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("Quid coniuratio est?")
BYE-BYE WILLIAM J?
[CN: I spoke with Sherman Skolnick on August 4, 1996.]
CONSPIRACY NATION:
You heard that Bill Clinton had a meeting recently?
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
Within the last couple of days, there was a meeting, arranged by
Robert Strauss, an elder statesman of the Democratic Party,
together with other leading Democrats. They told Clinton that
they had been informed by Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel,
that Hillary, most likely if not for certain, would be indicted
between the Democratic convention at the end of August and the
November Presidential election. Strauss told Clinton (this is
according to Strauss's friends) that the Democrats do not want an
"October Surprise" that could bring down the Democratic Party
with Clinton; they want him to resign, two days before the
Democratic convention.
They intend to put up two people that they feel would be more suitable to the convention and the voters: John D. Rockefeller IV (of course, he's known as Jay Rockefeller), and possibly Al Gore, depending how the public perceives whether Gore is so close to Clinton or not. If not Gore, then a running mate on the ticket would be John Kerry.
The "October Surprise" situation is, if an indictment comes against Hillary after September (assuming that Clinton becomes the nominee at the convention), it becomes an unprecedented situation. What will happen to Democrats running for Congress? Or for Senate?
CONSPIRACY NATION:
So we can look for the press to be stepping up attacks on
Clinton, these next few weeks?
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
Probably so. However, there are legal problems. Strauss's
friends are not convinced that Clinton exactly made a candid
statement that he is going to do as he's been ordered to do,
that is, resign. They can embarrass him, of course, by not
making him the nominee at the convention. The other problem is
legal: were he to resign and he becomes a private citizen,
then if Hillary does get indicted (as Kenneth Starr has told
Strauss) then Clinton himself can be named as a co-defendant with
his wife. He only has immunity from prosecution, under the U.S.
Constitution, as long as he remains in office. You can only
remove a U.S. President by way of impeachment; that's all you can
do to him. You cannot prosecute him. (At least that's the
interpretation of that provision of the Constitution.)
CONSPIRACY NATION:
So is Clinton going to fight this?
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
Well... Some at the meeting were concerned that the strange wave
of violence may not be accidental, that somebody may be
orchestrating that, because it seems to support keeping those in
office.
From all that I know, I think that Clinton will in fact resign. He's under a tremendous pressure all the way around! I mean, if he resigns he may go to jail.
CONSPIRACY NATION:
Okay. There's another "elder statesman" that made a statement
recently: Barry Goldwater made the statement that he likes Bill
Clinton, and the only way that he would vote for Bob Dole would
be if Dole was the only candidate running for office. To me,
that seems like a really major statement: he's the elder
statesman of the Republican Party and he's turning "thumbs down"
on Dole.
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
Please note that it was Barry Goldwater that put the finishing
touch in many ways to Nixon. It was Barry Goldwater, on behalf
of a GOP delegation, that went to Nixon and says, "You must
resign."
CONSPIRACY NATION:
So both of these elder statesmen carry a lot of weight.
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
Especially Strauss. He's big with the oil industry. All you've
got to do is look him up in Who's Who; I'm sure they've got a
complete run-down of how "plugged-in" he is.
Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those
of Conspiracy Nation, nor of its Editor in Chief.
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