Shortly after joining Tenet, Jeb became a “consultant” to Lehman Brothers and a member of the firm’s private equity advisory board, which buys and sells companies worldwide.
The Wall Street Journal learned about it and on their web site called Jeb, Lehman’s secret weapon, speculating his hiring was part of a lobbying effort to help the equity and hedge fund industries head off more regulations and tax increases.
Records show that while Bush was governor, Lehman Brothers won at least six new contracts plus $9.9 million in fees from the two agencies that handle Florida’s bond deals and public investments, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
Jeb denied any role in the sales by Lehman of risky securities to the State Board of Administration, which manages billions of dollars in investments for hundreds of local government agencies in Florida.
In November, Bush was appointed to the board of another financial services firm, CNL Bancshares, a bank holding company led by real estate developer and major GOP donor James M. Seneff Jr.
"As CNLBank continues its expansion beyond its headquarters in Orlando ... Gov. Bush provides both credibility and visibility to our company throughout the state,'' Seneff said in a statement.
The three corporations that now employ Bush say they sought him for his business smarts and knowledge of Florida, not to reward him for past or future actions.
Jeb also has five nonprofit organizations that have raised millions of dollars. Some of the donors belong to the same network of lobbyists, developers and business executives who helped finance Jeb’s political aspirations and those of his families and possibly a future run for the White House.
Increasingly, people who are considering running for political office set up nonprofits, which pay for travel, staff salaries and other expenses. Bush's nonprofits provide jobs for several of his politically savvy staffers, that where with him as governor too.
Said Frances R. Hill, a law professor at the University of Miami and director of a group that analyzes money in politics "It's pervasive and politicians in both parties do it, There may be legitimate reasons to maintain multiple tax-exempt entities, but my antenna go up when a powerful political figure has this many floating around.''
Unlike political candidates, many nonprofits — known as 501(c) s for the tax code section that applies to them — can accept donations of any amount, from virtually anyone, including foreign sources. They are not required to provide a detailed breakdown of their spending.
So don’t count Jeb out of the political game just yet, because if the Democrats screw up too bad, and or somehow McCain wins and can’t do a second term we may have another Bush running for president.
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