Halle Burtoni

"Diplomacy failed the Republic long ago."

- Halle Burtoni

Halle Burtoni was a Kaminoan female politician who, in her later years, served as the Senator of Kamino during the Clone Wars. Burtoni bartered her world's production of the Galactic Republic clone troopers into a seat in the Galactic Senate, a position of power that she used to push for the continued funding of clone soldiers for the Grand Army of the Republic. The continuation of the Clone Wars, necessitating the need for the production of more clone troopers, was Burtoni's top political priority, often bringing her at odds with such representatives as the members of the Loyalist Committee, including Padmé Amidala of Naboo and Onaconda Farr of Rodia.

During a senatorial debate over the continuation of the Clone Wars, Burtoni was an outspoken proponent of deregulating the InterGalactic Banking Clan in order to open new lines of credit to fund increased clone production. After the financial bill passed, Burtoni led the effort that ultimately rejected the calls of the Loyalist Committee to reduce military spending. It was during this debate that Senator Farr was murdered, and Burtoni became a key suspect in the investigation. It was ultimately determined that Farr was murdered by his aide, Lolo Purs. When the murder case was resolved, the Senate rejected the Loyalist Committee's counter-legislation and approved the troop increase that Burtoni had proposed.

Military funding debate
"Chancellor Palpatine, in light of this unprovoked attack on Coruscant and the vulnerabilities it raises, I propose the Republic purchase an additional 5 million clone troopers."

- Halle Burtoni

In the decade prior to the onset of the Clone Wars, Kaminoan cloners created a clone army for the Galactic Republic on their homeworld of Kamino. On the orders of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, these clone soldiers were commissioned as the Grand Army of the Republic and first saw action during the Battle of Geonosis, the battle that sparked the war between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Halle Burtoni bartered her planet's role as the source of the Republic soldiers into a seat in the Galactic Senate, the legislative body of the Galactic Republic. From there, she represented her planet's financial interests and became a leading proponent of continued military action against the Separatist Droid Army, as the continued need for clone troopers led to financial gain for Kamino. At some point during the war, Burtoni presented a holographic display of Phase II clone trooper armor, an upgrade over standard clone trooper armor, to a group of politicians that included Senate Vice Chair Mas Amedda, Senator Mee Deechi of Umbara and Senator Mot-Not Rab.

As the war progressed, the Senate took up debates regarding the cost of fighting the Separatists. One debate was over whether the Senate should fund the creation of additional clone troopers, despite the Republic already being in a dire fiscal condition due to the massive spending required to fund the war. Senator Gume Saam argued for a bill that would open new lines of credit by deregulating the InterGalactic Banking Clan. During a Senate debate over the proposed legislation, Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila argued against deregulating the banks, but Burtoni retorted by saying she believed that such an action was a small price to pay in order to finance the war. The Senate tabled its decision until the matter could be considered further. After a Separatist attack destroyed the power generator on Coruscant, the capital of the Republic, Burtoni put forward the motion to regulate the Banking Clan. The Senate passed the legislation into law.

The deregulation of the Banking Clan led to a new debate over whether the Senate should finance the creation of additional clones. The debate was a particularly passionate one due to the attack on Coruscant, with emotions running high throughout the Senate. In light of the attack, Burtoni proposed that five million more clone troopers be purchased from the Kaminoan cloners. Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan objected to the proposal on fiscal grounds, saying the Republic was unable to pay for it, so Burtoni told him that Kamino was drafting an emergency appropriations bill that would raise funds from the Banking Clan. Senator Padmé Amidala was also a critic of the proposal, urging that the Senate de-escalate the war rather than inflaming the situation with more troops. During a later Senate session, Organa intended to speak before the Senate in opposition to the bill, but he was injured in an attack by Separatist-aligned bounty hunters. Amidala ultimately spoke on his behalf, offering a strong plea to oppose increased military funding by using her aide, Teckla Minnau, as an example of how the cuts in critical social services in favor of the war were harming the people of the Republic. Burtoni reluctantly applauded the address, but she nonetheless continued to offer her support for increased clone production.

Murder of Onaconda Farr
"Ono was a harmless bug. I wouldn't bother killing him."

- Halle Burtoni

As the debate over troop increases continued, the Loyalist Committee continued fighting against Burtoni's proposal and put forward their own anti-troop increase legislation to stop it. Senator Amidala gave another speech before the full Senate arguing that the financial costs for a troop increase would cripple to the conflict, and that more clones would only escalate the Clone Wars. Though the Senate had not yet voted, the loyalists held a celebration in honor of Amidala's speech, a gathering that Burtoni crashed. Burtoni heard Amidala say that it was too early to celebrate when the vote had not yet commenced, which the Kaminoan senator was quick to point out as something that she actually agreed with the young senator on. Amidala told her that it was a private conversation, and Burtoni implied that it was a Separatist conspiracy. Lolo Purs, aide to Rodian senator Onaconda Farr, dismissed the idea, and Amidala again asserted her belief that diplomacy had to resume. Burtoni said that diplomacy had failed the Republic long before their debate, at which point Senator Mothma urged them to end their discussion. Farr escorted Burtoni out of the meeting, and she assured them that the war was far from over. Only moments after Burtoni left the gathering, Farr collapsed and died after his drink was poisoned.

