Hillary Clinton is in a race to wipe out her campaign debt. When she becomes Secretary of State, federal ethic laws will severely prohibit her from fundraising.
Clinton is estimated to owe about $7.5 million to vendors, the majority of that, $5.3 million, owed to the polling firm of Mark Penn.
While the banks and the Big Three automakers get the press from a federal bailout plan and public attention from Barack Obama, Obama is working behind the scenes on the Hillary Clinton bailout as well.
Once Clinton becomes Secretary of State, her campaign committee can continue to trim away the debt, but she would not be able to participate directly.
A 2001 advisory opinion by the federal Office of Special Counsel said a federal employee with a campaign debt would be prohibited from “personally soliciting, accepting or receiving political contributions.
Hillary and Bill are planning a major fundraiser in New York on December 15 with tickets priced $50-$1,000. The problem for her is that most of her reliable contributors have already given the maximum $2,300 contribution. That leaves Obama and his donor list as the most likely targets to retire Clinton’s debt.
Obama raised $770 million for his Presidential campaign. At the end of the campaign, he still had $30 million leftover. His fundraising organization remains in force. His transition team even raised $1.1 million from the election until November 15. If Hillary is unable to bring her debt under control by the time she assumes her new position in the Obama administration, expect Obama and the Democrats to somehow wipe her debt clean.
