How Many Clinton Cronies Under Investigation?

Let's see, Hillary herself is the subject of an investigation into her use of a private email account when she was secretary of state, her two New York buddies, Bill de Blasio and Andrew Cuomo, are undergoing various investigations and now this:

Washington (CNN)Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the FBI and prosecutors from the Justice Department's public integrity unit, U.S. officials briefed on the probe say.

The investigation dates to at least last year and has focused, at least in part, on whether donations to his gubernatorial campaign violated the law, the officials said.

 

McAuliffe wasn't notified by investigators that he is a target of the probe, according to the officials. 

"The Governor will certainly cooperate with the government if he is contacted about it," said Marc Elias, attorney for McAuliffe campaign, in a statement to CNN.

 

As part of the probe, the officials said, investigators have scrutinized McAuliffe's time as a board member of the Clinton Global Initiative, a vehicle of the charitable foundation set up by former President Bill Clinton. 

 

 There's no allegation that the foundation did anything improper; the probe has focused on McAuliffe and the electoral campaign donations, the officials said.

Another day, another investigation into a Clintonista.

What The Clinton Shills Don't Get: Few Trust Hillary Clinton

Had some fun on Twitter with a Clinton shill calling me a liar for this post here entitled "Hillary Clinton Vows To Close Every Public School In The Country."

His message was basically the same one that I've seen elsewhere on the Internet as the "Clinton Wants To Destroy Public Education" meme has rolled along and Clinton shills have begun to push back on it - Clinton doesn't want to close all the schools that are rated "below average," as she said wanted to in the Iowa clip, she simply misspoke.

But the thing that Clinton shills and apologists don't get here is this - given Clinton's elasticity with truth and honesty, given her past fondness for school closures, DFER, charter schools, and the Common Core, given the fondness her pals at the Center for American Progress (basically a Clinton administration in exile ready to roll into power as soon as she's elected) have for this same stuff, given her shillery for Walmart in the past and given the fact that she's a Clinton and no one believes a word these people say, it doesn't matter what she really meant.

See, couple the Clinton administration's ed deform policies in the past with the betrayal that many felt when Barack Obama doubled down on the Bush ed deform policies of NCLB with his Race to the Top program and you have an entire generation of teachers out there not going to cut these lying politicians any slack when they "misspeak" or say stuff that sounds kooky (as Clinton did.)

The larger issue here for me, and why I even blogged the thing in the first place (if you notice, it's almost all Cuomo/NY all the time here at Perdido Street School blog these days, so I'm not doing much 2016 presidential race stuff) is that it was the perfect crystallization of the mistrust many teachers have for Democratic politicians in general and Clinton in particular.

That people didn't give her the benefit of the doubt over this "misspeak," that even now she needs the shills to go around defending her, goes to show you just how little trust or affection she has among many rank and file educators these days.

How do you know when a Clinton's lying?

You don't have to try and figure it out because they're ALWAYS lying.

Will A Hillary Clinton Administration Limit Federal Madates On Testing?

Buried at the bottom of an Alyson Klein piece on the movement to cut back federal madates on testing in schools is this:

Recently, former President Bill Clinton said he would be in favor of fewer tests—perhaps once in elementary school, once in middle school, and once in high school. That testing regime is "quite enough if you do it right," Mr. Clinton said, according to the Huffington Post.

Mr. Clinton's remarks pack a political punch: His wife, Hillary Clinton, is considered a likely candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.

I'm skeptical that any Dem or Repub is going to reduce the number of testing mandates from Washington.

My sense is, they'll say they're going to do that while not actually doing it.

Kinda the way Barack Obama talks about the dangers of teachers teaching to the test while pushing through ever more insane mandates like teacher evaluations tied to test scores that force teachers to teach to tests.

