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| For Immediate Release | |
| Dec 10, 1999 | Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
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CONCERN THAT BENEFITS OR PREFERENCES MAY VIOLATE LAW (Washington, D.C.) In recent days, Judicial Watch, Inc. has requested that the President and Mrs. Clinton account for any private gifts or preferences, made by United States citizens and other private and government entities, to redesign, decorate, and/or furnish their house. If, as is likely given the Clintons' over $5 million of debt, their "friends" are paying for or furnishing the interior of the house, this would run afoul of the anti-gratuity and federal election laws, and would be similar to previous violations of law under their legal defense funds and their preferential mortgages. In addition, Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Secret Service, as reports indicate that U. S. taxpayers are footing the bill for over $1 million in security measures for the house. Judicial Watch is concerned that these security measures exceed what is reasonable and legal in terms of taxpayer expenditures; particularly given that Mrs. Clinton is not an official government employee and her political ambitions, in terms of establishing a second residence in New York, should not be subsidized by the U. S. taxpayers. Judicial Watch is not singling out the Clintons for scrutiny, and is looking at a number of political candidates during the 2000 election cycle who may be violating the law. Yesterday, in a press release entitled "Reno Runs Interference for Orrin Hatch - Hatch Subject of Judicial Watch Lawsuits Concerning his Involvement in BCCI and Microsoft Cases," Judicial Watch raised serious issues with regard to campaign contributions to the Presidential campaign of Senator Orrin Hatch. See www.JudicialWatch.org (main page). |
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