Campaign finance

See the article in its original context from May 22, 1999 Section Page Buy Reprints View on timesmachine TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. A Democratic fund-raiser and longtime Arkansas friend of President Clinton pleaded guilty today in a Federal court in Little Rock, Ark., to two charges related to his political fund-raising, and agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department's long-running campaign finance inquiry. The fund-raiser, Yah Lin Trie, was one of the first major Democratic figures from Mr. Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign to be charged in an indictment in January 1998. Mr. Trie was important because he was one of small group of Clinton associates who used contacts in Asia to help seek money for the Democrats, ultimately raising more than $1 million for the Democratic National Committee and Mr. Clinton's legal defense fund. In the plea agreement, the Government said it would dismiss all charges … [Read more...] about Friend of President Admits to Violating Fund-Raising Laws

In a breathless month with a decade’s worth of political bombshells, the phrase “October surprise” has become a regular part of the news lexicon. By the strictest definition, an October surprise is news specifically (and cynically) timed by one side or another to sway an election, with evidence that it changed voters’ minds and moved the polls. More loosely, the term is applied to any big, late development, deliberate or not, perhaps even ones that show no sign of altering the outcome. Some reference sources say the phrase was first used in the 1972 presidential election, while others trace it to the 1980 campaign (the first time it was used by The New York Times). The concept, of course, predates the wording. Here are some examples of what could be considered October surprises. OCT. 31, 1968 President Lyndon Baines Johnson announced a halt to bombing of North Vietnam, based on his claim that peace talks had “entered a new and a very much more hopeful phase,” and he invited … [Read more...] about October Surprises Don’t Necessarily Sway Elections, or Occur in October

WACO, Texas — In the last 28 months, former President Donald J. Trump has been voted out of the White House, impeached for his role in the Capitol riot and criticized for marching many of his fellow Republicans off an electoral cliff in the 2022 midterms with his drumbeat of election-fraud lies. He dined at home with a white supremacist in November. He called for the termination of the Constitution in December. He declared himself “ more angry ” than ever in January. He vowed to make retribution a hallmark of a second term in the White House in March. He has embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory movement, described President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as a genius and used a gay joke to mock a fellow Republican. He has become the target of four criminal investigations, including one in New York that he warned might result in “ potential death & destruction .” Still, Mr. Trump remains a strong front-runner for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination. … [Read more...] about As Trump Rallies in Waco, His Followers Shore Up His 2024 Bid

In lucrative paid speeches that Hillary Clinton delivered to elite financial firms but refused to disclose to the public, she displayed an easy comfort with titans of business, embraced unfettered international trade and praised a budget-balancing plan that would have required cuts to Social Security, according to documents posted online Friday by WikiLeaks. The tone and language of the excerpts clash with the fiery liberal approach she used later in her bitter primary battle with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and could have undermined her candidacy had they become public. Mrs. Clinton comes across less as a firebrand than as a technocrat at home with her powerful audience, willing to be critical of large financial institutions but more inclined to view them as partners in restoring the country’s economic health. In the excerpts from her paid speeches to financial institutions and corporate audiences, Mrs. Clinton said she dreamed of “open trade and open borders” throughout … [Read more...] about Leaked Speech Excerpts Show a Hillary Clinton at Ease With Wall Street