The story was broken in the Washington Post by Susan Schmidt and
promoted on the Drudge Report by Matt Drudge.
Moral outrage and demands for accountability were driven by
Congressman Tom DeLay and House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Clinton
allies who mobilized Republicans to support China’s membership in the
World Trade Organization.
The Lewinsky scandal was “managed” by independent counsel Ken Starr –
the nephew of AIG founder C.V. Starr who gathered intelligence on
Chinese markets on behalf of corporate America decades earlier.
After Lewinsky
President Clinton was impeached.
Exploiting her status as a victim to a philandering husband, Hillary Clinton became New York Senator while
positioning herself for a presidential run.
As Senator, Clinton focused on corralling corporate money to control campaign finance – the lifeblood of political
campaigns, establishing herself as the de facto leader of the Democratic Party.
On the Republican side, Tom DeLay launched the K Street Project to control campaign contributions and
fundraising for Republican to promote globalism on behalf of corporate America.
Celebrities were made out of those who promoted the Lewinsky scandal – for example, Susan Schmidt received a
Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on the Lewinsky scandal; Matt Drudge launched the Drudge Report, a highly
profitable news aggregator that allowed him to set the agenda for the mainstream media; Ann Coulter, who laid
out the legal case for Clinton’s impeachment in High Crimes and Misdemeanors, became the nation’s most sought
after, and therefore the most highly remunerated, conservative commentator….
The Enron Scandal
ENRON: Media Narrative
In 2001, the energy giant faced the largest bankruptcy reorganization in America’s history.
Consumed with insatiable greed, Enron executives hid billions of dollars in debt to deceive
investors and increase shareholder value.
Enron executives, like CEO Jeff Skilling, were prosecuted under ambiguously worded honest
service fraud statues that have since been declared unconstitutional.
Enron Scandal: What the Media Missed
Shares in Perot Systems plummeted after a lawmaker accused the firm of using its knowledge
from its work in California’s deregulated markets to instruct energy trading companies (like
Enron and Dynegy) on how they could exploit vulnerabilities.
Federal regulators began investigating….
Enron had engaged the Seminole Tribe of Florida and executives from the Hard Rock
franchise to pursue a gas deal on tribal land.
Dynergy – a company in which corporate raider Carl Icahn had a significant stake – was in the
process of acquiring Enron’s assets.
Once Perot Systems fell under investigation, “rumors” emerged from the Seminole Tribe that
Enron executives were engaged in fraud.
Since Enron was a confidence-based business, Enron’s value tanked overnight.
Perot Systems: Friends in High Places
Perot Systems was founded Ross Perot who ran for president, splitting the vote between the
incumbent, President George H.W. Bush, and his challenger, Bill Clinton, helping to secure the
White House for the Clintons.
Perot managed Medicare billing for the Clintons.
Perot Systems designed computer systems for California’s power operators.
Perot Systems was the largest client of Microsolutions, a company founded by Mark Cuban who
purchased a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks from Ross Perot, Jr.