roundtable: Re: Back to the Future Robber Baron Days

roundtable: Re: Back to the Future Robber Baron Days

Re: Back to the Future Robber Baron Days

Vigdor Schreibman - FINS (fins@access.digex.net)
Tue, 3 Jan 1995 12:20:48 -0500 (EST) 

Date: Tue, 3 Jan 1995 12:20:48 -0500 (EST)
From: Vigdor Schreibman - FINS <fins@access.digex.net>
To: roundtable@cni.org
Subject: Re: Back to the Future Robber Baron Days
In-Reply-To: <9412311422.AA05877@a.cni.org>
Message-Id: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950103121500.28507E-100000@access2.digex.net>


Rep. Bonior has taken Gingrich to task for the obvious 
appearance of a "conflict of interest" that his book deal presents.  
Reducing the initial payment to $1 did remove a big cloud over the 
transaction because the $4.5 million advance was not the kind of 
"traditional" contract that the ethics rules clearly allow.  
However, the royalty leaves matters unclear, particularly when one 
adds the $10 to $20 million payments Gingrich has received through 
his undisclosed political advocacy instruments.

The question will be presented to the Ethics Committee by Bonoir and 
the next issue concerns the naming of Committee members:  Will this 
be done by Gingrich or will he leave that critical decision to an 
impartial person?

Stay tuned.

Vigdor Schreibman
<fins@access.digex.net>


-----------------------------------------------------------------

On Sun, 1 Jan 1995, W. Curtiss Priest wrote:
> 
> Is the press going to let Gingrich "get away" with this new release
> that he only gets $1.00 for advanced royalties and that the royalities
> are not disclosed but are 'typical of a commercial publication'?
> 
> Dole obviously saw the problem with the $4.5 million -- but I don't
> even see the Boston Globe calling this for what it is, a manipulation
> of the media to manipulate the public's perception of Gingrich.
> 
> It really doesn't matter to Gingrich whether he gets the money today
> or in 2 years, does it.
> 
> Yet, this way, he "only gets a $1.00" in the eyes of the beholder
> 
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