Kwame Kilpatrick's ex-mistress Christine Beatty got a nice parting gift after resigning in 2008 amid the text-message scandal: $140,000 from the ex-mayor's civic fund, according to a defense lawyer in the public corruption case.
"A soft landing, if you will," was how attorney Martin Crandall explained it in federal court this morning as he argued his client, ex-water boss Victor Mercado, was not a member of Kilpatrick's inner circle, and that he "didn't get anything other than his salary."
"I want to show the jury what they got," Crandall said, referring to Kilpatrick's inner circle, "when Victor didn't get anything."
Crandall, however, did not provide any evidence that Beatty, Kilpatricks former chief of staff, received $140,000 from Kilpatrick's personal charity.
When asked how he learned about the alleged payment, he told the Free Press: "I knew that from reading other discovery documents. I want to show, essentially, what everybody who was an insider received while working for the Kwame Kilpatrick administration, because Victor was an outsider."
Beatty's lawyer said Crandall was trumpeting stale news.
"This is nothing new and no bombshell," said Beatty's attorney Jeffrey Morganroth. "This is two years old and has been thoroughly looked at."
Morganroth said Crandall was referring to $100,000 Beatty got to help produce a full-color booklet touting the city's progress under the Kilpatrick regime. Is it too late to claw any of this back?
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Why the "clawback"? Bambi did not get his cut?
Posted by: Steven ||
08/07/2012 1:46 Comments ||
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$140,000 ? About how many Escalades would that be ?
US President Barack Obama on Monday pledged US support for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's efforts to get Spain's economy back on track while acknowledging that the country faced "difficult challenges" amid the euro zone's debt crisis.
The White House said the two men spoke by telephone as part of Obama's ongoing discussions with European leaders on the euro zone economy. Obama has voiced concern that economic "headwinds" from Europe could undermine the fragile US economic recovery as he seeks re-election in November.
Rajoy inched closer on Friday to asking for a European Union bailout for his country, but said he needed first to know what conditions would be attached and what form the rescue would take.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/07/2012 4:08 Comments ||
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#2
WTF????
Spain is nothing more than a province of the EU. The EU is BIGGER than the US. Why is this loser trying to get us involved in the provincial affairs of Europe????????
There is no reason that any "country" of the EU should get a dime of our money.
#3
Considering they are both reading from the same playbook the only thing they can help each other with is a faster downward spiral of economic death.
#5
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's efforts to get Spain's economy back on track...
While doing nothing to reverse the ruinous decisions that got it off track.
1/ Mark banks to assets and Default bank-bondholders.
2/ Lower (to zero) taxes on working and investing.
3/ tax land, copyright and patent rights.
4/ leave the Euro and the EU!
BUCHAREST: Romanian Interior Minister Ioan Rus resigned yesterday, citing unacceptable pressures amid controversy over his ministrys organization of an impeachment referendum against president Traian Basescu.
I have submitted my resignation for my own honor, said Rus, a member of Prime Minister Victor Pontas center-left coalition, the Social Liberal Union (USL).
Condemning criticism and pressure from political figures, including both suspended center-right president Basescu and interim president Crin Antonescu, Rus also announced the resignation of Victor Dobre, the junior interior minister tasked with organizing the vote.
We have been subjected to multiple forms of pressure, discussions, and criticism, coming from Romanian political figures from Traian Basescu to Crin Antonescu, he said. From my point of view and from (Dobres) point of view, these things are unacceptable. We think we organized this referendum sufficiently well.
Romanian politics have been thrown into turmoil by the July 29 impeachment referendum, which has been sharply criticized by the European Union and the United States. Antonescu, who took over as interim president after Basescu was suspended last month, is a leading figure in the USL, which contested the accuracy of electoral registers after the referendum failed to meet the 50-percent turnout threshold required to oust arch-rival Basescu.
