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ByStephenBraun TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON The newly released financial files on Bill and Hillary Clinton's growing fortune omit a company with no apparent employees or assets that the former president has le- gally used to provide con- sulting and other services, but which demonstrates the complexity of the fami- ly's finances. Because the company, WJC, LLC, has no financial assets, Hillary Clinton's campaign was not obli- gated to report its existence in her recent financial dis- closure report, officials with Bill Clinton's private office and the Clinton campaign said. They were responding to questions by The Associ- ated Press, which reviewed corporate documents. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not au- thorized to provide private details of the former pres- ident's finances on the re- cord, said the entity was a "pass-through" company de- signed to channel payments to the former president. Under federal ethics dis- closure rules, declared can- didates do not have to re- port assets worth less than $1,000. But the company's existence demonstrates the complexity of tracking the Clintons' finances as Hill- ary Clinton ramps up her presidential bid. Lucrativespeeches While Bill Clinton's lu- crative speeches have pro- vided the bulk of the cou- ple's income, earning as much as $50 million dur- ing his wife's four-year term as secretary of state in the Obama administra- tion, the former president has also sought to branch out into other business ac- tivities in recent years. Lit- tle is known about the exact nature and financial worth of Bill Clinton's non-speech business interests. The identities of several U.S and foreign-based com- panies and foundations that Bill Clinton worked for have been disclosed in Hillary Clinton's recent financial report as well as in earlier reports during her stint as secretary of state. Under federal disclosure rules for spouses' earned in- come, Hillary Clinton was only obligated to identify the source of her spouse's income and confirm that he received more than $1,000. As a result, the precise amounts of Bill Clinton's earned income from con- sulting have not been dis- closed, and it's not known how much was routed through WJC, LLC. WJC, LLC was set up in Delaware in 2008 and again in 2013 and in New York in 2009, according to docu- ments obtained by The AP. The company did not ap- pear among holdings in the Clintons' financial dis- closure released last week or in previous Hillary Clin- ton disclosure reports be- tween 2008 and 2013, when she resigned as secretary of state. Bill Clinton signed a document as its "authoriz- ing person" in a corporate filing in Delaware in 2013. Tax advantages A limited liability com- pany is a commonly used business structure that pro- vides tax advantages and limited legal protection for the assets of company own- ers and partners. The purpose of Bill Clin- ton's U.S.-based company was not disclosed in any of the corporate filings in Del- aware and New York, but State Department files re- cently reviewed by the AP show that WJC, LLC sur- faced in emails from Bill Clinton's aides to the de- partment's ethics officials. In February 2009, Clin- ton's counselor, Douglas Band, asked State Depart- ment ethics officials to clear Bill Clinton's consulting work for three companies owned by influential Demo- cratic Party donors. Memos sent by Band proposed that Bill Clinton would provide "consulting services regard- ing geopolitical, economic and social trends affecting the entity and philanthropic opportunities" through the WJC, LLC entity. State Department officials approved Bill Clinton's con- sulting work for longtime friend Steve Bing's Shan- gri-La Industries and an- other with Wasserman In- vestments, GP, a firm run by entertainment executive and Democratic party do- nor Casey Wasserman. The ethics officials turned down Bill Clinton's proposed work with a firm run by entertain- ment magnate and Demo- cratic donor Haim Saban be- cause of Saban's active role in Mideast political affairs. WJC, LLC was also cited by Band in a June 2011 memo sent to State Depart- ment ethics officials asking for clearance to allow Bill Clinton to advise Band's in- ternational consulting com- pany, Teneo Strategy LLC. Band's request said Teneo would use "consulting ser- vices provided by Presi- dent Clinton through WJC, LLC." State Department of- ficials approved the three- year contract between the two companies. None of the proposals de- tailed how much Bill Clin- ton would be paid. Disclosure rules While Hillary Clinton's 2011 federal disclosure re- port did not mention WJC, LLC, it reported that Bill Clinton received "non-em- ployee compensation over $1,000 from Teneo," but did not disclose a more precise amount. Federal disclosure rules require the spouses of filers to disclose the identity of any income sources over $1,000, but they do not have to provide exact figures. Pass-through, or shell, companies became an is- sue in the 2012 presiden- tial campaign when Re- publican candidate Mitt Romney disclosed a pri- vate equity entity worth $1.9 million despite failing to report the company on his previous federal disclo- sure. Romney aides said the company previously held no assets but then received the $1.9 million "true up" pay- ment — a catch-up payment to make up for private eq- uity fees from defunct in- vestment advisory busi- nesses that had not been previously paid. FINANCIAL FILES Clintoncompanyshowscomplexityoffamilyfinances MARKLENNIHAN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is welcomed to the stage by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. Thank you! PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Mel's Place • Lingerie • Airbrush Tanning • Swimwear 332OakStreet Red Bluff (530) 604-4182 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.tehamaestatesretirement.com Spring Coupon Special | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 8 A