Webster Hubbell: Difference between revisions
Whistler33 (talk | contribs) sentence literally makes no sense and has no apparent connection to the billing records or resignation |
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== Resignation == |
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== Rose Law Firm billing records and resignation == |
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In January [[1993]], Hubbell's former partners at the [[Rose Law Firm]] discovered what appeared to be irregularities in Hubbell's bills to clients. The Independent Counsel later found that Hubbell had billed clients for services he never performed, and that he failed to report that income on his tax returns. Shortly after Independent Counsel Robert Fiske opened a criminal probe into the matter, Hubbell resigned as associate attorney general on [[March 14]], [[1994]].<ref name = "specialcounsel" /> |
In January [[1993]], Hubbell's former partners at the [[Rose Law Firm]] discovered what appeared to be irregularities in Hubbell's bills to clients. The Independent Counsel later found that Hubbell had billed clients for services he never performed, and that he failed to report that income on his tax returns. Shortly after Independent Counsel Robert Fiske opened a criminal probe into the matter, Hubbell resigned as associate attorney general on [[March 14]], [[1994]].<ref name = "specialcounsel" /> |
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During the sixteen months after Hubbell's resignation, he received seventeen consulting contracts totaling over $450,000 from supporters of President Clinton. While the Independent Counsel, found that Hubbell "did little or no work for the money paid by his consulting clients," he did not conclude that the money was intended to influence Hubbel's cooperation with investigators in the [[Whitewater (controversy)|Whitewater]] investigation.<ref name = "specialcounsel" /> |
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The day before Hubbell announced his resignation, there was a meeting of senior White House officials, including President [[Bill Clinton]], First Lady [[Hillary Clinton]], and Chief of Staff [[Mack McLarty]]. At the meeting, McLarty told Hillary Clinton that White House employees would "be supportive" of Hubbell. During the sixteen months after Hubbell's resignation, he received seventeen employment contracts from supporters of President Clinton. He received approximately $450,010 in consulting fees from those contracts, but did not report all of that income on his tax returns.<ref name = "specialcounsel" /> |
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In particular, the [[House Committee on Government Reform]] says Hubbell's earnings from June 1994 to January 1995 totaled $600,000, including a $45,000 grant from the Consumer Support and Education Fund. The Los Angeles-based non-profit hired Hubbell to write a series of papers about public service at the behest of its founder, John Phillips, a friend. But Hubbell never completed the project, and Phillips reimbursed the group the $45,000 out of his own pocket. In a deposition given to the House committee, Phillips explained that when Hubbell was only able to pay back $10,000 of the amount owed, Phillips 'took security interest' in 21 pieces of art that hung in Hubbell's Washington home. The artwork, which includes signed lithographs by [[Grant Wood]], Joan Miro, and [[Alexander Calder]], now adorns the walls of the home of Phillips and his wife, former ABC correspondent Linda Douglass. |
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Additionally, the media reported in March 1997 that Hubbell received $100,000 from [[1996 United States campaign finance controversy|Chinagate]] figures [[Mochtar Riady|Mochtar]] and [[James Riady]]'s [[Lippo Group]] after he was indicted in 1994.<ref name = "hubbell"> {{cite web |
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| title = "New Questions On Hubbell Payments" |
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| work = CNN |
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| url = http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/03/20/hubbell/ |
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| date of work = [[March 20]], [[1997]] |
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| accessmonthday = July 14 | accessyear=2006 |
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}} </ref> |
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[[Mickey Kantor]], an official in the Clinton Administration, in sworn testimony to congressional investigators, described steps he took to help Hubbell obtain a $24,750 "consulting fee" from the [[City of Los Angeles]] at the same time prosecutors examining the [[Whitewater scandal|Whitewater]] affair were seeking the cooperation of Hubbell. |
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According to the Independent Counsel, Hubbell "did little or no work for the money paid by his consulting clients." The Independent Counsel determined there was insufficient evidence to conclude that Hubbell had received the money as [[quid pro quo]] for refusing to assist in the Independent Counsel's investigation into the [[Whitewater (controversy)|Whitewater]] controversy.<ref name = "specialcounsel" /> |
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==Tax charges and the Supreme Court decision== |
==Tax charges and the Supreme Court decision== |
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Revision as of 07:27, 12 May 2008
Webster Lee Hubbell | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | former lawyer former Mayor of Little Rock Arkansas former Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court former associate Attorney General in the Clinton Administration |
| Spouse | Suzanna "Suzy" Hubbell |
| Criminal charge | Mail fraud Tax evasion |
| Penalty | 21 months in prison |
Webster Lee Hubbell (born 1949), known as Webster L. Hubbell and Web Hubbell, was an Arkansas lawyer and politician. He was a lawyer in Pulaski County before serving as Mayor of Little Rock from 1979 until he resigned in 1981. He was appointed by Bill Clinton as chief justice of Arkansas State Supreme Court in 1983. When Clinton became President, Hubbell was appointed as associate attorney general; he was generally considered the third most powerful person in the Justice Department. His wife is Suzanna "Suzy" Hubbell.
In December 1994, Hubbell pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud and tax evasion charges in connection with his handling of billing at the Rose Law Firm, a firm with partners that once included Hillary Clinton and Vince Foster. Hubbell admitted he had defrauded former clients and former partners out of $482,410.83. On June 28, 1995, Judge George Howard sentenced Hubbell to 21 months' imprisonment.[1]
Resignation
In January 1993, Hubbell's former partners at the Rose Law Firm discovered what appeared to be irregularities in Hubbell's bills to clients. The Independent Counsel later found that Hubbell had billed clients for services he never performed, and that he failed to report that income on his tax returns. Shortly after Independent Counsel Robert Fiske opened a criminal probe into the matter, Hubbell resigned as associate attorney general on March 14, 1994.[1]
During the sixteen months after Hubbell's resignation, he received seventeen consulting contracts totaling over $450,000 from supporters of President Clinton. While the Independent Counsel, found that Hubbell "did little or no work for the money paid by his consulting clients," he did not conclude that the money was intended to influence Hubbel's cooperation with investigators in the Whitewater investigation.[1]
Tax charges and the Supreme Court decision
In 1998, Hubbell was indicted on additional federal tax evasion and conspiracy charges. District Judge James Robertson threw out the charges on July 1, 1998, ruling that Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr had overstepped his authority in bringing forth the Hubbell indictment. Robertson also ruled that Starr had violated Hubbell's Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination by building a case that relied on materials collected under an immunity agreement with Hubbell.[2] The prosecutor appealed to the Court of Appeals and the District Court was reversed. Hubbell then appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
In an 8-1 decision (with Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist being the lone dissenter), the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hubbell. See United States v. Hubbell, 530 U.S. 27 (2000).
References
- ^ a b c ""Final Report of the Independent Counsel in Regards to the Whitewater Investigation (Vol. III, Part C)"". GPO.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|date of work=ignored (help) - ^ ""Hubbell Case Dismissed by District Court"". Court TV.
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