But we'll see - the anti-testing movement is certainly gaining momentum and is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Still, the pro-reform "non-profits," the testing companies, and the edu-entrepreneurs and Wall Streeters who want the Endless Testing regime to continue are a force to be reckoned with too and they have a lot more money to throw around.

And let's be honest - is there anything in this world Bill and Hillary Clinton hold above the almighty dollar?

Meritocracy American Style Redux: Chelsea Clinton Edition

I've already covered the absurdity of Chelsea Clinton getting paid $600,000 a year by NBC to work as a special correspondent and the even bigger absurdity of Clinton saying publicly that she deserved that compensation because she works hard.

The absurdity grew to new heights yesterday when it was disclosed that Chelsea gets paid $75,000 every time she gives a speech:

There is a new Clinton paid to deliver speeches — Chelsea, the former first daughter — and she is commanding as much as $75,000 per appearance.

Aides emphasized that while Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton often address trade groups and Wall Street bankers, Ms. Clinton, now 34, focuses on organizations whose goals are in line with the work of the family’s philanthropic organization, the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation. Organizers said her star power helped sell tickets and raise money.

And unlike her parents’ talks, Ms. Clinton’s speeches “are on behalf of the Clinton Foundation, and 100 percent of the fees are remitted directly to the foundation,” said her spokesman, Kamyl Bazbaz, adding that “the majority of Chelsea’s speeches are unpaid.” The Harry Walker Agency, the firm that represents her parents’ engagements, handles Ms. Clinton’s talks on behalf of the family foundation.

The family speechmaking business is a lucrative one and has generated more than $100 million for her parents over the past decade as they hopscotched the globe. Their fees range from $200,000 to $700,000 per appearance, and Mr. Clinton alone earned $17 million last year giving speeches.

Her parents' connections got her a well-paid job at McKinsey.

Her parents' connections got her a well-paid job at NBC.

That's what she's done with her life so far.

What could she possibly share in a speech that anybody would want to pay $75,000 to hear it?

Here's what the Times says she shares:

Ms. Clinton’s speeches focus on causes like eradicating waterborne diseases. (“I’m obsessed with diarrhea” is a favorite line.) And she dispenses lessons picked up from her family. (“Life’s not about what happens to you, it’s about what you do with what happens to you,” she likes to say.)

I said in my last Chelsea Clinton post that she had risen above Jenna Bush on my list of Presidential Offspring Deserving Of Derision.

The news that she's getting paid $75,000 a speech puts her even higher on that list.

Just another example of how the elite take care of their own.

Clinton To Administer Oath Of Office To De Blasio

The only oath Bill Clinton should be taking is raising his right hand in court and promising to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth:

Former President Clinton will administer the oath of office for the mayor-elect at his Jan. 1 inauguration ceremony at City Hall, the transition team announced Saturday.

And former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — who hired de Blasio as her campaign manager during her 2000 Senate campaign — will attend with her husband.

"Chirlane and I couldn't be more excited to have President Clinton and Secretary Clinton stand with us,” de Blasio said in a statement, which highlighted that he had worked for President Clinton as a regional director at HUD.

...

De Blasio will recite his official oath at midnight on Dec. 31. The de Blasio campaign would not say where the official swearing in would take place or who would administer that oath.

...

De Blasio's hour-long inauguration ceremony will take place at noon on Jan. 1, on the steps of City Hall.

 A commenter writes:

Recommended reading: No one left to lie to by Christopher Hitchens. Excellent study of the redoubtable Clinton, who, apart from needlessly sanctioning the capital punishment of the mentally retarded Ricky Rector, also bombed countries to deflect from his libidinous shenanigans. Clinton was an awful President, who is pimping his equally unethical, selfish wife for President. Don't buy it. As a Dem, no way I vote for Hillary. No way.

Politicians on average are selfish, self-centered narcissists who should be trusted slightly less than car salesmen.

Bill Clinton is more selfish, more self-centered, more narcissistic and less trustworthy than even the average politician.

