" 

  

 ==Down the memory hole== 
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 During this period, Perle is stated to have been investigated by the Justice Department, and found to have violated US policies relating to unlawful transmission of sensitive classified US information to Israel. ""An FBI summary of a 1970 wiretap recorded Perle discussing classified information with someone at the Israeli embassy,"" (They Dare To Speak Out, Chicago, Ill, Lawrence Hill Books 1989)."" So far as can be determined, despite allegedly being caught spying for a foreign government, in the process undermining American national security, no action was taken against Perle at the time or later.  

  

 However, allegations of improper conflicts of interest, have nonetheless led to Perle's resignation from various positions. While serving on the Defense Policy Board, he was hired as an advisor for Global Crossing. It is stated ""Even as he advises the Pentagon on war matters, Richard N. Perle, chairman of the influential Defense Policy Board, has been retained by the telecommunications company Global Crossing to help overcome Defense Department resistance to its proposed sale to a foreign firm, Mr. Perle and lawyers involved in the case said today."" Mr. Perle's fee is $750,000, but he will receive an additional $600,000 if the sale is approved.   

 Perle maintained that he had not violated any ethics rules, but decided to resign his position as chairman of the Defense Policy Board on March 26, 2003, . In an effort to save face, he wrote in his resignation letter that he would refuse any compensation with his deal with Global Crossing and ""any fee for past service would be donated to the families of American forces killed or injured in Iraq."" There was also a report that ""The communications company, Global Crossing, also announced that Mr. Perle had decided to sever his ties with it.""   

 As a former Clinton adviser observed with admiration, Perle “enjoys all the benefits of being an insider without any of the constraints.” 

 The Global Crossing affair started a more critical look into Perle's business affairs. On March 29, 2003, The New York Times reported that Perle was involved with Loral Space and Communications in 2001 as an advisor while it faced accusations that it transfered rocket technology to China.  It is worth noting that the Global Crossing affair was also due to Global Crossing trying to overcome Defense Department opposition to be sold to a venture with ties to China. In February 2004, Perle resigned entirely from the Defense Policy Board.  The full text of Perle's resignation letter may be found at the website for the public relations firm Benador Associates.     

 ===SEC singles out Perle for criticism===    

 On August 31, 2004, a special committee of the Board of Directors investigating the alleged misconduct of the controlling shareholders of Hollinger International submitted the 512-page Breeden Report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the report, Perle is singled out as having breached his fiduciary responsibilities as a company director by authorizing several controversial transactions which diverted the company's net profit from the shareholders to the accounts of various executives. Perle received over $3 million in bonuses on top of his salary, bringing the total to $5.4 million, and the investigating committee called for him to return the money. Top Hollinger executives dismissed the report and have filed a defamation lawsuit against the head of the investigating committee, former SEC chairman Richard C. Breeden.    

 ''In a 513-page report shot through with sarcasm and disgust, a special committee of the publishing company Hollinger International Inc. concluded that the former officials Conrad M. Black and F. David Radler ran a ""corporate kleptocracy,"" diverting to themselves virtually all the company's $400 million in earnings over seven years. The report, which was filed as part of Hollinger's effort to recover $1.25 billion from Lord Black and others, also criticized certain directors as being ""ine