Having little faith in Lieutenant Tan Divo, the homicide investigator from the Coruscant Security Force, Amidala and Organa investigated the murder on their own. They suspected political malfeasance and confronted Burtoni and Deechi, also a supporter of increased troop production, in Deechi's office. Deechi and Burtoni laughingly dismissed the implication that they were involved in Farr's murder, and Burtoni even said that he was a useful political tool; every time Farr spoke against her efforts, it gave her a quote to use in her fundraising efforts, so she had no reason to kill him. Even Deechi said that, despite being at odds with Farr and being on opposite sides of the ongoing debate, he respected Farr as a senator. Burtoni did not respect Farr, but nonetheless had nothing to do with his murder. Deechi told the two loyalist senators about a clandestine meeting that Farr had on the Coruscant docks, which Deechi learned about after having Farr followed, so Amidala and Organa left to investigate&mdash;but nonetheless made it clear that they still had their suspicions about him and Burtoni. Organa and Amidala were attacked on the docks, leading them to further suspect either Burtoni or Deechi's involvement in the murder. The two loyalists went to confront Senator Deechi and found that he had been killed.

Later, while the senators were under the protection of Lieutenant Divo, Purs claimed she was attacked by Senator Burtoni, who had become the prime suspect in the murders of both Farr and Deechi. Senate Guards apprehended Burtoni and she was brought into Chancellor Palpatine's office, where she strongly denied the allegations that she killed either of the senators. The last thing Burtoni remembered was walking to her office and then waking up in the chancellor's office. Divo repeated Purs' claim, but Burtoni laughed the allegation off and said that Purs was not important enough to attack. Likewise, she saw Farr as a harmless bug and considered Deechi an ally, giving her no reason to kill either of them. Divo revealed that the poison used to kill Farr was developed by Kaminoan scientists, and he theorized that Burtoni slipped Farr the poison when she crashed the loyalist gathering. It was then that Senator Amidala realized that Purs did not drink anything. Because the poison only targeted Rodians, that turned suspicion onto Purs. The young Rodian admitted to killing Farr because of his previous, but later disavowed, support for the Separatist Alliance, as Purs believed he no longer had the authority to represent the interests of the Rodian people. The admission spared Burtoni from arrest, and Purs was taken into custody.

Following the resolution of the murder case, the Senate voted on the proposed legislation. The Loyalist Committee's bill was rejected, while Burtoni's proposal for increased clone production was a success.

Personality and traits
"For the record, I had no respect for Onaconda whatsoever."

- Halle Burtoni, voicing her personal dislike of Onaconda Farr

Halle Burtoni was a tall, slender female Kaminoan with lavender eyes and white skin. She was strong-minded and resolute in her political opinions, and her savvy politics and powerful connections earned her the respect amongst her senatorial colleagues and the people of Kamino. As the senator from Kamino, Burtoni argued strongly in favor of increased clone trooper production and the continuation of the Clone Wars, as it was an importance source of income and power for Kamino. Her desire to see the war continue led her to ally herself with other like-minded senators, such as Senator Mee Deechi of Umbara.

Though her top political priority was the economic benefit of Kamino, Burtoni possessed a strong loyalty to the Republic, putting her at odds with senators who favored an end to hostilities with the Separatist Alliance. This was to the point that she suggested treachery amongst the Loyalist Committee. One such senator was Padmé Amidala, with whom she had frequent philosophical disagreements over warfare versus diplomacy. Burtoni saw other loyalist senators, such as Onaconda Farr, as beneath her attention, though she did the calls for diplomacy as a means of increasing her fundraising efforts amongst her supporters. Burtoni's aggressive and intrusive personality and tactics led some of her colleagues to suspect that she was involved in illegal and unethical political actions, including the assassination of Onaconda Farr.

Behind the scenes
Halle Burtoni was created for the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, in which she was voiced by Jameelah McMillan. She first appeared in the background of the episode "Duchess of Mandalore" before appearing in the next episode, "Senate Murders." She later appeared in "Heroes on Both Sides" and "Pursuit of Peace," which chronologically take place just prior to "Senate Murders." Some concept art for the character, dated April 2008, was drawn by artist David Lee Merrer.