Unintended Consequences

There's nothing quite like the law of unintended consequences.

California billionaire Ronald Burkle thought he was going after a gossip columnist when he accused a Page Six writer of extortion. But he's inadvertently turned an unwelcome spotlight on his friend's wife, who just happens to be the Democratic frontrunner for president.

We all know the back-story by now: New York Post gossip-monger Jared Paul Stern paid several visits to Mr. Burkle's SoHo loft, where he allegedly asked Mr. Burkle to pay him in exchange for keeping negative items off the world's most famous gossip column. Mr. Burkle taped the meetings and called the Feds. Mr. Stern argues he was only looking for an investor in his clothing business. Mr. Stern's arrest initially seemed imminent but has yet to occur.

The fedora-wearing writer could still be arrested at some point, but in the vagaries of our criminal codes demanding payoffs for gossip coverage might actually be legal - or at least not overtly illegal.

Either way, this may well be a story where the collateral damage is far more consequential than the main plot. Mr. Burkle is in business with President Clinton and is emerging as a key fundraiser for Senator Clinton's pre-presidential campaign (known to some as her Senate campaign). He held a fundraiser for her last week and will take a leading role rounding up West Coast cash.

Mr. Burkle already has a role in the Clintons' financial life. Mr. Clinton is a partner in Mr. Burkle's Yucaipa Companies, a pool of private equity funds that specialize in creating returns through investing in poor areas. Mr. Clinton plays to his strong suit, functioning mainly as a marketer, while profiting like a full-blown partner.

This all seems above-board; there is nothing wrong with a spouse's business partner fundraising for a political campaign. But until now, the Clintons' new money was primarily attributed to books and speeches. We now see that their financial web is far more complicated and relies heavily on an investment fund with a wide array of dealings. Those dealings will now come under scrutiny, especially as Mrs. Clinton's pre-presidential campaign matures out of the pre-stage.

Mr. Burkle's close relationships with the former president were no secret. After all, their names appeared together in some of the Page Six items that led Mr. Burkle to begin his campaign against the gossip column. But in the long list of Clinton entanglements, Mr. Burkle was a bit player. Now he's bringing the Clintons along for his ride through headlines of "gossip" and "extortion" while inviting scrutiny for business dealings that were largely off the radar.

Whatever wrongs Mr. Stern may or may not have committed, Mr. Burkle must be wondering whether his own glass house - and that of the Clintons - really needed all this attention.

Mr. Goldin's column appears regularly.