THE SUNDAY TIMES: The appointment of Hillary Clinton as US secretary of state will place a two-for-one power couple at the heart of Barack Obama's cabinet, which could tie the president-elect’s fortunes to the conduct of Bill Clinton, the former president.
There has been no formal announcement of Hillary Clinton’s new role but the appointment was said to be “firmly on track” after negotiations with Bill Clinton over his charitable and business affairs.
Although the former president last week gave Obama’s team of vetters the largely secret names of 208,000 donors to the William J Clinton Foundation, which covers his presidential library and the charitable Clinton Global Initiative, they may turn out to include some ticking timebombs.
Several US news organisations are digging for more disclosures of controversial allies such as Frank Giustra, the Canadian tycoon who accompanied Bill Clinton on a visit to Kazakhstan and subsequently clinched a $425m mining contract there.
“Among the questions being raised are: who is paying for his speeches and who is paying for the planes he is flying on?” said a source familiar with the investigations.
Bill Clinton, 62, is said to have agreed to restrictions on his paid speeches and his role at the foundation in an attempt to avoid future conflicts of interest. An ally of the Clintons insisted: “Bill has said publicly that he will do whatever they want. Not just with the Giustra stuff, but with the library, the foundation, the donors - he has demonstrated a willingness to go above and beyond.”
However, he will not forgo the lucrative lecture circuit. Last Sunday, even as his wife, 61, was pondering whether to accept the job and resign as New York senator, Clinton was in Kuwait City delivering a reported $500,000 speech, paid for by the National Bank of Kuwait, on the world financial crisis. >>> Sarah Baxter, Washington | November 23, 2008
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