Hi Everybody! Interesting notes on how Reagan had to skirt the regs to avoid turning down a couple of horses from King Fahd. If you offer a gift you want it accepted, right?
Maybe B-man had to limit himself to DVD/Ipod like gifts? What are the British regs on gifts? http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB265/index.htm (scroll to bottom) Document 6: Entry in Ronald Reagan's Diary, Monday, March 4, Cited in The Reagan Diaries, edited by Douglas Brinkley, New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2007 p. 305. In early 1985, Saudi Arabia's King Fahd made a state visit to the White House at a critical moment in the cold war. Saudi Arabia was actively cooperating with the United States in a covert campaign to expel the Soviet occupation force from Afghanistan. The Saudis also were secretly financing the U.S.-backed contra rebels fighting the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. And King Fahd had a long list of American weapons he urgently wanted to purchase. In short, the Saudi monarchy was establishing itself as a critical ally of the United States and King Fahd wanted to cement the relationship further by bestowing lavish gifts on President Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan. For the president, King Fahd had selected two prize Arabian horses, but his ambassador in Washington, Prince Bandar, warned him that well-established American law prohibited presidents from accepting expensive gifts. The horses would end up with the United States Park Service, Bandar counseled. "Leave it to me," Bandar told the king. Thus began a scheme to circumvent the law and to fly the horses to the California ranch of Reagan's close friend, and long time public official, William P. Clark, whose ranch adjoined the president's property. In a little noticed entry in Reagan's diary, published in 2007 after his death, the president's own words confirmed the artifice employed to circumvent federal law. "Fred Fielding, Don Regan & Mike D. came in to see me about the Arabian Horses that King Fahd wanted to give me. I had stated I couldn't accept them as a gift -- due to our stupid regulations. As it stands they are now in Prince Bandar's (Ambas.) name & he has asked Bill Clark to take care of them for him. Now what happens 4 yrs. from now is anyone's guess." -- Regards, Pete http://pete-theisen.com/ http://elect-pete-theisen.com/ _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
