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Matthew Freedman Interview: Bolton "Management Consultant" Had Light Duties, Made More than $100k a Year, and Still Kept Private, Undisclosed Business Clients
Share / Recommend - Comment - Print - Tuesday, May 10, 05, 11:11PM
Every day the Bolton fiasco grows more incredible.
Some want to call this entire mess BoltonGate, but I don't want to trivialize or resort to cliches (yet) to describe some of the really outrageous practices of the John Bolton fiefdom at the State Department.
I recommend a quick read of the Matthew Freedman interview with staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (I have linked it as a pdf file.)
Read here and here about some earlier revelations about Mr. Freedman -- particularly his role as a lobbyist on behalf of Ferdinand Marcos's government exactly when Senator Richard Lugar became one of the key pivots in turning U.S. support towards Cory Aquino -- for whom the present U.N. Chief of Staff Mark Malloch Brown then lobbied.
Matthew Freedman, by his own account, had a light load in John Bolton's office -- and maintained a private roster of consulting clients. During his interview, he would not discuss who those clients were -- but let's just suggest that TWN is pretty sure that his clients weren't AIDS hospices, charter schools, or organic farms. Freedman once lobbied for the Government of Nigeria -- and had a roster of very top end corporate clients in his past business activities.
Freedman has worked for Bolton for the last four years, has known him since 1981, was listed in the State Department Directory in Bolton's office, billed for 200 days of work -- while other staff report to TWN that they hardly saw him, and made approximately $110,000 plus per year (GS-15 level) -- while also making money from his roster of undisclosed private clients.
Senator Hagel -- does this kind of arrangement strike you as somewhat odd? Perhaps unethical?
Again, America's Ambassador to the United Nations should be a person with nearly impeccable credentials and someone the nation can feel 'easily' proud of. Bolton comes no where near this standard.
If Bolton so badly managed his own office, not just in terms of abuse of intel underlings but paid a "management consultant" a six-figure salary for unclear services while the person maintained private clients -- who no doubt had an interest in his diplomatic and foreign policy access inside the State Department -- then why are we sending such a person to "clean up" the United Nations?
Bolton has no credibility as a manager in non-profit organizations. The one he ran -- the National Policy Forum -- had its non-profit stripped for inappropriate activities and funding irregularities.
And now we learn that he has hired an old pal to a low-stress, high paid position for more than four years -- with an ethical cloud hovering above the fact that he drew lots of government money while listed among State Department staff and got paid on the side by corporate and/or foreign government clients.
After lambasting Kofi Annan for not taking action towards staff and his son regarding the Oil-for-Food scandal, are Senators and the media going to turn a blind eye to this interesting possible set of ethical conflicts between Bolton and Matthew Freedman?
This is a serious matter -- far more serious than the media have yet acknowledged.
But the Senators will not be able to feign ignorance about this. The Matthew Freedman interview is in their briefing notes on John Bolton.
More later. . .
-- Steve Clemons
Over at www.intrade.com, the odds currently show that John Bolton (87%) has a better chance of being confirmed that Michael Jackson does of being convicted of indecency with a child (54%) or intoxicating a kid (39%).
Maybe if Tom Snedden were prosecuting Bolton instead of the liberals on the SFRC and this blogging page, you guys would have a better chance.
The odds of the prisoners beating the prison guards in the remake of the Longest Yard, out this May 27th, would be about ... 100%.
Wow, somehow I blew this Bolton story off as a borefest. Kind of one of those "the guy's a prick, too bad he'll get the nod" kind of things. So I wasn't following it. But hell, this sounds like fun. Even if Bolton gets approved, we at least got to dig up this crap on the bastard. And that's something, isn't it.
Keep up the good work. And if Bolton does somehow get shot down, we'll all owe you something, Mr. Note. Maybe like a generic plaque or a cheap watch. Or a large coffee mug with Bolton's face on it and some kind of stupid slogan. I could arrange that. We wouldn't want to make it something expensive, as this is a labor of love; and we wouldn't want to corrupt it with petty materialism. Just a momento of the occasion. Make it happen, Clemons. For the little people. The tiny little people.