Not surprised de Blasio, who made his bones in the Clinton administration, is having BC do the oath of office honors.

But frankly, it's just one more reason why I suggest a close eye should be kept on Mayor de Blasio.

De Blasio's Inner Circle

Very useful graphic at the Times showing de Blasio closest advisers and counselors.

There are some neo-liberal Clintonistas like Harold Ickes on the list (as you would expect given de Blasio's work in the Clinton administration and for Hillary), but no real DFER- or ed deform-red flags that catch my eye.

Take a look at the list and let us know what you think - anything that worries you on this list of de Blasio's kitchen cabinet advisers?

They're As Crooked As The Clintons

Sure Weiner wants to fight for the middle class:

A fierce advocate for her husband, Ms. Abedin was among the final holdouts two years ago who insisted that Mr. Weiner hang onto his Congressional seat, even as the cascading scandal sent allies scurrying and prompted Democratic leaders, including Representative Nancy Pelosi and President Obama, to abandon him.

She married Mr. Weiner in 2010 at a ceremony where Mr. Clinton presided and the groom was teased about his future in Gracie Mansion. In recent months, she has been eager to end a difficult period of social exile during which she and her husband were virtually absent from the public eye — and Mr. Weiner’s access to influential circles was often tied to his wife’s close connections with the powerful world of the Clintons.

The couple live in a spacious Park Avenue apartment owned by a Clinton donor. And it was at a Clinton Global Initiative conference last fall that Mr. Weiner, who at the time was something of a recluse, made one of his few public appearances, drawing stares among the A-list invitees.

In late March, days before he revealed his interest in running for mayor, Mr. Weiner joined his wife and the Clintons in the Dominican Republic for a beach weekend with the fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, who owns a villa there. The former congressman mingled with a boldface crowd that included Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his girlfriend, Diana L. Taylor.

These are people with no principles, no scruples and no morals other than "How do we advance our careers and cash in as much as we can as quickly as we can?"

In that, the Weiners are just like the Clintons.

How did the Clintons, who  had a modest savings and owned no property when Bill first ran for president in 1992 become so wealthy anyway?

Clintons Will Stay Neutral In Mayoral Race - At Least Publicly

From Politico:

Bill and Hillary Clinton are making clear they are staying out of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, just as the race is about to be roiled by the candidacy of their close aide Huma Abedin’s husband, Anthony Weiner.

The pair of stay-on-the-sidelines statements came as Weiner is set to declare his candidacy by video this week, likely on Tuesday or Wednesday. But the statements seem aimed at avoiding the appearance of taking sides in a race that includes the potential first female (and first openly gay) Democratic nominee, a potential second black New York mayor, and Hillary Clinton’s own former Senate campaign manager.

...

 

A great deal of attention has been paid to Weiner’s relationship with the Clintons, who have employed Abedin for over 15 years, and who numerous reports pegged as unhappy with the scandal surrounding his resignation.

Hillary Clinton has not spoken out in a political race since leaving the State Department (although there are relatively few this year), and the New York race is taking place a few dozen miles from the couple’s Chappaqua home. Bill Clinton has weighed in on some primaries in recent years, depending on how well he knows the person.

But Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign manager, Bill de Blasio, is one of the candidates. And the Clintons have little interest in appearing to block either Christine Quinn, the New York City Council Speaker, or Bill Thompson, the former city comptroller and 2009 Democratic mayoral nominee who is vying to be the city’s second black mayor.

They may be staying out of it in public, but you can bet behind the scenes they are looking to cut off Weiner from any new fundraising opportunities and make sure any unaffiliated political campaign staff sat unaffiliated.

Like most New Yorkers, Bill and Hillary want Weiner to go away as soon as possible - though for different reasons.

 

Weiner's scandal is too close for Clinton comfort.

As one commenter at Politico put it:

Confused, why can't a sexual pervert endorse another sexual pervert?

 

Good point.