DOESN’T THE LAW APPLY TO FORMER PRESIDENTS, TOO? Apparently not in the case of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund (BCKF), which was a joint project of George H.W. Bush and his successor, Bill Clinton, following the disastrous hurricane that nearly wiped out New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast. The fund was done under the initial auspices of the Clinton Foundation.

Here’s the problem in a nutshell: Federal and many state laws bar charities from asking for donations before they are officially recognized as legitimate organizations. The official date for the BCKF was Oct. 4, 2005, but, as investment banker/turned crack anti corporate and charitable corruption sleuth Charles Ortel makes clear this morning in LifeZette, millions of dollars were sought and received for at least a month prior to that date.

As is so often the case, the most troubling aspect here is the role of Clinton, who, Ortel notes, “was not named as an officer, director, or trustee of the Clinton Foundation or BCKF. He does not appear to have registered as a professional fundraiser. So it is unclear how he acquired lawful authority to solicit funds for Katrina victims in the name of either charity.”

And who is this “Lois Lerner” person of the IRS? Haven’t we heard about her somewhere else before???