Edward Maurice Mezvinsky (; born January 17, 1937) is an American politician and lawyer from

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. He is a former U.S. Representative and felon. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he represented

Iowa's 1st congressional district Iowa's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northeastern part, bordering the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, and the Mississippi River. The district includes the cities o ...

in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms (1973–77). Mezvinsky grew up in Ames, Iowa, and played high school football there. He graduated from the

University of California, Hastings College of the Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California as ...

(1965). After being elected to the Iowa Legislature (1968), he lost a race for Congress in 1970, then won in 1972 and was re-elected in 1974. He made several unsuccessful

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

attempts in the 1980s. In 2001, he was convicted of 31 charges of felony fraud, and served five years in federal prison. In 2010, he became father-in-law to

Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer and global health advocate. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinto ...

, the daughter of Hillary and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

Life and career

Mezvinsky grew up in Ames, Iowa, the son of Jewish grocery store owner Abe Mezvinsky. His father was born in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and his mother in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He was an all-state football end and member of the

Ames High School Ames High School is the sole public high school in Ames, Iowa, United States. It is in the Ames Community School District. Academics This school is the only public high school in the city of Ames. In August 2019, Ames High School was named ...

state championship basketball and track teams of 1955.. Mezvinsky attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, graduating in 1960. He went on to earn a masters in political science from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1963, and a J.D. from the

in 1965. He returned briefly to Iowa to practice law, but quickly began a political career. In 1965, he worked for former Rep. Neal Smith in Washington on lobbyist disclosure and ethics bills. He was elected to the Iowa Legislature in 1968, where he attracted publicity as a consumers' advocate. He lost a 1970 campaign to unseat Republican Congressman

Fred Schwengel Frederick Delbert Schwengel (May 28, 1906April 1, 1993) was a Republican U.S. Representative from southeastern Iowa. Personal background Born on a farm near Sheffield, Iowa, to German immigrants, Schwengel attended the rural schools in West For ...

in Iowa's 1st congressional district by only 765 votes (out of over 120,000 cast). After reapportionment improved his chances, Mezvinsky won a 1972 rematch. During his first term in Congress, he sat on the House Judiciary Committee and voted for the impeachment of President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

for his activities in the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

. He was one of eight Democratic members of the committee who voted for all five articles of impeachment drafted against Nixon; three were reported to the House, while two failed. Although Mezvinsky defeated Davenport businessman

Jim Leach James Albert Smith Leach (born October 15, 1942) is an American academic and former politician. He served as ninth Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 2009 to 2013 Pogrebin, Robin"Rocco Landesman Confirmed as Chairman of the N ...

in 1974 in the immediate aftermath of the impeachment hearings, Leach defeated him two years later, in 1976. Six months into his first term in Congress, Mezvinsky separated from his wife of ten years Myra Shulman; they were divorced two weeks after his 1974 re-election. During his final term he married Marjorie Margolies, a television journalist. After his 1976 defeat, they relocated to suburban

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. After serving in Congress, Mezvinsky was

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United States Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council is the diplomatic representative of the United States to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The position is located within the United States Mission to the United Nati ...

from 1977-79. Mezvinsky unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate seat held by retiring incumbent Republican

Richard Schweiker Richard Schultz Schweiker (June 1, 1926 – July 31, 2015) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 14th U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Ronald Reagan from 198 ...

in 1980, but lost to former

Pittsburgh Mayor The mayor of Pittsburgh is the chief executive of the government of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Pittsburgh. This article is a listing of past (and present) mayors of Pittsburgh. ...

Pete Flaherty. Flaherty went on to lose the general election by a narrow margin to Republican (later Democrat)

Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...

. Mezvinsky became chairman of the

Pennsylvania Democratic Party The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg and is the largest political party in the state. Its chair is Senator Sharif Street. Governor Tom Wo ...

, and made a run for

state attorney general The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney gener ...

in 1988. He won the Democratic primary, but lost to Republican Ernie Preate in the general election. He also unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, losing to incumbent

Mark Singel Mark Stephen Singel (born September 12, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 27th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995, alongside Governor Bob Casey. Singel served as the state's acting governor from June 14, 1993 t ...

Criminal activities

In March 2001, Mezvinsky was indicted and later pleaded guilty to 31 of 69 felony charges of bank fraud,

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

, and

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

. Mezvinsky, who had been working as an attorney at the time, was funneling embezzled and fraudulently obtained money to

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

n con men after falling victim to an online advance-fee scam. In the waning days of the Clinton presidency, before the indictment was handed down, Mezvinsky's wife wrote personally to President Clinton requesting a pardon for her husband. Clinton declined. Nearly $10 million was involved in the crimes. Shortly after Mezvinsky's indictment, he was diagnosed with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, but the judge at his trial disallowed a mental illness defense. He entered prison in February 2003, and served his time at

Federal Prison Camp, Eglin Federal Prison Camp, Eglin was a Federal Bureau of Prisons minimum security prison at Auxiliary Field 6, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Lacey Rose of ''Forbes'' wrote that it "was once considered so cushy that the term " Club Fed" was actually c ...

. Mezvinsky,

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

# 55040-066, was released in April 2008, after 5 years. He remained on federal

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

until 2011, and still owed $9.4 million in restitution to his victims.

Family

From 1993–95, Mezvinsky's wife Marjorie Margolies served a term in Congress. Together, they raised eleven children, three of whom were adopted. In 1998, she was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. In 2000, she was running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate when her husband's business problems forced them to file for bankruptcy and forced her abrupt withdrawal. They divorced several years later.

Friendship with the Clintons

During the Clinton administration in the 1990s, Mezvinsky and his wife Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky became close to

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

, and were frequent guests at White House state dinners. The two families had met when they attended the annual Renaissance Weekend gathering in South Carolina. President Clinton was reportedly indebted to Margolies-Mezvinsky for providing the crucial vote in the House of Representatives to pass his budget and tax bill in 1993, despite being, as Clinton noted in his autobiography, "one of the very few Democrats who represented a district with more constituents who'd get tax hikes than tax cuts, and in her campaign she'd promised not to vote for any tax increases"; she subsequently lost her bid for re-election in 1994. In 2010 Mezvinsky's son, Marc Mezvinsky, married

, daughter of Bill and Hillary.Seeing the "for worse" hasn't scared Chelsea from the altar
Philly.com; accessed February 12, 2017.

References

External links