Romanias Constitutional Court last week delayed giving a ruling on the validity of the referendum.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/07/2012 00:00 ||
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[Real Clear Politics] "The charge is not that Willard Mitt Romney ...former governor of Massachussetts, currently the presumptive Publican nominee for president. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney's charisma is best defined as soporific, which is probably why he is leading the Publican field. On the plus side, he isn't President B.O... paid less than a factory worker, or whatever, but it's a bit more vicious than that from Harry Reid ... the charismatic senator-for-life from Nevada, currently majority leader ... ... rumored by some to be guilty of pederasty, but you know how rumors get started when someone starts spouting on and on ... Somebody said he was the bastard that killed Jon Benet. I forget who it was...
He said he has an anonymous source telling him that [Romney] paid no taxes for something like 10 years. So the president has talked a lot about change in the tone of this town. Why hasn't he picked up the phone to ask Harry Reid to stop making a charge like that?" FOX News White House correspondent Ed Henry asked WH press secretary Jay Carney at today's briefing.
"I think the idea that people tell Harry Reid what to do is inconsistent with what everyone here understands to be [the case]," Carney responded.
Carney then referred to several campaign attacks on Romney such as paying a lower effective tax rate and outsourcing jobs.
"That's not the charge," Henry corrected Carney. "The charge is that he didn't pay taxes for ten years. Does the White House believe that allegation?"
"Yeah, I would refer you to Senator Reid. I can't -- only Senator Reid knows his source, which he has discussed. And I would refer you to that," Carney responded.
"Nancy San Fran Nan Pelosi Congresswoman-for-Life from the San Francisco Bay Area, born into a family of politicians. Formerly Speaker of the House, but it's not her fault they lost. Really. Noted for her heavily botoxed grimace... today said, 'Harry Reid made a statement that is true. Somebody told him it is a fact.' Do you agree with that rationale?" Henry pressed Carney.
"I haven't seen that statement," Carney claimed. "Again, I would refer you to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid."
"Harry Reid says he hasn't paid taxes in 10 years and that's just a fact?" Henry asked.
"I think the President is focused on -- and you hear him say this every day -- issues that matter to the American people," Carney said, suggesting that Reid's accusation is not an issue that matters.
At this point, ABC's Jon Karl jumps in to try to pry something out of Carney.
"One more on Harry Reid. It's a simple question. Does the president think that this allegation coming from Harry Reid, without any evidence, made on the Senate floor, is that below the belt? Does that cross the line?" Karl asked.
Carney responded by saying that President B.O. believes in full disclosure of tax documents when you are running for the presidency.
"The issue here is one of transparency and, again, as the president sees it, in regards to his candidacy, one, it is an important tradition. It allows the American people to get a sense of the candidate's background," Carney said to the press.
"You can talk to Senator Reid. I'm sure he'll address this issue if you ask him. He certainly speaks for himself. The president is focused on the issues that matter most to the American people," Carney said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
I get the feeling the dhimocrat bus is about to go over the cliff.
#3
According to NPR, prior to Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address Obama's own campaign economic advisers thought they had convinced Obama not to embrace the Buffett Rule. They did not think it was sustainable and that it would only give Romney ammo to use in the debates.
They also cautioned Obama about running too heavily on Bain Capital and Romneys tax returns. Their rationale being that if Romney released his tax returns and Bain Capital records, about 10 days prior to the election, and there were nothing substantially negative to spin, the air could go completely out of Obama's entire campaign (like happened to Newt Gindrich during the primaries).
If Obama does not believe he has a "slam dunk" concerning Romneys tax returns you can bet you will not even hear Obama utter the words "Romneys tax returns". That will be left up to his surrogates.
Of course both Nancy Polosi and Harry Reid know that if Romney does release his returns he would be very justified in demanding that they reciprocate by releasing their own returns to the people of California and Nevada.
Harry Reid may believe his political career is over and appears willing to go "all out" to demand Romneys tax returns.
#7
so like a used condom, once his job is done, the WH slips this scumbag off and walks away, whistling
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/07/2012 8:43 Comments ||
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I hope Reid's political career is over.
Houses of ill repute are legal in Nevada.
Seems common accepted behavior.
How would Reid's words alter that prevailing view of Nevadans?
