Caroline Kennedy Refuses To Disclose Financial Records, Basic Information

If she were applying to be, say, an undersecretary of education in Barack Obama's new administration, Caroline Kennedy would have to fill out a 63-item confidential questionnaire disclosing potentially embarrassing text messages and diary entries, the immigration status of her household staff, even copies of every resume she used in the last 10 years.

If she were running for election to the Senate, Ms. Kennedy would have to file a 10-part, publicly available report disclosing her financial assets, credit card debts, mortgages, book deals and the sources of any payments greater than $5,000 in the last three years.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[SailFree]

The difficulty of Caroline Kennedy's hopes for appointment to the U.S. Senate is that she was in, or put herself in, a position demanding of more finesse and sophistication than most political veterans have. To succeed as a candidate for appointment, she needed the talents of an extremely gifted natural, which she's not. She is an intelligent woman who has comported herself with dignity through a quarter-century of private life in Manhattan. She would never steal your money, indulge in dark political dealing, or growl, like Blago, into a tapped line, "I've got this blankin' thing and it's golden," though let's face it, it's a little sad we'll never hear that.

But life is complicated. If you're going to run as the princess of a dynasty, you have to act and be like a princess"something different, rarefied, heightened. Her problem in part has been that she spent a quarter-century trying to blend in and not call attention to herself. She made herself convincingly average"not distinguished. She has her parents' dignity but not their dash. She radiates a certain clueless class.
--Peggy Noonan

[laucarlson]

She's an excellent choice. NO republican can beat her in the next election. Go, girl!

[BlackYowe]

Caroline is not the one. Read this in the Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/nyregion/24kennedy.html?ref=nyregion

[teembee]

How interesting. Just a week ago when she announced she was interested you libs were falling all over yourselves in your adoration.
Looks like even libs are starting to see a through her.

[cosmicbullfight]

Yeah, because we all know people of the same political party all think exactly the same way. Jesus, mate. "You liberals"

[meko]

I'm a liberal who was upset from the beginning. Then again, I'm one of the ones who spends time volunteering, so I'm less likely to chase after the most famous candidate.

[Info08]

I now we have our very own Sarah Palin

[UltraClassic]

Why should she release her info. After all, she is a Kennedy. It is her God given right to assume the position, as it were.

[begabug]

well that should take the heat off

[Rule Of Law]

Transparency is exactly what has been lacking for 8 years. Secrecy and a feeling of being above the law have led to the worst economic crisis ever. She should know this.

[meko]

Ahh, but she's rich, so we know she must be honest. Hasn't the last 3 months taught you that?

And she's famous, so we know she's not self-aggrandizing, hasn't the media taught you that?

And she's well-connected, so we know she can get stuff done on our behalf, hasn't our President taught you that?

She has so many advantages. We should just trust her about all the stuff we don't know. She's a Kennedy. They're good people.

[lj9283]

Would it not be disrespectful of the Governor's selection process if Ms. Kennedy were to release her financial and personal information to the press before she released it to the Governor?

I thought that since the Governor was going to make the appointment he would be the authority who would be responsible for vetting the candidates. The press would receive the vetting information through the Governor's Office.

Does the New York Times believe the Governor is derelict in his duties? If so, shouldn't that be the story?

Has the New York Times asked the Governor about his schedule for vetting? I didn't see that anywhere in the story.

Did the Governor hire the New York Times to do the vetting for his Senate selection?
If so, shouldn't the New York Times be disclosing that information?

[meko]

There's no reason not to release her information publicly. She hired a press agent. She's campaigning through the press. Why should she only receive coverage based on her press releases?

[cosmicbullfight]

Not to mention the fact that sitting senators typically don't have their PR rep give floor debates for them.

[poster1122]

While it's the governor's perogative to appoint her as New York's junior senator, she wouldn't be working for him.

She would be working for the PEOPLE of the state of New York. As such, she has an obligation to disclose her financials to them more than to the governor. The people have a right to know if their representatives have interests that might conflict against theirs.

[entropyisfun]

Start looking for other work Caroline.

[HUkid07]

First off, she has not been appointed yet, nor is it certain that she will be and so with that being said Mrs. Kennedy does not have to disclose a thing to anyone, nor is she obligated. Now if she is appointed and then becomes a sitting senator then yes she will have to file reports and will be obligated to do so. However for now you all can just be a little easy on your tirades against her.

Secondly, you should at least give the woman a chance to outline her position on certain policies and platforms. The woman hasn't even been appointed and she doesn't even know if she'll get it (lets just say that no one knows right now) so there isn't too much she can say without seeming to presumptuous. So once again, just be easy and at least wait until all possible candidates are made known and then pepper them with all the questions and concerns that you might have.

[meko]

No matter what she says her positions are, she hasn't demonstrated a sustained commitment to work on their behalf. She campaigned for Obama for only six weeks and didn't even display a commitment to voting regularly as a private citizen. Besides Obama, she has never campaigned on behalf of someone outside of her family. So where has she demonstrated a commitment to her beliefs? Actions speak louder than words.

