Thus far we have had a fairly scandal free campaign – save the non-start Rezko. Tomorrow, the New York Times will attempt to change that. I do not terribly want to take a side or claim expertise on the topics of Kazakh Nuclear Energy, but it may be the new headline for a few days. So here it goes phrasing and quoting the NY Times Story.
In September 2005 Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra flew to Kazakhstan in search of a contract to mine uranium. Giustra, was a newcomer to the Kazakh Uranium Race, but he has a key asset (What the MSM called all last year an invaluable asset) Bill Clinton. Clinton was on that jet with Giustra where they were on a "philanthropic tour" under the auspices of the Clinton Foundation. Clinton and Giustra landed and were "whisked off to share a sumptuous midnight banquet with Kazakhstan’s president, Nursultan A. Nazarbayev, whose 19-year stranglehold on the country has all but quashed political dissent."
Mr. Nazarbayev walked away from the table with a propaganda coup, after Mr. Clinton expressed enthusiastic support for the Kazakh leader’s bid to head an international organization that monitors elections and supports democracy. Mr. Clinton’s public declaration undercut both American foreign policy and sharp criticism of Kazakhstan’s poor human rights record by, among others, Mr. Clinton’s wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Within two days of Clinton and Giustra’s dinner with Mr. Nazarbayev, Guistra (the previously unknown uranium miner) was surprisingly awarded three large contracts by the Kazakh Government’s state owned uranium industry. "The monster deal stunned the mining industry, turning an unknown shell company into one of the world’s largest uranium producers in a transaction ultimately worth tens of millions of dollars to Mr. Giustra, analysts said."
The Clinton Foundation shortly thereafter received a large, huge, financial gift from Mr. Guistra of at least $31.3 million... Until last month, under media pressure, the Clinton Foundation had refused to release their donors. Hence, this is just now becoming known. Mr. Guistra, in addition to the already donated sum, has announced plans to donate another $100 million to the Clinton Foundation. "Mr. Giustra was invited to accompany the former president to Almaty(The Kazakh territory) just as the financier was trying to seal a deal he had been negotiating for months." A Clinton spokesman said that Clinton knew of Giustra's mining interest but was unaware of "any particular efforts" doing nothing to help out Guistra.
However, when the Times suggested to Mr. Giustra the Kazakhstan Government acknowledged conversations, Mr. Giustra backed off his previous denials saying, he "may well have mentioned my general interest in the Kazakhstan mining business to him, but I did not discuss the ongoing" efforts.
Mr. Dzhakishev, the Kazatomprom chief, said an aide to Mr. Nazarbayev informed him that Mr. Giustra talked with Mr. Nazarbayev about the deal during the visit. "And when our president asked Giustra, ‘What do you do?’ he said, ‘I’m trying to do business with Kazatomprom,’ " Mr. Dzhakishev said. He added that Mr. Nazarbayev replied, "Very good, go to it."
Mr. Clinton’s Kazakhstan visit, the only one of his post-presidency, appears to have been arranged hastily. The United States Embassy got last-minute notice that the president would be making "a private visit," said a State Department official, who said he was not authorized to speak on the record.
The stated rational for the visit was to announce the Government coming to an agreement on discounted AIDS drugs through the Clinton Foundation. However, Clinton offered unearned praise on Nazarbayev saying of the dictator, "opening up the social and political life of your country."
Robert Herman, who worked for the State Department in the Clinton administration and is now at Freedom House, a human rights group, said the former president’s statement amounted to an endorsement of Kazakhstan’s readiness to lead the group, a position he called "patently absurd."
"He was either going off his brief or he was sadly mistaken," Mr. Herman said. "There was nothing in the record to suggest that they really wanted to move forward on democratic reform."
In 2005 Mr. Nazarbayev won another sham election, based on ballot stuffing and intimidation. Garnishing 91 percent of the vote. Mr. Clinton, contrary to the U.S. Government, Sent Congrads to Nazarbayev saying, "Recognizing that your work has received an excellent grade is one of the most important rewards in life." Clinton even went further by honoring Mr. Nazarbayev with an invitation to his annual philanthropic conference.
Within 48 hours of Mr. Clinton’s departure from Almaty on Sept. 7, Mr. Giustra got his deal. UrAsia (Mr. Giustra’s new company) signed two memorandums of understanding that paved the way for the company to become partners with Kazatomprom in three mines.
The cost to UrAsia was more than $450 million, money the company did not have in hand and had only weeks to come up with. The transaction was finalized in November, after UrAsia raised the money through the largest initial public offering in the history of Canada’s Venture Exchange.
Mr. Giustra challenged the notion that UrAsia needed to court Kazatomprom’s favor to seal the deal, saying the government agency’s approval was not required.
But Mr. Dzhakishev, analysts and Mr. Kurzin, one of Mr. Giustra’s own investors, said that approval was necessary. Mr. Dzhakishev, who said that the deal was almost done when Mr. Clinton arrived, said that Kazatomprom was impressed with the sum Mr. Giustra was willing to pay and his record of attracting investors. He said Mr. Nazarbayev himself ultimately signed off on the transaction.
Longtime market watchers were confounded. Kazatomprom’s choice of UrAsia was a "mystery," said Gene Clark, the chief executive of Trade Tech, a uranium industry newsletter.
"UrAsia was able to jump-start the whole process somehow," Mr. Clark said. The company became a "major uranium producer when it didn’t even exist before."
In February UrAsia was purchased for $3.1 Billion, with Mr. Guistra being the major shareholder and CEO. Also in February Mr. Dzhakishev, a Kazatomprom (The State Company) chief), traveled to Chappaqua, N.Y. for a meeting with Clinton and Mr. Guistra in the Clinton’s home. Mr. Dzhakishev had wanted to work with Mr. Clinton to pave a PR front in order for Kazakhstan to purchase 10 percent of Westinghouse, a chief U.D. nuclear technology supplier. Clinton said he could not lobby for them, after the Dubai port deal he tried to work, but Mr. Dzhakishev was still pleased he had a chance to once again meet with Clinton and Giustra.
Both Mr. Clinton and Mr. Giustra at first denied that any such meeting occurred. Mr. Giustra also denied ever arranging for Kazakh officials to meet with Mr. Clinton. Wednesday, after The Times told them that others said a meeting, in Mr. Clinton’s home, had in fact taken place, both men acknowledged it.
"You are correct that I asked the president to meet with the head of Kazatomprom," Mr. Giustra said. "Mr. Dzhakishev asked me in February 2007 to set up a meeting with former President Clinton to discuss the future of the nuclear energy industry." Mr. Giustra said the meeting "escaped my memory until you raised it."
Wednesday, Mr. Clinton’s spokesman, Ben Yarrow, issued what he called a "correction," saying: "Today, Mr. Giustra told our office that in February 2007, he brought Mr. Dzhakishev from Kazatomprom to meet with President Clinton to discuss the future of nuclear energy."
Mr. Yarrow said his earlier denial was based on the former president’s records, which he said "show a Feb. 27 meeting with Mr. Giustra; no other attendees are listed."
Mr. Dzhakishev said he had a vivid memory of his Chappaqua visit, and a souvenir to prove it: a photograph of himself with the former president.
"I hung up the photograph of us and people ask me if I met with Clinton and I say, Yes, I met with Clinton," he said, smiling proudly.
Does This Story Have Legs? Seems quite real to me, but may be to complicated for the MSM. Why the Denials, and then the backtracks? Thoughts?
Thanks to eyesonthestreet for picking up on this Story
http://www.nytimes.com/...