

On Saturday, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that it obtained a more
detailed, but still incomplete, transcript of the conversation. The newspaper
said Mr. Rosen expressed doubts about his decision to allow the Clintons to
orchestrate the defense of a civil suit that sprung out of the same August 2000
fund-raiser.

"The former White House wanted to hire, or argue the case in a certain way,"
the newspaper quoted Mr. Rosen as saying in the transcript. "And I did it for
them. Like, I bit the bullet and went in as a guinea pig, and argued their
argument for me. Instead of frettin' and runnin' and coverin' my a-, I was a
good soldier. ... So far it's worked out, but I coulda done it a lot
different."

The civil suit, brought by a major donor to the August 2000 fund-raiser, Peter
Paul, in conjunction with a conservative legal watchdog group, Judicial Watch,
named both Clintons, Mr. Rosen, as well as another promoter of the event, Aaron
Tonken, and a major Democratic donor, James Levin, as defendants.

In an interview, an attorney for the Clintons, David Kendall, said he was
confused by Mr. Rosen's statement. He said lawyers for the various defendants
have made no effort to hide their coordination and have at times filed joint
briefs.

"It's no secret that counsel for Mr. Rosen, the Clinton for Senate Committee,
and the Clintons have been cooperating in the defense of a meritless civil suit
brought by Peter Paul," Mr. Kendall said.

Paul, a four-time convicted felon, is pressing forward with his lawsuit, which
alleges that the Clintons and their allies swindled him out of $2 million by
reneging on a deal under which President Clinton was supposed to work for him
after leaving office.

Much of the FBI-recorded steakhouse conversation was devoted to salacious
gossip about Clinton loyalists, the Times-Picayune reported. Reached in Los
Angeles, Mr. Rosen's lawyer, Paul Sandler, declined to comment on the exchange.

Among the recorded gripes on the tape was Mr. Rosen's complaint that although
he worked closely with Vice President Gore, Mr. Gore later mistook him for a
valet parking attendant, according to the Times-Picayune.

Reggie, who is Senator Kennedy's brother-in-law, made the tape to win leniency
from prosecutors, who were preparing to charge him with bank fraud. Last month,
he pleaded guilty to two felony counts. Reggie and his attorney, Michael Ellis,
did not return calls yesterday seeking comment for this article.

Reggie, 43, is expected to be a key prosecution witness at Mr. Rosen's trial.
Others identified as possible witnesses include the chief strategist on Mrs.
Clinton's 2000 campaign, Harold Ickes. Mr. Ickes served as deputy chief of
staff under Mr. Clinton and now runs a liberal political action group in
Washington, America Coming Together. He could not be reached for comment
yesterday.

Also on the list of possible witnesses is Mr. Levin. A prolific Democratic
fund-raiser and overnight guest at the Clinton White House, he sat on the
national finance committees for Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Gore in 2000. After the
Chicago Sun-Times disclosed that Mr. Levin once owned a Chicago strip club,
Republicans sought to tarnish both Democrats for associating with the windy
city businessman.

May 9, 2005 Edition > Section: National > Printer-Friendly Version


John 

America:  First, Last, and Always!
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 * Origin: We are the Watchmen of our own Liberty! (1:379/1.99)