Candidates have already been discussed. Congresswomen Maloney, Gillibrand, Congressman Israel, Higgins, Nassau County Executive Souzzi, Mayor Brown, and more.

These people have been questions and investigated in the course of their elections. They have disclosed their financial records in the course of their campaigns. If you want to know Carolyn Maloney's beliefs, just look at her record: http://maloney.house.gov/index.php?option=com_issues&Itemid=35. Her achievements demonstrate her commitment to her beliefs. Caroline Kennedy's part-time position as a fundraiser on behalf of the NYC schools doesn't compare.

So why be easy on Kennedy? Why wait until after an appointment to determine her qualifications? Why wait till after an appointment to determine whether there are conflicts of interest?

[cosmicbullfight]

The point is to keep the process as open as possible in order to:

1. keep anyone else from excluding themselves from consideration on the basis that it would be inevitable that Caroline Kennedy would be appointed to the spot
2. keep anyone from being appointed whose conflicts of interest or other associations don't jibe with the best interests of New Yorkers

It's more appropriate for disclosures to be made before appointments wherever possible in the interest of an informed decision on the part of the Governor and for the sake of a public who is rightly entitled to this information. It's not so much a matter of requirement as much as it is a matter of good faith and transparency.

If she doesn't understand that the political climate and the public's sentiment on politicians essentially requires this now, then she's not really as politically astute as some might have us believe.
___________
�"�獄�"��"的人 - Jean Paul Sartre

[glorialovelace]

"However for now you all can just be a little easy on your tirades against her."

Why should we? We don't owe her that, and none of the criticisms leveled at her has been undeserved.

[AlltheBuzzfromCali]

I will settle this as I am the Kennedy family accountant. Her money is from the family, --daddy's, grandaddy's, Mom's, and the Onassis millions that her mother scored from Ari. And don't forget brother John, she would have been his principal (and perhaps only) heir since his wife went in the drink with him. And whatever her "books" brought in, minus fee to co-author. Then, there is whatever Ed brings in from his museum exhibit biz (hah) and what she will get in the divorce. Long story short, you peasants need to but out. She has sufficient funds to maintain a home in Washington and NY, in addition to her manse on Martha's Vineyard. The rest will be on the taxpayers, such as travel between and entertainment.

[cosmicbullfight]

Glad to know the vetting process for working at 7-11 is more invasive than what CKS expects of the Senate appointment process.

[cosmicbullfight]

I don't understand why people are so enamoured with this woman in the first place. She wrote some books, did a little public advocacy, had some kids, and came from the right lineage. There are thousands of Americans who have devoted their lives to public service, cared for families, and never would have deigned to assume that anyone would just drop something in their lap without putting in the work.

And now we have 11 press questions and no disclosure of potential conflicts of interest (something to which even Bill Clinton submitted before Hil was nominated for State). What else are many supposed to conclude when confronted with this?

I never had a problem with her before this, and I even would have supported her nomination for a cabinet post like education or HUD. But she needs to make the case for herself and present herself to the voters of New York in a coherent and open manner.

[Grammy3]

In a situation of this type, i.e. special consideration for the daughter of a president, I try to substitute another, comparable, candidate to 'clear my thinking.' In this case, I tried to imagine how this would strike me if a Republican governor were being asked to appoint Jenna Bush to a Senate seat and I didn't like the idea - for reasons of fairness, qualifications, and ability. So, although I admire Ms. Kennedy, if it wouldn't be acceptable to me for Jenna Bush, it cannot be acceptable to me for Caroline Kennedy -- so sorry, because my instinct is to root for the Kennedy family, but I can see that is not fair.

[camper65]

She's starting to sound exactly like a Clinton. I thought the American Revolution was, in part, supposed to get rid of hereditary titles and "royal" entitlements?

[THISTLE]

No, the Clintons actually RAN for OFFICE and WERE ELECTED TWICE.
The Princess wants to be "appointed," and she refuses to answer any questions,
written questions were instead presenting to her PR handlers. Why do we put up
with this crap? Where is the outrage? People should be demanding that Patterson
NOT "appoint" this woman. And by the way, the Clintons presented all their financial
statements including having to provide all the checks they wrote.
But the Princess wants to be "appointed," this is a woman who did not even
bother to vote in important elections in New York - including for the one she now
wants. The hard working women in Congress representing New York have spent
years - decades working for the people of New York. While Kennedy has never worked
a day in her life. And her comment about, "I raised my family," - she raised her family
with hundreds of millions of dollars, and 24/7 servants - she hasn't a clue about
what single working mothers have to do everyday - many of them working 2 & 3 jobs,
to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads...
Carolina Kennedy insults us all.

[MadamRoma]

Thank You, Thank You, the privileged in this country are just amazing, they really do believe they are better than the working class. One of the reasons I liked the Clinton's was the fact that Bill came from nothing and understood what it was like to do without, something no Kennedy can ever say. Unfortunately Caroline believes in the, ask and you shall receive way of doing business. Well Caroline it's time to mop a few floors and scrub a few toilets, only then can you realize the poor experience, believe me, I don't ring a bell when the toilet won't flush.