Peter Paul Hillary Clinton Connection

Peter F. Paul (born September 2, 1948) has been a lawyer, entrepreneur, former partner of Spider-Man creator Stan Lee in Stan Lee Media, and convicted felon. In 2000, he became central to a campaign fund-raising scandal involving Senator Hillary Clinton.



Paul emerged in 2000 as the largest contributor to Senatorial candidate Hillary Clinton. Paul and his attorneys have at various times offered two explanations for this. First, that he was trying to attract her husband, then-President Bill Clinton, to serve on the board of Stan Lee Media after leaving office. Second, that he hoped to negotiate a pardon for his prior criminal convictions.[29][30] Paul produced and underwrote what he described as the largest fund raising event ever held for a federal candidate [31], in Los Angeles, days before the 2000 Democratic Convention began. The Hollywood Farewell Gala Salute to President William Jefferson Clinton featured prominent entertainers singing for the President, while raising over $1 million for Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign.[32] The event cost $1.9 million to organize as per Paul and $500,000 as per the Federal Election Commission filing, much of it borrowed fraudulently by Paul from Merrill Lynch. Later indictments would state that Merrill Lynch lost about $5 million it had lent to Paul.

Two days after the gala, the Washington Post publicized Paul's criminal record, and Hillary Clinton denied knowing Paul and "vowed not to take any contributions from him". Through her official spokesman, Howard Wolfson, Hillary stated on August 16, 2000 that she would return $2,000 she reported receiving from Paul in June 2000, and would not have anything further to do with him.

Paul alleged that Clinton was deceitful in this, and retained public interest law firm, and frequent Clinton opponent, Judicial Watch to represent him in a series of civil and criminal lawsuits against the Clintons, the Clinton campaign, and ultimately the Federal Election Commission (which he charged was negligent in failing to convict Mrs. Clinton). These charges were delayed, as courts held that Paul could not bring charges against the Clintons as he fought extradition from Brazil, but proceeded once he was returned to the States.

Paul's claims have not found traction. An audit by the Federal Elections Commission observed that neither Senator Clinton nor her Senate campaign had accepted any illegal funds in connection with the Hollywood fundraiser[40], though the campaign was asked to pay $35,000 in fines for having underreported the cost of the party. Paul's suit against the FEC was thrown out; his attempt to bring ethics charges against Clinton were rejected, and his fraud charges against Senator Clinton were tossed out in April 2006. Paul continued to press civil charges against Senator Clinton and former President Clinton for "looting" his business, but the courts refused to allow him to sue Senator Clinton, with the appellate court specifying that her behavior had been "perfectly legal," and allowing her to recoup her legal fees from Paul.

Finding no luck in the courts, in 2007 Paul sponsored and promoted a thirteen and a half minute video titled "Hillary Exposed: The Case of Paul v. Clinton," attacking Senator Clinton. Her office responded "Peter Paul is a professional liar who has four separate criminal convictions, two for fraud. His video repackages a series of seven-year-old false claims about Senator Clinton that have already been rejected by the California state courts, the Justice Department, the Federal Election Commission, and the Senate Ethics Committee." In January 2008, he also re-filed his complaint with the FEC.

Paul's suit against former President Clinton remains, as of December 2007, outstanding. He is seeking $41.9 million in damages.

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Posted by: Brian    Source