Probably seem a 'fit' in their eyes.
As Rantburgers, we just think it's such a low standard for Washington. Unfortunately, we too view the place as having Houses of ill repute.
Did I just insult operators and employees of legal brothels? My apologies if so.
[Weekly Standard] Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden The former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body... is taking another week off.
Get used to it, Joe, it's how the next four years will be for you in retirement as former vice-president, whether Champ wins in November or not...
According to his official White House schedule, "The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden will be in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. There are no public events scheduled." Just one month ago, Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, took the week of July 4 to vacation. That vacation was also spent at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Biden's second week-long vacation in as many months is likely to fuel speculation that President Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them... is considering dropping the veteran politician from the ticket this election. Biden's frequent errors and gaffes in office and on the campaign trail have been the source of much consternation for the B.O. regime, and have resulted in strong calls for Biden to be dropped from the ticket.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
(Fill in the blank) is tanned, rested, and ready!
#3
I think the current strategy and 2016 set-up all along may have been at some point, to bring the Hildebeast on board as the VP. Besides mutual loathing, what could Joe and Jill possibly have in common with FLOTUS, Val, and Axelrod? I suspect they've reached the 'no turning back' point now however, and Champ's lagging position in the polls will not permit a change. Add to that the fact the Hildebeast would certainly not want to be running with a loser. So now we have a frustrated Champ, a muted Joe Biden, a reluctant spokesman in Slick Willie, and an orbiting Hildebeast dancing with dairy farmers and dodging African bees. All in all, I could not be happier. I anxiously await Biden's book.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/07/2012 12:02 Comments ||
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Biden as VP is not/would not be good 'life insurance' for Obama (like Cheney was for Bush), but neither would he be dangerous like a VP Hillary might be (as, according to some, Johnson was for JFK.)
#9
Let's face it, the only job the vice president has is to wake up aliveevery morning and ask if the president is stll alive. If so, he can do whatever he wants.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/07/2012 13:06 Comments ||
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They [Obama and company] took away his First Amendment rights--got him under wraps until the election.
[Hotair.com] Al Armendariz's big mouth cost him his job as a regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Now that he's working for the Sierra Club, Armendariz appears even more opinionated about the industry he once regulated.
Tar. Feathers. Duct tape.
In his first comments since resigning from EPA in April, Armendariz unloaded on the coal industry, called President B.O. the most environmental president ever, and attacked the state of Texas for fighting the EPA in court. He also addressed the controversy surrounding his comments comparing the EPA's philosophy to the brutal tactics used by the ancient Roman army to intimidate its adversaries.
Armendariz's most pointed comments to the Texas Tribune came on the subject of coal. He's spearheading the EPA's Beyond Coal campaign in Texas, which, according to Armendariz, basically amounts to destroying the industry.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
I would suggest something else, but it would get me sinktrapped.
#4
I'm actually not a big fan of coal either, but that's not at issue. Nuclear & natural gas, shale oil & offshore drilling are all good options. Cheap, plentiful, clean. No worries.
What these guys are working toward is no energy at all. They quite literally want us all huddling cold and in the dark. First, they came for the coal...
#6
New truck sales are down. They say its the new EPA regulations. I say business is down. I know for a fact railroad traffic is down. They have parked engines at this time. The double stacking of freight cars continues and tunnels dug to accommodate this new stacking car system. Cost savings to railroad is main reason. The coal to China has slowed. The coal mines are being closed. Five former coal fired power stations have converted to gas. Trucks aren't hauling coal anymore and pulpwood hauling is dramatically down in my area. So if retail sales are down also, trucking has got to be hurting. I had commercial trucks and sold out. With the DOT,EPA, transportation costs and taxes you are a mule. I'm glad I got out. Those able to get out are if they can.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Kwame Kilpatrick's ex-mistress Christine Beatty got a nice parting gift after resigning in 2008 amid the text-message scandal: $140,000 from the ex-mayor's civic fund, according to a defense lawyer in the public corruption case.
Harry Reid
Nancy 
Joe 
