Commercegate

Commercegate was an event during the Clinton Administration which conservatives labeled a scandal. It refers to the selling of extra seats on United States federal planes going on international trade missions, for the purpose of raising campaign contributions.

Nolanda Hill, a close business associate of Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, testified in court in 1998 that Brown had told her that trade mission plane seats were sold to business people who gave at least $50,000 each to the DNC, (Democratic National Committee).[1]

Arguing that to sell seats on a US aircraft was unfair, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth heard Hill's testimony. Hill stated Brown was angered when White House political staff made him give seats on the trade missions for fund-raising. Hill said Brown told her the main person involved at the White House was Alexis Herman, who would later become Clinton's Labor Secretary. Hill further claimed that Brown had told her, that an assistant to Herman, Melissa Moss, wrote the original contribution letters which had angered Brown. Hill also testified that Brown had told her President Bill Clinton and Mrs. Clinton supported the plan to sell seats for contributions.

Investigation led to supposed improprieties in the finances of Secretary Brown. A federal judge later found that a US Commerce Department official appeared to have deliberately destroyed subpoenaed documents relating to the department's trade missions to China.[2] Brown died on a trade mission to Croatia, when the government plane crashed into a mountainside in Croatia on April 3, 1996. This led to conservative accusations that Clinton had Brown murdered.

In February 1999, Nolanda Hill pleaded guilty to 1 counts of aiding and abetting the preparation and filing of a false income tax return, as part the Brown investigation which had been triggered by the selling of aircraft seats.[3]

Independent counsel Daniel Pearson reported: "My office's investigation of Secretary Brown ended unfinished with his death. The unfinished state of the investigation and considerations of fairness preclude our office from drawing conclusions about the allegations regarding possible criminal conduct by the Secretary."[4]

The Clintons and Brown were never charged.

References

  1. ↑ Frieden, Terry (1998-03-23). "Ex-Ron Brown Partner Claims Clintons Backed 'Sale' Of Trade Seats". CNN.com.
  2. ↑ "Memorandum Opinion Judicial Watch vs. Department of Commerce, page 14" (PDF). U.S. District Court. 2006-04-14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-03-23.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ Frieden, Terry (November 14, 1996). "Independent Counsel: No Conclusions On Brown Probe". CNN.

External links

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