20 YEARS AGO TODAY, THE CLINTONS WERE TRYING TO EXPLAIN HOW HILLARY CLINTON EARNED $100,000 AS A NOVICE INVESTOR IN CATTLE FUTURES

Just Before Her Husband Was Elected Governor Of Arkansas In 1978, Hillary Clinton Began Investing In The Commodities Market And “Substantially” Increased Her Family’s Finances Making About $100,000 In Her First Year. “Starting just before Bill Clinton was elected Governor of Arkansas, Hillary Rodham Clinton made about $100,000 in one year in the commodities market with the help and advice of a friend who was the top lawyer for one of the state's most powerful and heavily regulated companies. The investments, made in a commodities trading account that was opened three weeks before Mr. Clinton was elected Governor in 1978, substantially altered the finances of the Clintons. At the time, Mr. Clinton was Attorney General. He and his wife were rising stars in Little Rock whose salaries were modest by the standards of their peers.” (“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94)

On April 11, 1994, The Clinton White House Acknowledged That Most Of Clinton’s Profitable Trades In Cattle Futures Were Placed By Clinton Ally Jim Blair, After Initially Saying That Clinton Made Her Own Trades With Blair Serving As An Advisor. “The White House said today that most of the commodity orders by which Hillary Rodham Clinton turned $1,000 into nearly $100,000 in the 1970's were placed by James B. Blair, a friend and lawyer for the Tyson Foods Company, whose role Clinton Administration officials had previously described as only an adviser to Mrs. Clinton.” (Robert D. Hershey Jr., “Friend Did Futures Trades For Hillary Clinton,” The New York Times, 4/11/94)

In Her First Investment, Clinton Was Able To Order 10 Cattle Futures – Normally A $12,000 Investment – With Just $1,000 In Her Account And Turned Her Initial Investment Into $6,300 Overnight. “Hillary Rodham Clinton was allowed to order 10 cattle futures contracts, normally a $12,000 investment, in her first commodity trade in 1978 although she had only $1,000 in her account at the time, according to trade records the White House released yesterday. The computerized records of her trades, which the White House obtained from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, show for the first time how she was able to turn her initial investment into $6,300 overnight.” (Charles R. Babcock, “Hillary Clinton Futures Trades Detailed,” The Washington Post, 5/27/94)

In About 10 Months Of Trading, Clinton Turned Her Initial Investment Into A Nearly $100,000 Profit. “In about 10 months of trading, she made nearly $100,000, relying heavily on advice from her friend James B. Blair, an experienced futures trader.” (Charles R. Babcock, “Hillary Clinton Futures Trades Detailed,” The Washington Post, 5/27/94)



“In about 10 months of trading, she made nearly $100,000, relying heavily on advice from her friend James B. Blair, an experienced futures trader.” (Charles R. Babcock, “Hillary Clinton Futures Trades Detailed,” The Washington Post, 5/27/94) “She Got Out Of The Market On Oct. 17, 1979, Just As The Rising Market In Cattle Futures From Which She Had Profited Was Collapsing.” (“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94)

The Clintons Kept Their Cattle Futures Profits Under Wraps Until 1994

Clinton Kept Her Cattle Futures Profits Secret Until Bill Clinton’s Second Year In Office When They Finally Released Tax Returns. “The volatility in the marketplace, she later said, was too much for her, and she closed her account with Refco, keeping her $99,000 overall profit secret until she and Bill, under duress, reveled their tax returns during the second year of his presidency.” (Carl Bernstein, A Woman In Charge, 2007, p. 137-138)

After Questions From Reporters In 1994, The Clintons Agreed To Release Tax Returns Prior To 1980. “During his first Presidential run, Mr. Clinton refused to release his tax returns prior to 1980. When Knight-Ridder reporters in 1994 asked Mr. Clinton about the tax returns, he stormed out of the interview…” (Editorial, “Will Anyone Believe?” The Wall Street Journal, 9/16/96)

Clinton Defended Her Decision Not To Release Her Tax Records, Claiming It Was Due To Her “Sense Of Privacy.” CLINTON: “[I] do think that that advice and my belief in it, combined with my sense of privacy, because I do feel like I’ve always been a fairly private person leading a public life, led me to perhaps be less understanding than I needed to of both the press and the public’s interest, as well as right, to know things about my husband and me.” (Hillary Clinton, Press Conference, 4/22/94)

During Bill Clinton’s 1992 Run For President, The Clintons And Their Aides “Gave Conflicting Accounts When Asked To Explain Where The Couple Got The Money To Make A $60,000 Down Payment On A House In 1980.” “The trades have never been publicly disclosed. During the 1992 Presidential campaign, the Clintons and their aides gave conflicting accounts when asked to explain where the couple got the money to make a $60,000 down payment on a house in 1980.” (“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94)

“When The Question Of The Down Payment First Arose, The Campaign Said It Had Come From An Investment By Mrs. Clinton, One That The Officials Declined To Describe.” (“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94)



(“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94) “At Another Point, The Officials Released A Statement In Mrs. Clinton's Name That Said The Money Had Come From ‘Our Savings And A Gift From My Parents.’” (“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94)



(“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94) In March 1994, The Clinton Administration Acknowledged That The Payment Had Come From Savings, Including Clinton’s Commodities Profits. “Today, the Administration officials said that the down payment had come from savings, including the proceeds of the successful commodities trade.” (“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94)

During Bill Clinton’s Tenure As Arkansas Governor, Tyson Foods – Where Blair Was The Chief Outside Counsel – Benefited From State Policies

Clinton’s Cattle Trades Were Made By Blair, Who Was One Of The Arkansas’ “Premier Powerbrokers” And The “Primary Outside Lawyer For Tyson Foods.” “But the trades, which came to light during a two-month examination of the Clintons' finances by The New York Times, also left them in the position of having relied significantly on the help of one of the state's premier powerbrokers, James B. Blair, a Clinton confidant who at the time was the primary outside lawyer for Tyson Foods Inc., of Springdale, Ark., the nation's biggest poultry company.” (“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94)

“During Mr. Clinton's Tenure In Arkansas, Tyson Benefited From A Variety Of State Actions, Including $9 Million In Government Loans, The Placement Of Company Executives On Important State Boards And Favorable Decisions On Environmental Issues.” (“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94)

As A Governor And Candidate, Bill Clinton Was A Fierce Advocate For State Assistance To Tyson Foods. “As Governor and as a candidate for President in 1992, Mr. Clinton was forthright in defending the assistance that the state government gave to Tyson, which is among Arkansas's largest employers, saying that it was good for the state's economy.” (“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94)

“Throughout The 1970's And 1980's, Governor Clinton And His Administration Made Several Significant Decisions That Helped Tyson Become One Of The World's Biggest Poultry Companies.” (“Top Arkansas Lawyer Helped Hillary Clinton Turn Big Profit,” The New York Times, 3/18/94)

Elections

Hillary Clinton

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