Hollywood Producer Paid for NKorea Flight
A wealthy Hollywood producer paid for the flight that carried former President Bill Clinton and two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, home from North Korea, a California businessman confirmed Wednesday.
Stephen Bing, a close Clinton friend and longtime Democratic fundraiser, is the plane's owner, said Marc Foulkrod of Burbank, Calif., chairman of Avjet Corp., the company that manages the aircraft.
Foulkrod said the Federal Aviation Administration "at the highest levels" cleared the flight plan, which required an exception because U.S. planes are not allowed to fly into North Korea.
The effort to set up and clear the flight only started four to five days ago, he said, adding that officials in Washington worked through the weekend to get the necessary diplomatic and flight exemptions.
Heir to a New York real estate fortune, Bing raised at least $100,000 for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, in addition to giving the maximum $2,300. He also donated at least $10 million to Bill Clinton's presidential library and charitable foundation.
Bing was a multimillion-dollar donor to pro-Democratic groups that ran ads against Republican President George W. Bush in the 2004 campaign. He also donated at least $5 million to pay for a new Democratic National Committee headquarters in 2002, when Clinton loyalist Terry McAuliffe headed the party.
Bing has a stake in the Obama administration's actions on the environment. His Shangri-La Construction builds energy-efficient buildings and aircraft hangars - in line with Obama's goal of cleaning up the environment and creating "green" jobs.
Its parent company, Shangri-La Industries, LLC., founded by Bing, hired a Washington lobbying firm this year and has spent at least $100,000 lobbying Congress and the Defense Department on energy efficiency in buildings and airplane hangars.
Bing's Shangri-La Entertainment also was the conduit for a contribution that provided $40.1 million of the total $45.7 million raised to support a failed 2006 California ballot initiative that sought to tax companies drilling for oil in California.
As a producer, Bing's projects included "Shine A Light," a 2008 Martin Scorcese documentary of a Rolling Stones performance filmed at Bill Clinton's 60th birthday party in New York. He also produced the film "Beowulf" (2007) and financed the film "The Polar Express" (2004).
Calls to Shangri-la Entertainment and Bing's publicist were not immediately returned.
Foulkrod said the costs for the flight have not yet been tallied but would be significant.
"It was a very unique set of organizational efforts that resulted in a level of cooperation that was unprecedented," Foulkrod told The Associated Press.
The plane flew from Burbank to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, then to Misawa Air Base in Japan- refueling in both places- and then went on to North Korea, said Foulkrod. On the way back it had enough fuel to skip Elmendorf, flying from Misawa directly to Burbank.