Bob Lee's Account

My man Bob Lee gives his account of the "meeting" we had with Erskine Bowles.

I pass it on without comment, except to say that it's all true.

There are two short movies attached to this post, one to document my big self sitting next to Erskine (which no doubt means that he has no future in electoral politics, in spite of his considerable talent as a finance and budgets guy), and the other to document the young lovelies in whom Bob Lee expressed a paternal interest (a health concern, since they had all had navelectomies). As for me, I never noticed the cheerleaders, being so horrified by the uniforms of the (so-called) players out on the floor for UNC.



Oh, yes, and there was a game.....

New Podcast

Hey, you podcastrians!

It's a new installment of the Russ and Mike show.

For which, I should add, I was paid my full market wage.

We talked about the Transantiago cluster fig. And talking to Russ is always fun.

Guido Wilson: The Bagman who keeps on Giving

So, this is good, people. Unca Sam now has implementing the Monroe Doctrine down to a sweet science. He has yankee hatas the Kirchners and Hugo on the run.

To recap. In August Venezuelan Guido Wilson is detained in Argentina with 800 large in his briefcase. The Kirchners protested a bit too much (then President Nestor said "my hands are clean", which being translated means "my hands are dirty" (this system works for Roger Clemons quotes too by the way)), and complained to Venezuela, but the trail seemed to go cold.

Fast forward to last week when US Federal agents arrest 4 Venezuelans for harassing and threatening Guido (who has a home in Miami, of course). Now President Christina Kirchner proclaims "this is a garbage operation" and Hugo weighed in yesterday that it was "a big lie". Translation? Anyone? How about "Holy Crap! Pwned by Unca Sam!! Again!!"

Now it turns out that Guido has been cooperating with the Feds for a while and they have Chavez's boys on tape offering among other things 2 million for Guido to keep his mouth shut. You can read about it here in the NY Times. According to US Attorney Thomas Mulvihill:

"after Mr. Wilson was caught in Buenos Aires he began to talk to F.B.I. agents about the suspected agents of the Venezuelan government. At least seven meetings took place between Mr. Wilson and the five individuals cited in the complaint between August and early December, the prosecutor said.

The F.B.I. set up video and audio surveillance to document meetings where the defendants sought to pressure Mr. Wilson into keeping quiet, in one case making a threat against his family and in another offering him financial backing from Petróleos de Venezuela, Venezuela’s national oil company, according to prosecutors.

At one point, two of the co-defendants offered Mr. Wilson $2 million to buy his silence, Mr. Mulvihill said."

Andres Oppenheimer has a nice column on the case and the Kirchners in the Miami Herald, written before the latest news about the bribes and videos came to light.

I am so loving this. I just want to know one thing. Where was Thoma Mulvihill in 1961 when we really really needed him?

Well played Unca Sam! Tweaking two birds with one warrant.

As you may remember, last August, a Venezuelan national was stopped entering Argentina with around $800,000 in cash in his briefcase. Our report at the time is here. Speculation was that the money was for the Kirchner election fund but Guido Wilson, the bag man, stayed mum and the whole affair sadly died out.

Until Wednesday when the US arrested 4 men in Miami (where Guido Wilson also owns a home and lives part time) for coercing Sr. Wilson into saying that the money was his and not from the Venezuelan government.

From the WaPo article:

The four suspects are accused of having traveled to Florida, where Antonini owns a home, to pressure him to conceal the truth about the cash, according to court documents. Two of the men -- Carlos Kauffmann and Moisés Maionica -- allegedly told Antonini that Argentine and Venezuelan authorities would pursue him if he denied that the funds were his but that he would be protected if he remained quiet.

"Carlos Kauffmann advised Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson that the consequences of Antonini's future actions might put the life of Antonini's children at risk," said the criminal complaint, which was prepared by the FBI. Referring to Venezuela's state oil company, it said, "Moises Maionica advised Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson that PDVSA would pay for all the expenses and financial penalties that Antonini might incur as a result of the seizure of the $800,000."

The four men have been charged with being unregistered foreign agents in the United States. Two of them, including Maionica, have denied the charges, according to the Associated Press. The others have asked for court-appointed attorneys.

So we can tweak La Penguina and Hurricane Hugo with one swell foop. I say kudos to the Justice Dept. Well done indeed.**

Finally, just for the ladies, here's a pic of Guido Wilson, international man of mystery:

** One thing that truly troubles me though, in fact it troubles me before I say or do anything these days, leaving me almost paralyzed with angst, and that is WWJICTOMP!!!***

***What Would John In Carolina Think of MY Post??