Bush Blasts Hillary's 'Pattern' of Secrecy- Why Not?
The New York Daily News published a brief article yesterday (below) on Hillary Clinton's hypocritical critique of Team Bush's handling of Cheney's shooting accident. Hillary seems to want to distinguish between coming clean on a hunting accident versus an election fraud. It is intriguing to see what the same article would look like if Hillary's own critique was directed at her by Bush, blasting her 'pattern' of secrecy.
I have taken the liberty of rewriting the Daily News article as though it was Bush's critique of Hillary, if he had the gumption to publicly criticize America's greatest political threat from within.
WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton and her staff officials' failure to come clean about the campaign finance scandal that has plagued her since her election to the Senate is part of a pattern of unacceptable secrecy by an elected official, President Bush charged yesterday.
"There is a tendency of Hillary, her Senate staff and campaign committee apparatus from the top all the way to the bottom to withhold information, to resist legitimate requests for information, to refuse to be forthcoming," Bush said.
"Putting it all together going back years now, there is a pattern that should be troubling," he said, apparently referring to the Rose Billing Records obstruction scandal, the Pork Bellies SEC trading fraud, Hillary's role in the Travelgate firing of Billy Dale, the FBI Filegate scandal and now the 2000 Campaign FEC fraud. Since this fraud contributed to Hillary's election to the U.S.Senate, her continued silence is unacceptable, especially after her treasurer has admitted his culpability!"
Hillary has stonewalled for five years her involvement with her largest campaign contributor, Peter Paul. Since her spokesman Howard Wolfson misled the public about Hillary's acceptance of massive contributions from Paul, Hillary has refused to make any comment about the scandal that caused the indictment of her finance director and the only fine imposed on her Senate campaign by the FEC. Now that her treasurer admitted filing false returns to the FEC hiding more than $721,000 in contributions made by Paul, after Hillary's pre-election vow not to take any of his contributions, its time Hillary came clean.
Hillary's public explanation of her relationship with Peter Paul, her role in failing to report Paul's contributions after he detailed them to Hillary in July, 2001, and her role in the FBI investigation that led to the indictment of her finance director for filing false FEC reports that her treasurer has now taken responsibility for, "would've been the right thing to do, recognizing her responsibility to the people as a nationally elected official to tell the vpters of New York and the country what happened," Bush emphasized.
"It would have been better if Hillary had not hidden behind spokesmen when she was first questioned about Paul in late 2000, and then stonewalled all press inquiries about the matter of her relationship with her largest campaign contributor through civil suit proceedings, the criminal trial of David Rosen and the FEC fine and settlement agreement entered into by her Senate campaign committee." Bush explained.
The story "crosses the threshold of news worthiness that ought to be announced and explained.”
"It could have and should have been handled differently."
Hil blasts Team Bush 'pattern' of secrecy
BY MICHAEL McAULIFF and JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON - The White House's failure to come clean about the vice president's shooting of a 78-year-old fellow hunter is part of a pattern of unacceptable secrecy, Sen. Hillary Clinton charged yesterday.
"A tendency of this administration from the top all the way to the bottom is to withhold information, to resist legitimate requests for information, to refuse to be forthcoming," Clinton (D-N.Y.) said.
"Putting it all together going back years now, there is a pattern that should be troubling," she said, apparently referring to the CIA leak case, Cheney's secret meetings with energy execs and White House refusal to release documents relating to judicial nominees.
There was also some surprising criticism from two former Republican presidential press secretaries.
"I am appalled by the whole handling of this," said Marlin Fitzwater, who served Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Putting the story out immediately "would've been the right thing to do, recognizing his responsibility to the people as a nationally elected official to tell the country what happened," he told Editor & Publisher.
Ari Fleischer, who worked for President Bush in his first term from 2001 to 2003, agreed.
"It would have been better if the vice president and/or his staff had come out last Saturday night or first thing Sunday morning and announced it," he told the magazine.
The story "crosses the threshold of news worthiness that ought to be announced and explained.
"It could have and should have been handled differently."
Originally published on February 15, 2006