Time For a Plan B

We in the Republican Party have lots of choices for President, a multiplicity of 18 or so, give or take a governor or two. They are all over the ballpark on issues, some even standing firmly on both sides of an issue, thus encompassing all the people’s views. Still others aren’t running on issues, but personalities, which they consider winning, like Rafael Cruz or Marco Rubio.

The Democrats have only one candidate.

So it should be troublesome to people of that persuasion to hear all the talk about the coming book, “Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich” by Peter Schweizer.

By now, you may have heard about the 186-page investigation of the financial transactions involving the Clintons and their foundation that occurred at the same time as favorable U.S. policy decisions by Mrs. Clinton’s State Department, benefiting those providing the funds. The implication is that there is a connection.

Now here’s the problem, as Schweizer seems to be arguing. When Hillary became Secretary of State, Bill’s speaking fee, previously at 150 K, jumped to 500K or 750 K. There might be more to it than mere coincidence, some believe.

That’s okay, the policy at State seemed to be, you want to sell American uranium to the Russians for 3 billion? Fine with us. It will cost you. But it’s for a good cause.

The book isn’t even out yet (May 5), but already it’s becoming the next Clinton scandal du jour, paining fans of the missing emails, fallen to the wayside as a reason not to vote for Hillary.

The other night Bret Baier on Fox News was saying he could do a full hour-long show for a whole week, chapter by chapter of Schweizer’s book on the Bill and Hillary cash-for-diplomacy scheme. As they say in the Garment Center, there seemed to be a pattern here.

The possible pattern reminded a legal friend of mine of the RICO Act.

You remember the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), that federal law, passed in 1970, designed to combat organized crime allowing prosecution and civil penalties for racketeering activity performed as part of an on-going criminal enterprise.

With RICO the Feds could go after all those mobster guys: You mister were talking to all the other misters, and you’re all going to jail.

It only takes establishing a continuous pattern, my legal friend explained, and you’re got a real RICO case.

True, they haven’t had a good RICO case lately since they put John Gotti away. He went to jail for life for a murder, even though he didn’t shoot the other guy. You don’t have to pull the trigger, just say, “Hit that guy.” There was a continuous pattern of illegal activity that allowed the Feds to put him out of business.

If this Schweizer book is not pure hogwash, a diligent federal prosecutor might be able to establish a pattern between speeches and donations, a quid pro quo.

He’s head of the foundation, and she’s Secretary of State. They are not talking to each other? No, I never talk to Hillary about where I’m going with my overnighter bag all packed?

Now if I were a Democrat, I’d say, we better have a Plan B. I mean, besides that sweet old loveable socialist from Vermont, Granddad Bernie! Hillary, who took such a long time deciding she was running for president, might wind up running from the law.

Who among the Republicans would do such a lowly thing as suggest a RICO prosecution? Well, let’s see, there is Chris Christie. Running the U.S. Attorney’s office in Newark, he made a feared name for himself prosecuting New Jersey politicians for illegal activities in a fair and balanced way. Of the 900 or so public servants who did the perp walk, 890 happened to be Democrats. The others were Republicans.

If he was running for president, which he‘s not.

My wife, the Democrat, is still wondering what the fuss is all about? “So the Clintons are crooks,” she argues. “All politicians are crooks. But the Clintons are our crooks.”

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Marvin Kitman
May 1, 2015