If Liz were Queen

Nearly all of the multimillionaires and indeed even millionaires in the Senate and those in the Obama Administration such as Hillary Clinton  have their Wall Street stock ownership in what is called a “blind trust”.

PROBLEM IS: These trusts are hardly “blind” and even if they were, these multimillionaires know what Wall Street stock they own.  To suggest that they don’t is ludicrous.

Actually, what a “blind trust” really does is successfully prevent the public from a great deal of the detail regarding the information.

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Federal ethics laws make it virtually impossible for members of Congress…to set up trusts fully beyond their knowledge or control…[E]thics laws require the annual public disclosure of its contents.

So the laws provide for the creation of special ‘qualified blind trusts’ which are exempt from public disclosure. The laws strictly limit communications between the trustee and the beneficiary, but they also mandate disclosure of the original holdings and notification to the beneficiary whenever an original asset is sold.

And the rules give beneficiaries…the power to order the sale of all of a stock or other asset at any time in the name of eliminating a potential conflict. ‘That doesn’t really sound very ‘blind,’ does it?’

The trusts have become especially popular among the growing number of millionaires in the U.S. Senate….

Senators and Obama administration members with blind trusts Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barbara Boxer of California, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Michael Enzi of Wyoming.

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WALL STREET STOCK OWNERSHIP BY SENATORS AND THEIR SPOUSES REPRESENTS MANY CLEAR CUT CASES OF CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS.  THESE PEOPLE REPRESENT THEMSELVES–NOT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.

Diane Feinstein “As chairperson and ranking member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee (MILCON) from 2001 through the end of 2005, Feinstein supervised the appropriation of billions of dollars a year for specific military construction projects. Two defense contractors whose interests were largely controlled by her husband, financier Richard C. Blum, benefited from decisions made by Feinstein as leader of this powerful subcommittee…

Jay Rockefeller “In the case of Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chair of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, his stock in Pepsico, which is worth at least $1 million, is actually held by his wife, who is on the food and beverage corporation’s board of directors. Pepsico received $187 million in defense contracts in 2006, according to OMB Watch. ‘His wife’s separate holdings have no influence,’ Rockefeller spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said. ‘Sen. Rockefeller, out of an abundance of caution to ensure there’s no conflict of interest, has held all his assets in a blind trust since he was the governor of West Virginia.’”

Joe Lieberman- When Mrs. Lieberman signed on with the Hill & Knowlton in March of 2005, GlaxoSmithKline, the huge British-based drug company that makes vaccines along with many other drugs was among their clients.  In April of 2005, a month after his wife joined Hill and Knowlton Senator Lieberman introduced a bill that would awared bilions of dollars in new “incentives” to companies like GlaxoSmithKline to persuade them to make more new vaccines. The bill was written by Chuck Ludlan, a former pharmaceutical industry lobbyist who then worked on the Connecticut senator’s staff. From his office to his bedroom, Lieberman is totally surrounded by current and former employees of Big Pharma. SOURCE

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Members of both parties have health care industry connections, including Democrats Jay Rockefeller and Tom Harkin, in addition to Dodd, and Republicans Tom Coburn, Judd Gregg, John Kyl and Orrin Hatch.

Jackie Clegg Dodd, wife of the Connecticut Democrat, is on the boards of Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc., Cardiome Pharma Corp., Brookdale Senior Living and Pear Tree Pharmaceuticals.

Rockefeller, D-W.Va., reported $15,001 to $50,000 in capital gains for his wife from the sale of a stake in Athenahealth Inc., a business services company that helps medical providers with billing and clinical operations.

Rockefeller is honorary chairman of the Alliance for Health Reform, a Washington nonprofit whose board includes representatives from the UnitedHealth Group health insurance company; AFL-CIO labor union; the AARP, which sells health insurance; St. John Health, a nonprofit health system that includes seven hospitals and 125 medical facilities in southeast Michigan; CIGNA Corp., an employer-sponsored benefits company; and the United Hospital Fund of New York.

– Coburn, R-Okla., is a practicing physician. He reported slight business income, $268, from the Muskogee Allergy Clinic last year; $3,000 to $45,000 in stock in Affymetrix Inc., a biotechnology company and pioneer in genetic analysis; $1,000 to $15,000 in stock in Pfizer Inc., a pharmaceutical company; and a $1,000 to $15,000 interest in Thomas A. Coburn, MD, Inc.

Gregg, R-N.H., disclosed $250,001 to $500,000 in drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. stock and $1,000 to $15,000 each in stock in pharmaceutical companies Merck & Co. and Pfizer, the Johnson & Johnson health care products company and Agilent Technologies, which is involved in the biomedical industry.

– Kyl, R-Ariz., the Senate minority whip, reported $15,001 to $50,000 in stock in Amgen Inc., which develops medical therapeutics. Kyl’s retirement account held stakes in several health care businesses, including the Wyeth, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and AstraZeneca pharmaceutical companies; medical provider Tenet Healthcare Corp.; CVS Caremark prescription and health services company; Genentech, a biotherapeutics manufacturer; and insurer MetLife Inc.

– Harkin, D-Iowa, has a joint ownership stake in health-related stocks. Harkin and his wife, Ruth Raduenz, own shares of drug makers Amgen and Genentech, Inc., each stake valued at $1,001 to $15,000; Their largest health care holding, Johnson & Johnson, was valued at $50,001 to $100,000.

– Hatch, R-Utah, a member of the Finance and Health committees, reported owning between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of stock in drug maker Pfizer Inc. He spoke to two pharmaceutical industry conferences last year. Sponsors of the conferences donated $3,500 to charities instead of speaking fees, as required by Senate rules.