Read Laura Rosen's (warandpiece.com)for additional info and let your mind wander where it will as to where this might go. I read this blog and hers and went outside for a smoke -- it's almost 4:30 in the morning, nice and qiet. The possibilities are really scary. You throw together CAFTA, CA, MAPs and pharmas and the stew gets really disgusting.
"$110,000 plus per year (GS-15 level) [at State working for John Bolton]-- while also making money from his roster of undisclosed private clients."
I've read the Freedman interview.
To top it all, Freedman doesn't want to reveal the names of the private clients he worked for.
Can someone please dumb this down for me, isn't there a conflict of interest here? plus a small matter of security?
Security at State
Here one has an agency who let's out contracts all over the world, often in dangerous zones, and it arranges and coordinates the activities of American Companies and their employees to be there at a certain time and place. Can anyone spell trap for me? Or the potential for the most grievous of incidents.
Senators might want to look into this. There are so many spy infiltrations in almost every dept; I just can't believe that State is so loose and wide open.
Freedman, "once lobbied for the Government of Nigeria."
Nigeria, it just so happens, is one of the most corrupt regimes in Africa. Wderful!
This is spreading democracy too far. Can't anyone at Bu$hcorp spell corruptness?
Lastly, I have a lingering question for the SFRC: If Bolton received all of these NSA intercepts and privy information, why can't the committee extract these directly from Bolton himself.
"Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? Why if it prosper, none dare call it treason." Ovid
Smoking Gun Memo?
Iraq Bombshell Goes Mostly Unreported in US Media
Lamorial asks : "Freedman doesn't want to reveal the names of the private clients he worked for.
Can someone please dumb this down for me, isn't there a conflict of interest here? plus a small matter of security?"
Before coming on board as a Schedule C working for Bolton at State, Matt would have been required to disclose his consulting clients on his form 171 or form 612.
The committee could subpoena these forms if they are interested. They could also make an issue of this and hold Matt in contempt if he refuses to disclose info that is part of his federal employment record.
If it turned out that Matt failed to disclose his other consulting clients in his 171 or 612, he could be liable to criminal prosecution (rare), separation from his employment (sometimes happens) or a letter of reprimand and an order to provide the info ASAP (the most frequent remedy).
JohnStuart
Thanks John, : )
The question that answers itself: "After lambasting Kofi Annan for not taking action towards staff and his son regarding the Oil-for-Food scandal, are Senators and the media going to turn a blind eye to this?"
Steve, do you intend to report back to us on how the press treats these facts?
Or was yours a rhetorical question?
I'm sure your going to apply the same standard to Marc Rich's procurer Jack Quinn when you guys get back in office.
How better to awaken the "we're at war and, therefore, must do what Prezzie says" members of Congress than by having a nice, well-timed evacuation....
Shesh. C'mon...
Bolton has no credibility as a manager in non-profit organizations. The one he ran -- the National Policy Forum -- had its non-profit stripped for inappropriate activities and funding irregularities.
Sweet. Sweet. Sweet.
If Clemons played basketball this would be akin to a 360 reverse dunk with his off hand.
Face. And then some.
Top cat, is Quinn on the federal dime? Was he?
"I'm sure your going to apply the same standard to Marc Rich's procurer Jack Quinn when you guys get back in office."
Perhaps we can apply this standard to Lewis "Scooter" Libby as well.
Another typical Lib-site whinning and wondering what(or who) they can attempt to destroy next. No program no ideas (other than what is bad for the country). Now they are calling on the lowest of the lowlifes (Larry incest Flynt). What a bunch of digressive losers. I'm sure whimpy Harry is looking at Flynt as one of the outstanding Dumocrat upcomming leaders. Get a Life!
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